Rockhounding and fossil sites in Utah
Rockhounding and fossil sites in Utah, each compiled from its own sources: what you can collect, how much, and the agency rule. No ratings; every entry carries its status.
Point at a dot to see the place.Tap a dot to see the place. Road map of Utah.
- Black Spring obsidian collectingBlack Rock Desert · Obsidian collecting areaApproximately 2.5 million years ago (late Tertiary Period), volcanic eruptions in the Black Spring area of the Black Rock Desert in western Utah spewed out the volcanic rocks rhyolite, pumice, and obsidian. Obsidian is a dark-colored volcanic glass formed when molten lava cools quickly. It is usually black but colored varieties range from brown to red. Snowflake obsidian, a black obsidian with whitish-gray spots (spherulites) of radiating needle-shaped cristobalite (high-temperature quartz) crystals, is also found in the Black Rock Desert.
- Crystal Peak quartz collectingDelta · Rockhounding siteIn the Crystal Peak area you can find very small white quartz crystals.
- Dugway Geode BedsRockhounding hotspotA geode bed on federal land in the north end of Juab County, Utah, where anyone may dig quartz-lined volcanic bubbles out of soft gray ground, free and without a permit.
- Fossil MountainDelta · Peak on the south end of the confusion rangeFossil Mountain is a 6,729-foot peak about 50 miles southwest of Delta, Utah, where collectors pick Ordovician trilobites and brachiopods from the surface of its slopes and washes.
- Rock Corral Recreation Area smoky quartzMilford · Day use recreation areaThe Rock Corral Recreation Area is day use recreation area located 10 miles east of Milford on the west slope of the Mineral Mountains. Nestled at the head of Corral Canyon, the site is one of the most scenic in the Cedar City Field Office. With its location being off major travel routes, the area is truly a hidden gem among Utah Public Lands. It includes a day use area offering spectacular views, rest rooms, sheltered tables, fire pits, and parking.
- Sunstone KnollDelta · Knoll formed of volcanic vents (early pleistocene eruptions)Sunstone is a transparent, yellowish labradorite (a plagioclase feldspar mineral) found as crystals in these volcanic rocks and on the flats surrounding the knoll.
- Topaz Mountain Rockhound Recreation AreaDelta · Rockhound recreation areaSome of the most productive and diverse rockhound areas in the west; visitors can collect a variety of topaz and crystals, with trilobite beds at Antelope Springs and geode beds near Dugway nearby.
Rockhounding in all eleven states; next door in Wyoming and Nevada.