Rockhounding Resources

Maybe some are of interest

Preamble

This is just information about one of my previous distractions from fungi: rocks. Included are Notes, maps, sites, photos, links. Everything that is local that I may have about rockhounding. These days some of the notes may be outdated or easier to come by, but it took me forever to get the info I have.

Rockhounding Notes

Washington Petrified Wood.

First: Heading east out of Mattawa until you reach R street and take a left (Gravel Road)

-After you cross the water dike, there is a split in the road - go left, still heading toward the Mountains

-Follow this road, staying left until you get to the top of the Mountain - you will see a fence that says "NO TRESSPASSING" and a radio tower on the left.

- You are now at the current digging areas - any direction you head from here you will come upon diggings. Examine many of them before you start digging. The farther you go from the road, usually the better chance of finding something good.

You will not likely find anything sticking out of the ground (unless you luck out and a storm washed one free). Rockhounds have been digging here for years and years, so you gotta dig deep for the best stuff.

There is another location that I go to on the eastern slope, but I would rather show you where this one is - not as many people know about it.

Central Oregon Rockhounding Locations

Bear Creek

What: Petrified Wood

Agency: Bureau of Land Management

Directions: From Prineville, proceed south on Highway 27 about 33 miles to Bear Creek road. This is beyond Roberts and Little Bear Creek roads. Turn left for 5 1/2 miles. Turn off road to left just before fence. Go short distance through the gate and bear right or park your vehicle on the road 3/4 miles to the east and travel north along the west side of the fence.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

CAUTION: Respect private lands in the vicinity.

Eagle Rock

What: Agate, dendrites, moss agate and sometimes angel wing.

Agency: Bureau of Land Management

Directions: Take Highway 380 Post/Paulina to milepost 14, to monolith on right. Turn right at the second road. The distance to the site is short but sharply inclined and rough.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Diggings are mostly at the base of the rim. Beautiful float found from mountain skirt a base of rim rock to the flat below. Hard digging. Mostly agate with rhyolite.

CAUTION: There are private claims throughout this area, but open BLM lands

surround these claims.

Glass Butte

What: Gold, silver and rainbow sheen Obsidian.

Agency: Bureau of Land Management

Directions: On US 20 between Bend and Burns, near milepost 77, turn south on Obsidian Road. About 2 miles brings you to an area with many diggings.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Explore different areas for different varieties of obsidian (midnight lace, black, cinnamon, mahogany and fire obsidian).

CAUTION: Keep to roads; obsidian can cut tires. Respect private lands in the vicinity.

Green Jasper Location

What: Green Jasper

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Follow US 26 past milepost 48 to Road 2630 (Pisgah Lookout road). After 3/4 mile, merge onto Road 2210, turn right on Road 2210-300 for 2 miles, then right to diggings at end of the road.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Scarce, but beautiful.

Maury Mountain

What: Red, green and gold moss agate

This agate is of the moss variety with some angel wing and plume found throughout. The moss appears in gold, green, red and many combination shades. Sometimes the dendritic moss formation develops into a beautiful white plume.

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Go east on Highway 380 Post/Paulina to milepost 33. Turn right across the bridge on Road 16 for about 5 miles, crossing the Ochoco National Forest boundary. Turn right on Road 1680 (Drake Butte road), travel about 2 miles. Turn right on Road 1690 and follow to parking area.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: A little float.

South Fork Area

What: Limb Casts

In the early days of the earth's origin, forests, and a large lake bed covered the area. Trees, complete with limbs and roots, were buried by massive mudflows. Through time, the plant material decayed, leaving a perfect mold or cast. These voids filled with chalcedony quartz. In this material, appeared manganese and other impurities which produced some very beautiful dendrites and, in some cases, gave a pink color to the otherwise clear agate. These casts are located at an average depth of 18 inches. They are found in streams and on surfaces weathered by wind and rain.

Agency: Bureau of Land Management

Directions: Two locations on South Fork Crooked River on BLM managed land.On the Camp Creek side of Highway 380 Post/Paulina to milepost 44, right on Camp Creek road for 9 miles. Left on road just past rock quarry. Go about 2 miles. Take left fork and go through fence line. Follow about 2 miles and turn right at next fork. Go approximately 2 miles and turn left to diggings. On the Congleton Hollow side of Highway 380 to milepost 50, turn right just beyond the river. Follow about 5 miles to diggings.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Part of the South Fork area is a BLM wilderness study area. Contact BLM for a map. Vehicle use is restricted to the designated routes. No cross country motorized use. Some surface hunting.

Vistaite Location

What: Green and buckskin rhyolite

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Go east on US 26 to milepost 34. Take right hand fork about 13 miles past Ochoco Ranger Station. Take Road 22 and follow until you see "Walton Lake 2 Miles" sign. Turn left on Road 2210 for 100 feet, then right on Road 2210-050 for 1 mile. Float in black adobe.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Scarce but very beautiful.

Whistler Springs

What: Agate

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Go east on US 26 to milepost 49. Turn left of Road 27 for about 6 miles. There are some narrow, winding sections, which can be marginal in wet weather. Turn left on Road 2700-050, Whistler Springs Campground. For a gentler, longer route, from US 26, turn left on Road 27 for 0.8 miles, right on Road 2730 for 11.2 miles, left on Road 2730-200 for 5 miles to Road 27. Cross the road to Whistler Springs Campground.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

CAUTION: Mill Creek Wilderness bounds the southern end of the agate area. Watch for the Mill Creek Wilderness boundary signs.

White Fir Springs

What: Jasper Thunderegg

The eggs are of agatized jasper composition with rhyolite matrix, in many color combinations: browns, tans, yellows, reds and mauves. Many unusual shades and patterns are formed in each thunderegg. The size may be only one inch in diameter up to several feet, depending upon the depths at which eggs are found.

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Follow US 26 east to milepost 41. Turn left on Road 3350 for 5 1/2 miles, then right on Road 3350-010.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Jasper filled thundereggs found in a wide area on the mountainside.

White Rock Springs

What: Jasper Thundereggs

Agency: Ochoco National Forest

Directions: Follow US 26 to milepost 41. Turn left on Road 3350, then right on Road 3350-300, about 7 miles total.

Tools: Rock hammers, picks and shovels only.

Note: Materials is hard to find, but very beautiful. Carnelian cores have been found in the area.

CAUTION: Watch for the Mill Creek Wilderness boundary signs.

T. McGinnis

Garnet and Kyanite Notes

from Lanny Ream (author of a few rockhounding books) near Clarkia, Idaho

The road from Freezeout to the east is #301, you want to get on #457. From Freezeout, it is about 9 miles to where #457 turns off to the south, 301 at that junction turns north to Rocky Run. From the junction, it is about two miles south to a left fork to Moses Butte, but keep going south. It's about another 3 1/2 miles southerly to where there is a road that goes sharp back to the ritht that will take you down to My Blue Heaven (bright blue private cabin open and available to all), down to the the giant cedars on Land Board State Park and down to the Floodwood area. The first couple miles are in the woods as you drive around the west side of Goat Mtn. About the time you turn easterly, the road breaks out of the woods and will be mostly in the open (grassy mountain side, some trees) along Blackdome Peak.

It is this last stretch where most of the big kyanite occurs (OK so they are actually more on Balckdome than Goat Mtn.). Just east of where the road breaks out of the trees there are a lot of 1 - 1 1/2 inch granular garnets in the road, sometimes in piles where the water has dumped them in the erosion channels. From here down to the intersection to My Blue Heaven there are garnets of various quality (some sharp, most granular) and kyanite in the road. The few outcrops, especially the large ones in the grassy area to the east have kyanite to several inches, the largest I saw was probably 8 inches, the largest I recovered was 6. But as stated earlier, they are dominantly white with hints of blue, green and pink.

Loads of fun, will probably be back up there next year looking at them again. I haven't done much hiking yet up onto the ridges where there are lots of outcrops (most of Blackdome is bare rock).

There are many other garnet areas in this region, and some corundum down on Trail Creek, but I'm not really familiar with the garnet areas in that area. There are deposits that have been claimed (National Forest land) or leased (Idaho State land) off and on for gem garnet production.

One warning, there is a killer mud hole between the junction with 301 and the road to Moses Butte. Even in hot dry weather it is probably a good size lake. Actually it's not really so much a mud hole (appears to have a bottom) as just a large, deep puddle in the road. People attempting to drive around it have expanded it to about a thousand acres... Last year in my truck I kept to the west side on the bank which wasn't wide enough for my truck width so the inside wheels fell off and into the brink, but it wasn't a problem (4-wheel drive forever!). My friend behind me had a smaller truck and managed to stay on the bank. No cell phones up there, so you can't call for the Coast Guard if you fall in.

Vader Fossils

(I like this, just cross the river)

If you are interested there is a site in Vader south of Chehalis that has fossils and you could take a size as large as you wanted. You go into Vader cross the railroad tracks and turn left go along the tracks to the bridge park there and walk down to the river cross and go to the left and on side down stream you will find the fossils, clams, snails there is supposed to be more downstream but I havent tried there yet. I did bring a piece about 20 pounds back with me with a number of specicimans in it. If interested let me know. Tom