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Harrodsburg Road Cut, Indiana, USA
You are here: MineralCollecting.org >> Localities >> Harrodsburg Road Cut, Indiana, USA

| Locality Data | Description | Locality Pictures | Collecting | Minerals | Tools
| Directions | Area Maps | Weather Conditions | Area Businesses | Closest Campgrounds |
| Other Points of Interest | Other Collecting | Area Rock Shops | Literature | Related Websites |

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Locality Data

Name: Harrodsburg Road Cut
Alternate Name: Highway 37 Road Cut
Location: near Harrodsburg, Monroe county, Indiana, United States
GPS:
Locality Type: Road Cut
Prodominent Host Rock: Harrodburg Limestone
Prodominent Mineralization Host: Harrodsburg Limestone
Mineral Species Count: ~10
Accessibility: Easy
Collectibility: Moderate
Explanations

Description

Near Harrodsburg, Highway 37 cuts through a hill just north of the Monroe Reservoir exit and exposes a zone of the Harrodsburg formation. The road cut, as is the entire formation, is very rich in mineralized geodes. The geodes are believed to be the precipitation of a migration of fluids which seeped into the basin during the Lower Mississipian Period, although we can only speculate as to their true origin. The cut has three benches and is thus quite high and hard to miss.

Locality Pictures

Harrodsburg Cut

Geodes in the wall

The millerite zone

Northbound wall

Exit sign before cut

Collecting

Both the north bound and south bound lanes are collectable, but parking is probably easiest on the south bound side. When the overpass at the Harrodsburg exit was repaired the emergency shoulder on the north bound side was converted into a lead-on lane for north bound traffic. Parking on this side may be a problem but the change has not effected having enough room to collect. Spawling the fractured limestone reveals geodes in the walls. Many areas at this locale are badly under cut and appear quite treacherous. Please use caution when collecting under any overhang. Good specimens can also be found by surveying the surface for geode halves that were lost by previous collectors. Note that the largest geodes are not always the most mineral rich. The lowest bench of the road cut contains nice calcite, quartz crystals, imbedded and free crystal barite and imbedded sphalerite crystals. You can typically find larger calcites and quartz laden geodes which sometime bear sprays of green millerite fibers on the second bench of the cut, both sides. There is little variance in the mineralization of the north and south bound cuts. If you find something on one side, it can probably be found on the other side as well because the same layers are present. Collecting is very easy; geodes will not be hard to find at the cut. A crowbar and a five gallon bucket should be enough to collect all you want. A chisel ended rock hammer and a four pound crack hammer are very useful here also. Breaking the geodes at home is a good idea to keep in mind incase there is a nice spray of millerite that is perched to fall out. Cracking a few geodes just to make sure you're in a good mineral rich zone is advised.

Minerals

Local minerals may include, but are not restricted to, barite, celestite, dolomite, calcite, millerite, sphalerite, quartz crystals. View the available specimens in the pictures listed below:

Tools

Driving Directions

Take Highway (State Road) 37 south from Indianapolis, Indiana to Monroe Reservoir/Harrodsburg exit, south of Bloomington, Indiana. Cut is just north of overpass. OR Take I-65 to exit 68 Columbus, Indiana and then go west on State Road 46 to Bloomington. At third light in Bloomington (Highway 45/46 Bypass) turn right and continue to Hwy. 37. South on 37 to Monroe Reservoir/Harrodsburg exit.

Area Maps

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Weather Conditions

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Area Businesses

Lowes
K-mart
Big Lots
Golden Corral
Outback Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse
O' Charlies
Wendy's
McDonald's
Arby's
Subway
3rd Street exit in Bloomington off of Hwy. 37
Wal-Mart
Steak-N-Shake
2nd Street exit in Bloomington off of Hwy. 37

Closest Campgrounds

Other Points of Interest

Other Collecting in the Area

Fluorite Cut, Bedford, IN
Highway 446 Road Cuts

Area Rock Shops

Literature

state Literature Listings

Related Websites

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