Where to Find Meteorites: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hunt

Let me tell you, holding a rock that’s fallen from space… it’s a feeling that’s tough to put into words. I’ve done it. That rock in your hand is a real, tangible piece of elsewhere. It’s a direct connection to the wild, massive universe out there. We’re not talking about just collecting pebbles. This is a flat-out treasure hunt for cosmic artifacts.

The best part? You can absolutely do this.

The real thrill isn’t just in finding one. It’s in the hunt. It’s the game of figuring out where to look, what to search for, and testing your patience against the planet.

But that’s the million-dollar question, right? If they just fall from the sky, they could be anywhere. So, where to find meteorites on a planet that’s mostly water, trees, and cities?

Well, here’s the good news: It’s not as random as you think. Earth’s own geology and climate actually do us a huge favor. They create “traps” that concentrate these fallen stars, making them way easier to spot. This guide… this is your treasure map.

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Key Takeaways

• Go Where They’re Safe: Location is king. You need to hunt where meteorites are preserved and visible. We’re talking deserts, dry lake beds, and (for the true adventurers) Antarctica.
• Know What You’re Looking For: Most space rocks will stick to a magnet. Look for a dark, black, or rusty-brown “skin” (the fusion crust). They’ll just look out of place.
• Do Your Homework: Your secret weapon is research. Check the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. See where other folks have found them. This puts you in the right spot.
• Play by the Rules: Know whose land you’re on. Period. You must get permission for private land. And don’t even think about it in National Parks. It’s illegal.
• Patience, Patience, Patience: You’re going to find a ton of “meteor-wrongs.” Hundreds, probably. That’s just how it is. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

So, You Want to Find a Space Rock? Where Do You Even Begin?

First things first. Let’s get the lingo down. You’re going to hear two key terms: “falls” and “finds.”

A “fall” is exactly what it sounds like. Someone saw it fall, and people recovered it right after. These are super rare, super exciting events. You’ll see teams chasing fireballs on the news, using weather radar to track the debris field. They’re scrambling to grab those fresh, black rocks before the rain and rust can get to them. That’s a high-speed, advanced-level game.

A “find” is the other kind. This is a meteorite that fell ages ago—maybe 10 years, maybe 10,000 years. It’s just been sitting there, waiting for someone (you!) to notice.

As a beginner, “finds” are your target. That’s what you’ll be hunting. You are looking for an ancient visitor, a rock that’s been chilling on Earth’s surface for a long, long time. To do that, you have to go where they are preserved. And just as critical, you have to go where you can actually see the dang things.

Are Some Places Better Than Others for Finding Meteorites?

Oh, yes. A thousand times, yes.

You have two main enemies in this hunt: vegetation and water.

Vegetation is simple. It covers the ground. A meteorite can land in a forest, a field, or a jungle, and… poof. It’s gone. You’ll never see it. It gets buried under leaves, grass, and roots in a single season.

Water is the real killer, though. Rain, specifically. The vast majority of meteorites (over 90%) are “stony,” but they still have little flecks of iron-nickel metal inside. What happens when you get metal wet? It rusts. Over years and decades, water and weather will turn a stunning space rock into a sad pile of rust-colored mush.

So, where does that leave us? We need places with almost no plants. And almost no water.

Why Are Deserts My Best Bet?

This is it. This is ground zero.

If you are serious about finding meteorites, go to a desert. The American Southwest—places in Arizona, Nevada, California, New Mexico—is a world-class hunting ground. The same goes for the massive deserts in Northwest Africa, Oman, and Australia.

Deserts are perfect because they solve both problems at once.

First, visibility. It’s a dream. There’s no canopy, no thick grass. It’s just… ground. A dark, out-of-place rock stands out like a sore thumb against the light-colored sand and gravel.

Second, it’s an arid (dry) climate. The lack of rain is a miracle for preservation. Meteorites can sit there for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years, and stay in good shape. That rust-and-decay process gets slowed way down. You aren’t just hunting for last year’s fall; you’re hunting for millennia of falls.

What About Dry Lake Beds? Are They a “Secret” Spot?

They’re not exactly a “secret,” but man, are they a fantastic spot. We call them “playas,” and they are some of the most productive places on the planet to hunt.

Here’s the magic of a playa: It’s a natural “concentrator.”

Picture a giant, shallow bowl. Over thousands of years, the rare rains wash material from the mountains and hills all around it. That water flows down into the basin, spreading out to form a huge, temporary lake.

Heavier stuff—rocks, gravel, and meteorites—sinks to the bottom.

Then, the brutal sun comes out and evaporates all that water. What’s left behind is a perfectly flat, hard-caked surface of clay and salt. And stranded on that surface, like tiny cosmic shipwrecks, are all the heavy rocks that got washed in. You can walk these surfaces for miles. Any dark rock you see is a “suspect” you must investigate.

I Don’t Live Near a Desert. Am I Out of Luck?

Nope. Not at all. You just have to be a little bit more clever about where you look.

If you live in the Midwest or any farm country, you have a surprising ally: the plow.

Think about it. A plowed field is a patch of earth that’s been cleared of all vegetation, at least for a while. Every single spring, the plow turns over the soil, bringing up a fresh “crop” of rocks from just below the surface. Farmers have been pulling these annoying rocks out of their fields for centuries, and many of them have piles of “weird” ones at the edge of their property.

Sure, these rocks might be beat up from farm machinery, but a meteorite is a meteorite.

This part is critical: You cannot, ever, just walk onto a farmer’s field. That is private property. That is trespassing. You must find the landowner and ask for permission. Be polite. Show them a picture of what you’re looking for. Many will be happy to let you look. Some might even say, “You know, I do have this weird, heavy rock in the barn…”

What’s a “Strewn Field”?

This is another killer place to hunt. A strewn field is the debris pattern from one single meteorite fall.

See, a big meteoroid often doesn’t make it to the ground in one piece. It shatters in the atmosphere—a massive explosion—and rains down a shower of smaller pieces. These pieces fall over a long, oval-shaped area. That is the strewn field.

The beauty of a strewn field is that if you find one piece, you know there are more. Researchers will often map these fields. If you can get your hands on a map of a known strewn field (and it’s on land you can legally access), you have just spiked your odds of success. You’re no longer looking for a random rock. You’re looking for a specific type of rock in a specific, known-to-be-productive location.

How Do I Know Exactly Where to Go? Can I Use a Map?

This is where you separate yourself from the casual walker. You don’t just drive out to “a desert” and hope for the best. You go to a place where meteorites have already been found.

This is how you build your own “expertise.” You learn from the successes (and data) of the people who came before you.

Are There Maps of Known Meteorite Finds?

You bet there is. The single most important tool in your digital arsenal is the Meteoritical Bulletin Database.

This is the official, scientific catalog of all known meteorites on Earth. And it’s public. You can go on their website, pull up the map search, and see a little dot for every single meteorite that has been officially classified.

So, what’s the play?

You zoom in on your state or a region you can travel to. Do you see a blank map? Or do you see a cluster of dots? If you see a tight cluster of dots on, say, a specific dry lake bed, the universe is practically screaming at you: “This is a good place to look!” It’s a proven, productive hunting ground. That’s where you should focus your time and energy.

What Should I Look for on Google Maps?

This is my favorite part of the pre-trip. Once I’ve used the MetBull database to find a promising area (like a specific valley or playa), I swap over to Google Maps in satellite view.

I’m scouting the terrain from my couch.

• Where are the roads? How close can I really get?
• Where can I park my car safely so I don’t get stuck in sand?
• I’m looking for those “geological traps.” I’m looking for the light-colored, flat, open areas. I want to see alluvial fans (where streams have dumped rocks), old shorelines, and of course, the playas.
• I’m also mapping out things to avoid. See that huge patch of dark, volcanic rock (basalt)? That’s a nightmare. Everything will look like a meteorite. I’ll skip that.

I’ll spend hours “walking” the area virtually, dropping pins on spots that look good, all before I even think about packing my bag.

I’ve Found a Spot. What Gear Do I Need to Bring?

Alright, you’ve done the research. You’ve got a spot. Time to pack.

Look, this isn’t a simple stroll in the local park. You’re probably going to be in a remote area. Your safety is 100% your own responsibility. But beyond the basic survival stuff, you need a few key tools for the hunt itself.

Here’s my must-have gear list:

• A “Meteorite Stick”: This is your #1 tool. No question. It’s just a strong magnet (I like the rare-earth neodymium ones) taped or glued to the end of a walking stick. Why? Because you are going to bend over to check thousands of rocks. This saves your back. As you walk, you just tap a promising rock. If it “grabs,” it’s worth a closer look.
• GPS or Smartphone: You must know where you are, and you must be able to get back to your car. I use an app that lets me download maps for offline use, because you will not have cell service. This is also how you log the coordinates of a find.
• Sturdy Boots: You’re walking on rough, rocky ground. Don’t cheap out on footwear.
• Water. Then More Water. I am not kidding. I carry a minimum of one gallon (about 4 liters) per person, per day. It’s a heavy pain in the neck, but it is not optional. You get dehydrated in the desert before you even feel thirsty.
• Sun Protection: A wide-brimmed hat. Sunglasses. Sunscreen. The sun is just brutal.
• A Good Backpack: To carry all that water, your food, your sample bags, and (hopefully) your finds.
• Sample Bags: Simple Ziploc bags are perfect. You want to keep each find in its own bag.
• A Handheld Magnet: A small, separate magnet to do more careful tests on a rock.
• (Optional) A Metal Detector: If you’re hunting in an area with sandy soil or some vegetation, a good metal detector is a game-changer. It can find meteorites that are just under the surface. It’s a different style of hunting, but it’s very effective.

What Am I Actually Looking For?

This is the whole ballgame. You can be in the perfect spot, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll walk right past a million-dollar rock.

Do All Meteorites Look Like Big, Black Rocks?

A fresh “fall” will, yeah. But the “finds” you’re looking for have been on Earth for a long time. They’ve been blasted by sand, baked by the sun, and soaked by the rare rain.

Here are the key clues to look for:

• Fusion Crust: This is the #1 sign. As the rock blasted through our atmosphere, its entire outer surface melted. This formed a thin, black, glassy or eggshell-textured “skin.” Even on an old, rusty-brown rock, you can often find little patches of this original black crust.
• Color: Most “finds” will not be black. They’ll be a rusty brown or orange color. They will look “wrong” for the area. If all the other rocks are white granite, that dark brown, heavy rock is your suspect.
• Regmaglypts: This is a fancy word for “thumbprints.” They’re small, scalloped-out dimples on the surface. They’re formed by the air literally sculpting the rock as it fell, melting away little bits.
• No Bubbles: Earth rocks, especially volcanic ones, are often full of little holes (vesicles). These are from escaping gas. Meteorites do not have bubbles. They are solid.

What’s the “Magnet Test”? And Is It Foolproof?

Your magnet stick is your best friend. The overwhelming majority of meteorites (stonies, irons, and stony-irons) have iron-nickel metal in them. They will stick to a magnet.

A “normal” Earth rock, like a piece of limestone or granite, won’t.

So, as you walk, you scan the ground. You’re looking for that dark, “wrong” rock. When you see one, you reach out with your stick. If the magnet grabs it, you stop. You’ve just found a “hot rock.”

Now, is it foolproof? No. Not even close.

There are plenty of Earth rocks that are also magnetic, most commonly magnetite and hematite. You will find so many of these “meteor-wrongs.” It’s just part of the game. Learning to tell the difference between a “meteor-wrong” and a “meteor-right” is the real skill.

Are They Heavy? What About the Inside?

Yes! Because of all that metal, meteorites are almost always denser than Earth rocks. A suspected meteorite will feel surprisingly heavy for its size. This is a great field test. Pick it up. Does it feel “right,” or does it feel “heavy”? Trust that heavy feeling.

If you have a find and you’re really dying of curiosity, you can get a diamond file and gently file a tiny corner off, just a few millimeters. We call this “making a window.”

What do you see? If you see bright, shiny, metallic flakes shining back at you… you may have just found your meteorite. Those are the iron-nickel flecks that just don’t exist in most Earth rocks. If you see tiny, round “seeds” or spheres, you might be looking at chondrules—the building blocks of planets.

I Found One! (I Think…) What’s the Right Way to Handle This?

The excitement is a jolt. Your heart starts pounding. It’s magnetic, it’s heavy, it has fusion crust. You think this is it.

Don’t just grab it and run. What you do in the next 60 seconds is incredibly important, both for science and for your own records.

First Thing: Am I Allowed to Be Here?

Before you even touch it, stop and ask yourself this.

• Private Land: Do you have permission from the landowner? If yes, awesome! That meteorite belongs to them, but you likely have an agreement to share or buy it. If no, you are stealing. Stop. Leave.
• National Park or National Monument: It is 100% ILLEGAL to collect anything—a rock, a flower, a meteorite—from a National Park. Don’t do it. You will face massive fines and possible jail time.
• BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Land: This is usually the best-case scenario for public land. The rules (as of my writing this) typically let “hobbyist” collectors take small amounts (up to 10 lbs) for personal use. This is only if it’s not a “known” scientific site and you don’t use heavy machinery.
• State Land: Every state has different rules. You have to check the rules for that specific state’s public lands.

Assuming you’re legal, it’s time to document your find.

How Do I Collect It Without Messing Up?

Before you move it, document it. This is called “provenance,” and it’s what gives the rock its scientific (and a lot of its monetary) value.

• Take “As-Found” Photos: Pull out your phone. Take a picture of the meteorite exactly as you found it.
• Add Scale: Place a coin, your GPS, or a ruler next to it. Take another photo.
• Zoom Out: Take a wider shot that shows the rock in its environment.
• Log the Coordinates: This is the most important step. Use your GPS app. Get an exact, locked-in set of coordinates. Write them down. Take a screenshot.
• Pick it Up: Now, finally, you can pick it up. Savor that moment.
• Bag It: Put it in its own clean Ziploc bag.
• Label It: Use a marker to write the date, the GPS coordinates, and a temporary name (e.g., “Find #1”) on the bag.

Why all this fuss? Because a meteorite with its coordinates is a scientific specimen. A meteorite without coordinates is just a cool rock. You’ve just preserved the data.

Okay, I’m Home. How Do I Know for Sure It’s a Meteorite?

You’ve got a baggie. In it is a weird, heavy, magnetic rock. The doubt starts to creep in. Is it really one? Or is it just a weird piece of industrial slag?

Can I Just Cut It Open?

Please, please don’t.

The first thing you’ll be tempted to do is take a saw or a hammer to it to see what’s inside. Don’t. You could be destroying a billion-year-old artifact. Its value—both to science and as a collectible—is in its whole, original state.

I already told you the best, non-destructive test: gently file a tiny window on a corner. If you see metal, you’re on the right track.

Who Can Tell Me If This Is Real?

You need an expert. Your local rock shop guy is probably not an expert in this.

Start by contacting the geology department at a local university or a state natural history museum. Send them the photos you took in the field. Send them the data on its magnetism and density. If they’re interested, they may ask you to bring it in.

You can also reach out to reputable, well-known meteorite dealers or collectors. These men and women have seen everything. They can often tell you from a few good photos if you’ve got a real one or a “meteor-wrong.” Be prepared for the latter. We all have a “box of shame” filled with rocks we swore were real.

It’s all part of the hunt.

The search for meteorites is more than a hobby. It’s a connection to the cosmos. It’s a fantastic excuse to get out into the most beautiful, desolate, and quiet places on Earth.

Patience is your currency. Research is your map. And the ground is your book.

FAQ – Where to Find Meteorites