Safety tips

BBC

We are lucky in the UK because we have some really spectacular geology and a huge range of rock types all packed into quite a small area. If you want to start a rock collection, try to find freshly broken pieces from cliffs, crags and quarries.

Rocks that are buried in the soil, and pebbles on beaches, or in lakes and rivers are not good to collect (although they may be very attractive). It is often difficult to see what they are made of and it is very difficult to work out where they originally came from.

The colour, texture and hardness of a rock can be greatly altered by weathering and sea washing. Don’t get caught out by a nice, smooth, rounded fragment of brick or even cement!

Here are a few tips on getting your rock collection started:

• Collect clean specimens with a least one freshly broken surface.
• Paint a rectangle using liquid paper on one corner and assign each rock a number.
• Record the number, name and location where you found it.
• Make a label with the name of the rock and location on it.

Safety when collecting rocks:

• Always wear safety glasses or goggles when breaking rocks.
• Use only a geological hammer for collecting; do not use a household claw hammer. Hard rocks can break splinters of steel off a claw hammer.
• Do not climb on crags or quarry walls.
• Be very careful when approaching the tops and bases of steep cliffs, and wear a protective ‘hardhat’ if you do.
• Never enter mine tunnels, they are extremely dangerous.
• Never collect rocks from Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Remember: if you're going to break rocks ALWAYS wear safety goggles and make sure you're about 2m away from the nearest person. Crystalline and very hard, fine-grained rocks can produce sharp, flying splinters!

Classifying Rocks
In some cases, observing a rock in hand specimen may not be enough to classify it completely. You may need to examine it in 'thin section' down a microscope, or work out its relationship to the other rocks around it in the field.

But that's a completely different world, and if you are interested in that kind of detail, you might want to check out some of the courses the Open University has to offer.