Wiley Well District Geode Beds
Blythe, Riverside County, California. Geode Beds.
Details
- Where
- Blythe, Riverside County, CA. No street address stated. Directions
- Getting there
- Take I-10 (eastbound from Palm Springs; westbound from Blythe) to the Wiley's Well Road (Exit 222) and head south for 3 miles; the paved road ends here and turns right to two state prisons, Chuckwalla Valley and Ironwood. Continue south on Wiley's Well Road, the graded dirt road to the left.
- Access
- Easy 4-wheel-drive access from Wiley's Well Campground to the Hauser Geode Beds and Opal Hill Fire Agate Mine; the Bradshaw Trail National Scenic Byway reaches gem and mineral collection sites. Camping permits: long term $180 or short visit $40.
- Phone
- 760-337-4400
- Website
- blm.gov
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office.
- Coordinates
- 33.4935, -114.8881.
Beautiful desert country of the Little Chuckawalla, Mule, and Palo Verde Mountains and the Black Hills; rich in history from gold rush days to General Patton's tank training during World War II; contains ancient fossils and artifacts from early Native Americans, pioneers, conquistadors, ranchers, and military troops.
Notable Events
- 1876A stagecoach company that frequented the nearby Bradshaw Trail dug the original shallow well. en.wikipedia.org
- 1907Palo Verde storekeeper and postmaster A.P. Wiley deepened the shallow 1876 stagecoach well in 1907, hoping to attract business to his remote desert store. en.wikipedia.org
- 1930sWiley's Well became a popular rockhounding site beginning in the 1930s with the discovery of geode beds. en.wikipedia.org
- 1985The Bureau of Land Management drilled a new well 965 feet deep to support the new Wiley's Well Campground, one of two developed campgrounds in the Mule Mountains Long-Term Visitor Area. en.wikipedia.org
- 1985The Wiley Well marker was erected by Billy Holcomb Chapter E.C.V. and Erin Port, Palo Verde Historical Society. hmdb.org
People
- A.P. Wiley, Palo Verde storekeeper and postmaster; deepened the well in 1907 and gave it his name (1907).