🪨 Agates
Banded chalcedony prized for their colors and patterns. Lake Superior agates, Fairburn agates, and Montana moss agates are especially famous.
Best Places to Find Agates
Rockhound State Park
Deming, New Mexico · State Park
State park specifically designated for rockhounding. Visitors can collect specimens including quartz, agate, jasper, and geodes. Beautiful desert moun...
Black Rock Desert
Gerlach, Nevada · BLM Land
Vast BLM desert known for agate, jasper, thundereggs, and opal deposits. Remote area requiring 4WD and serious preparation.
Thunder Egg Capital (Richardson's Ranch)
Madras, Oregon · Fee Dig
Oregon's most famous thunderegg collecting area. Richardson's Ranch offers access to multiple collecting sites. Oregon's state rock.
Sucker Creek
Jordan Valley, Oregon · BLM Land
BLM area in eastern Oregon known for beautiful agate, jasper, and petrified wood deposits. Popular rockhounding destination.
Polka Dot Agate Mine
Nyssa, Oregon · Fee Dig
Fee-dig mine known for unique polka dot agate (aka orbicular jasper). One-of-a-kind patterns not found anywhere else in the world.
Priday Agate Beds
Madras, Oregon · Fee Dig
Classic Oregon collecting site for blue agate, plume agate, and thundereggs. Located in the rich agate beds of central Oregon.
Opal Basin
Wikieup, Arizona · BLM Land
BLM area known for beautiful agate, chalcedony, and common opal. Good beginner-friendly rockhounding in the Arizona desert.
Red Forest (Agate Creek)
Gunnison, Colorado · BLM Land
BLM area known for beautiful agate specimens. Part of the rich mineral region of central Colorado.
Agatized Coral Beds
Tampa Bay, Florida · Public Land
Florida's state rock — agatized coral. Found in the Tampa Bay and Withlacoochee River areas. Fossilized coral replaced by agate over millions of years...
Lake Superior Agate Beds
Grand Marais, Minnesota · Public Land
Lake Superior shoreline and gravel pits for the prized Lake Superior agate. These banded agates were distributed by glaciers across Minnesota.
Moose Lake Area Agates
Moose Lake, Minnesota · Public Land
Gravel pits and creek beds known for Lake Superior agates. The Moose Lake agate show is a major annual event. Agate Capital of Minnesota.
Whitefish Point Agates
Paradise, Michigan · Public Land
Lake Superior beach at Whitefish Point known for agates and other gemstones. Part of the Lake Superior agate region.
Keweenaw Peninsula Copper
Houghton, Michigan · Public Land
Native copper deposits and agate beds on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Hunt for pure copper nuggets and chlorastrolite (Isle Royale greenstone).
Fairburn Agate Beds
Fairburn, South Dakota · BLM Land
Collect the famous Fairburn agate — South Dakota's state gem. Known for beautiful banding and vibrant colors. Found in gravels and Badlands exposures.
Little Missouri River Agates
Medora, North Dakota · Public Land
River gravels and badlands exposures for agate, petrified wood, and chalcedony in the Little Missouri River valley.
Nebraska River Gravel Pits
Scottsbluff, Nebraska · Public Land
Platte River and Niobrara River gravels produce prairie agates, chalcedony, and petrified wood. Good after rain when fresh material is exposed.
Kansas Jasper & Chalcedony Beds
Goodland, Kansas · Public Land
Western Kansas gravel pits and exposures producing colorful jasper, chalcedony, and agate specimens.
Walker Valley Agate Beds
Mount Vernon, Washington · DNR Land
Washington DNR land open to rockhounding. Known for agate, jasper, and petrified wood. Popular collecting area in Skagit County.
Linton Agate Beds
Lyle, Washington · DNR Land
Columbia River Gorge area known for agate and jasper. Beautiful specimens along the river. Check for seasonal access.
Richardson Rock Ranch
Madras, Oregon · Fee Dig
Oregon's most famous thunderegg collecting ranch. Multiple dig sites on the property. Pay per bucket. Oregon's state rock.
White River Agate Beds
Maupin, Oregon · BLM Land
BLM area along the White River in north-central Oregon. Known for agate and petrified wood deposits.
Juniper Ridge
Brothers, Oregon · BLM Land
BLM collecting area in central Oregon. Known for thundereggs, agate, and jasper. Remote area.
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
Tucson, Arizona · Event
The world's largest gem and mineral show. Every February. Hundreds of dealers, exhibits, and events across the city.
Quartzsite Gem Show
Quartzsite, Arizona · Event
Massive January-February gem show in the desert. Hundreds of vendors, rockhounding field trips, and tailgating. A mecca for rockhounds.
Homedale / Owyhee Jasper
Homedale, Idaho · BLM Land
The Owyhee region produces some of the world's finest jasper including Morrisonite, Willow Creek, and Bruneau jasper. World-class lapidary material.
Bruneau River Canyon
Bruneau, Idaho · BLM Land
Famous for Bruneau jasper — one of the most beautiful and sought-after jaspers in the world. Deep canyon country requiring 4WD.
Woodward Reservoir Agates
Council, Idaho · BLM Land
BLM land known for beautiful agate and jasper. Part of the prolific rockhounding region of west-central Idaho.
Yellowstone River Agates
Billings, Montana · Public Land
The Yellowstone River gravels produce beautiful moss agates (Montana's state rock). Walk the gravel bars after the spring runoff.
Sweetwater Agate Beds
Rawlins, Wyoming · BLM Land
BLM land known for Sweetwater agate — beautiful banded agate with distinctive color patterns. Classic Wyoming collecting area.
Sunrise Minerals Area
Apache, Oklahoma · Public Land
Western Oklahoma area known for agate, barite rosettes, and hourglass selenite. Good beginner rockhounding on public lands.
Lawton Area Agates
Lawton, Oklahoma · Public Land
Southwest Oklahoma gravel pits and creek beds producing agate and petrified wood specimens.
Winter Run Agate Area
Rawlins, Wyoming · BLM Land
BLM collecting area in the Rawlins region. Known for beautiful agate specimens. Part of the prolific Sweetwater agate region.
Wisconsin Lake Superior Agates
Superior, Wisconsin · Public Beach
Lake Superior beaches in Wisconsin for agates. Also gravel pits and creek beds across northern Wisconsin.
Tennessee Agate Beds
Parsons, Tennessee · Public Land
Western Tennessee gravel pits and creek beds for agate and chert specimens.
Louisiana Gravel Pit Agates
Pollock, Louisiana · Public Land
Central Louisiana gravel pits for colorful agate and petrified palm wood. The Kisatchie National Forest area is a good hunting ground.
Texas Agate Beds (Woodward Ranch)
Alpine, Texas · Fee Dig
Woodward Ranch in Big Bend country produces spectacular plume agate and other agate varieties. Popular rockhounding destination.
Graveyard Point Agate Beds
Van Horn, Texas · BLM Land
BLM area in far west Texas known for beautiful agate and chalcedony specimens.
Kentucky Agate Beds
Irvine, Kentucky · Public Land
Estill County gravels for distinctive Kentucky agate — known for red, yellow, and orange banding. Found in creek beds and road cuts.
North Dakota Petrified Wood Beds
Amidon, North Dakota · Public Land
Slope County badlands for petrified wood and agate. The Little Missouri River gravels produce beautiful specimens.
North Dakota Carnotite Beds
Bismarck, North Dakota · Public Land
Carnotite-bearing sandstones and gravel pits in western North Dakota for agate, jasper, and unusual uranium-mineral specimens.
Caldwell Bluff Petrified Wood
Caldwell, Nebraska · Public Land
Bluff exposures in north-central Nebraska for petrified wood and agate in the Ash Hollow Formation.