The Long Way
Lake County
Two people digging and sifting soil outdoors in a dry landscape.
Plate I. Collecting sunstones, Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area. From flickr.com
A parking lot with stone walls in a desert landscape under a clear blue sky.
Plate II. Parking and shade shelters, Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area. From flickr.com
People walking through an arid landscape with sparse shrubs.
Plate III. Visitors collecting sunstones, Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area. From blm.gov
A young boy sifting through gravel in a wooden screen box outdoors.
Plate IV. Sifting for sunstones, Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area. From traveloregon.com
A herd of pronghorn stands on a grassy ridge in a natural landscape.
Plate V. Pronghorn antelope, Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area. From traveloregon.com

Oregon Sunstone Public Collection Area

Plush, Lake County, Oregon. Public collection area.

Details

Map. Plush, Lake County, Oregon. Larger map
Where
Plush, Lake County, OR. No street address stated. Directions
When
8:00am - 4:30pm, M-F (district office).
Getting there
From Plush, take County Road 3-10 north about 10 miles, right on County Road 3-11 for one-half mile, left on BLM Road 6155 for about 8¼ miles, then left on BLM Road 6115.
Fees
No fee for collecting sunstones; collecting for trade or commercial purposes is not allowed.
Access
The BLM map marks the public collection boundary, private or other land, the day-use area, shelter, restrooms, and main access road.
Phone
541-947-6100
Website
blm.gov
Managed by
Lakeview District Office.
Coordinates
42.723365, -119.860742.

The BLM-overseen public collection area is in remote Rabbit Basin in south-central Oregon's high desert.

Notable Events

  1. 1970In 1970 a group of avid collectors discovered that the sunstone-bearing lavas were decomposed beneath the surface soil, yielding larger, better-quality, more colorful sunstones; this led to the staking of several mining claims. d3itl75cn7661p.cloudfront.net
  2. 1987The 1987 Oregon legislature designated Oregon sunstone as the official state gemstone. oregonencyclopedia.org

Sources

  1. blm.gov/visit/sunstone-collection-area
  2. blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2024-07/orwa-rock-collect-guide.pdf
  3. blm.gov/office/lakeview-district-office
  4. flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/26695814999
  5. blm.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/LAK_OregonSunstone_map.pdf
  6. flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/albums/72157676302420661
  7. traveloregon.com/things-to-do/stargazing/sunstone-collection-area
  8. d3itl75cn7661p.cloudfront.net/dogami/og/OBv34n12.pdf
  9. oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_sunstone
  10. opb.org/article/2022/02/23/oregon-sunstones-shimmer-with-mysteries
  11. gia.edu/gems-gemology/fa13-oregon-sunstone-pay