Marble Mountain Rock Collecting Area (Trilobite)

Marble Mountain Fossil Bed contains one of the classic Cambrian trilobite fossil sites within the Western United States. The Marble Mountain Fossil Beds lie in a beautiful shale formation that is 60-feet thick and over 550 million years old. Trilobites were small marine crustaceans that resemble modern-day horseshoe crabs. Trilobite refers to the three long spinal sections of the skeleton. Trilobites are extinct arthropods that disappeared approximately 250 million years ago. You may collect a reasonable number of invertebrate fossils and rocks for personal use without a permit and free of charge of BLM lands. Personal collections cannot be sold or bartered for personal gain, and commercial collecting is not allowed without a permit. Only hand tools may be used; explosives and power equipment are not allowed. Collecting may not be allowed in special management areas, such as wilderness and national historic sites or on mining claims.