Rockhounding map
Orange dots are collecting areas a land manager publishes for rockhounds. Brown dots are mines, prospects and occurrences recorded by the USGS — useful for knowing what turns up where, but not places you may collect. The colored overlay shows who manages the land, which decides the rules.
Land manager colors
- Bureau of Land Management
- US Forest Service
- National Park Service (no collecting)
- US Fish & Wildlife
- Bureau of Indian Affairs (tribal)
- Department of Defense
- State
- Other federal
- No color: private or unknown
Mining claims are not shown. Search BLM's Mineral & Land Records System before you dig.
Rules by state
- Rockhounding in Alaska
- Rockhounding in Arizona
- Rockhounding in Arkansas
- Rockhounding in California
- Rockhounding in Idaho
- Rockhounding in Maine
- Rockhounding in Michigan
- Rockhounding in Montana
- Rockhounding in Nevada
- Rockhounding in New Mexico
- Rockhounding in North Carolina
- Rockhounding in Oregon
- Rockhounding in Utah
- Rockhounding in Washington
- Rockhounding in Wyoming
- Federal rules (BLM, Forest Service, parks)
About the data
Mineral occurrences come from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), filtered to records that name a mineral or rock in our library. USGS stopped systematic updates to MRDS in 2011, so a record reflects its source report, not today's access. Land managers come from BLM's Surface Management Agency map, which shows federal and state surface managers but not land ownership details. The base map is USGS The National Map. Not legal advice: confirm with the land manager before you collect.