http://www.cgmage.com/designerjewelrycreations.com/arizona-turquoise/
Gold prospecting Arizona?
Does anyone know of areas in Arizona to free prospect for gold? Also looking for areas to rock hunt, turquoise, petrafied wood, silver, etc…
Generally speaking, you can collect rocks and minerals as an individual collector (as opposed to a large scale commercial operation) without any special permits on most BLM and National Forest lands. National Parks and Monuments generally prohibit this. You can also prospect and collect on private land, but you need to have the owner’s permission first.
Contrary to what the poster above says, there is nothing special about petrified wood and you can collect it legally on any public land that generally allows mineral collection or prospecting (ie: most BLM and National Forest land). They are probably thinking of the very strict and highly publicized rules against taking any pieces of petrified wood at the Petrified Forest National Park in NE Arizona where years of theft have significantly damaged the park, but being a National Park you are not supposed to take any rocks there anyway.
As for gold, while you can prospect on most state land, BLM land and National Forest land, you DO have be careful that the area you are looking for gold on has not been claimed by another prospector (much of the land around any place in Arizona that has a history of gold will be covered with claims – even though most of them do not actually have economic amounts).
Of course, your bigger/real question, is WHERE to find gold and minerals in Arizona. Here are some suggestions for gold:
Lynx Lake near Prescott – The National Forest has actually set aside a strip of steambed for recreational prospectors to pan for gold (this was a major gold area in the 1860s and 70).
Bradshaw Mountains – There are many small gold deposits (and old mine ruins) in the Bradshaw Mountains in the area around Crown King and lower down at Cleator (see above warning about claims).
Patagonia Mountains (SE of Tucson) – Many of the streams in this area contain small amounts of gold and you are less likely to run into claims.
Greaterville/Kentucky Camp area of Santa Rita Mtns – Still quite a bit of free gold in the dry washes around here, many claims around Greaterville.
Quartzite – This has become a very popular place to look for gold with metal detectors and dry washers.
Note that even in an area with gold, you still need to know what you are doing (ie: know how to pan for gold or run a dry washer and know how to read the ground for the best places). I highly recommend the booklet “Gold Placers and Placering in Arizona” by Eldred Wilson of the Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology (Bulletin 168). It not only identifies the places where placer gold was found in Arizona, but also explains various techniques for prospecting and panning (‘placer gold’ by the way, refers to free gold found in streambeds as opposed to ‘load’ gold which must be mined out of rock).
You may want to consider contacting (or joining) one of the recreational gold prospecting groups in the southwest (such as the Roadrunners) – they could give you pointers and clubs own claims in good areas that can be used by members (see link below).
For most other minerals (tourquoise, agate, quartz minerals), you best bet is to check around areas where there are old mines associated with the minerals you are interested in.
The area on the south end of the Dragoon Mtns (east of Tombstone) had many old copper mines that were famous for turquoise around the ghost towns of Gleason and Courtland.
I have found some nice pieces of chalcedony (a non-crystal quartz mineral similar to agate) on the flat plain above the San Pedro river east of San Manuel. A variety of copper minerals can be found around the old mines along Copper Creek to the east in the Galiuro Mtns.
Nice pieces of black obsidian (ie: Apache Tears) can be found on either side of US60 just west of Superior.
Petrified wood can sometimes be collected from private ranch land surrounding the Petrified Forest National Park and also on a few small patches of open BLM land. The Dobell Ranch south of the park used to allow collecting for a fee. There are also a few areas of public BLM land near Woodruff and Joseph City that allow collecting.
With all of the above areas (and especially those around the National Parks) you MUST make sure you know the ownership and status of the land you are on before doing any collecting (or else you may find yourself getting arrested, shot at, or worse).
The above are some of the better spots that come to mind for the minerals that you mentioned, but there are many others (Arizona is a major mining and semi-precious gemstone state). See below for additional resources.
Turquoise Buffalo Indian Jewelry Sedona, Arizona
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DESIGNER JEWELRY ARIZONA TURQUOISE NECKLACE 24K HAMMERED GOLD & SILVER BY OMER $5,600.00 |
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Beautiful Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Belt Retail $6,699.99 $2,883.00 |
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THE VERY BEST!!!! Navajo Made Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Belt $2,800.00 |
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Vintage Masterpiece!! Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace $2,795.00 |
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Genuine Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Concha Belt $2,782.00 |
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1000 Karat Kingman Arizona Turquoise Sterling Bolo Tie Belt Buckle Set $2,744.00 |
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Arizona TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN Turquoise Sterling Silver Bracelet by Mike Thompson $2,700.00 |
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5 PC Bisbee Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace, Bracelet, Ring, Earrings $2,695.00 |
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Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Mercury Dime Saddle Set $2,632.00 |
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Sterling .925 Silver Natural Arizona Turquoise Bolo Tie Badger Vintage antique $2,599.00 |
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Amazing Arizona Mined Turquoise Concho Belt Retail Price: $4,999.99 $2,517.00 |
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Vintage 1974 Old Pawn Sterling Silver Arizona Turquoise Squash Blossom Necklace $2,450.00 |
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Native American SSilver Arizona Turquoise Native Symbols Leather Concho Belt $2,429.00 |
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Vintage Old Pawn Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Concho Belt by Victor Begay $2,340.00 |
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Vintage 1970′s Old Pawn Sterling Silver Arizona Turquoise Petit Point Necklace $2,250.00 |
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Genuine Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Cluster Sterling Silver Concho Belt $2,250.00 |
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Fantastic! Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace & Earrings $2,195.00 |
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Bisbee Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Bracelet, Necklace Retail: $4,499.99 $2,190.00 |
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Amazing Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Belt $1,985.00 |
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ON SALE!!! Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Cluster VJ Begay Concho Belt $1,900.00 |
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Beautiful Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Navajo Made Concho Belt $1,878.00 |
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Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver 5 PC Necklace Bracelet Set $1,874.00 |
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L.W. Hardy Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace 5 PC Set $1,870.00 |
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Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Belt Retail $2,999.99 $1,800.00 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Concho Belt Retail Price: $3,699.99 $1,773.00 |
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ON SALE!!! Vintage 60′s Old Pawn Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Concho Belt $1,765.00 |
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Beautiful Arizona Mined Turquoise Old Pawn Style Concha Concho Belt $1,750.00 |
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Navajo Southwestern Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Silver Concho Leather Belt $1,749.00 |
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Old Pawn Style Arizona Mined Turquoise Concho Belt Retail Price: $3,299.99 $1,720.00 |
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Old Pawn Style Arizona Turquoise & Coral Sterling Silver Necklace Retail $3,299 $1,667.00 |
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Kingman Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Belt Buckle & Bolo Tie by Tom Ahasteen $1,640.00 |
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Beautiful Bisbee Arizona Turquoise Navajo Made Concho Belt $1,578.00 |
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Arizona Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace & Earrings Set $1,573.00 |
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Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Old Pawn Style Concho Belt $1,540.00 |
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Sterling Double Link Concho Belt w/ Arizona Turquoise $1,500.00 |
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Inlaid Kingman Arizona Turquoise Steer Skull Wall Mount, Approx. 16″ X 17″ $1999 $1,450.00 |
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Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Squash Blossom Necklace Retail: $2,700 $1,434.00 |
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ON SALE!!! Vintage 70′s Old Pawn 22″ Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace $1,310.00 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Turquoise & Coral Replica Linx Claw Necklace $1,277.00 |
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Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Navajo Pueblo Village Design Belt Buckle $1,270.00 |
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Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Navajo Mesa & Kachina Design Belt Buckle $1,250.00 |
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ON SALE!!! Arizona Turquoise Sterling Silver Necklace Retail Price: $1,902.00 $1,214.00 |
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OMER 24K SOLID YELLOW GOLD ARIZONA TURQUOISE PENDANT W/PINK TOURMALINE (22K) $1,200.00 |
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Sterling Silver Top Grade Arizona Mined Turquoise Necklace $1,183.00 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Symbols Bracelet Retail: $1,734.00 $1,178.00 |
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Natural 45ct Turquoise Arizona 9k 9ct Solid Yellow Gold Strand String Necklaces $1,073.71 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Watch Bracelet Retail $1979.00 $1,083.00 |
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Large H-L Zunie Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Ranger Belt Buckle Set $1,082.00 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Needlepoint Turquoise Necklace & Earring Set $1,064.00 |
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**ON SALE** Vintage Old Pawn 1960′s Sterling Silver Arizona Turquoise Bolo Tie $1,050.00 |
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Arizona Turquoise & Coral Sterling Silver Buckle & Bolo Tie Set by Bobby Shack $1,044.00 |
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Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Old Pawn Style Necklace Retail $1,900 $1,042.00 |
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Natural 45ct Turquoise Arizona 9k 9ct Solid Yellow Gold Strand String Necklaces $1,009.31 |
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SLEEPING BEAUTY TURQUOISE (Arizona)JEWELRY SET-G-210 $975.00 |
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Vintage Arizona Turquoise Thick Cut Sterling Silver Bracelet Signed W $972.00 |
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UNIQUE ARIZONA TURQUOISE NECKLACE 24K YELLOW GOLD OVER STERLING SILVER 925K $950.00 |
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Alex Sanchez Arizona Mined Turquoise Sterling Silver Symbols Bracelet $945.00 |
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XL Sterling Silver Eagle Arizona Mined Turquoise Bracelet Retail Price: $1,749. $942.00 |
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Sterling Silver Arizona Mined Turquoise Replica Resin Created Bear Claw Necklace $933.00 |
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Arizona Mined Turquoise Coral Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet by Navajo McCartney $933.00 |
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Susen Foster Silverplated Sonoran Summer Turquoise and Coral Necklace $50.99 This necklace boldly combines white turquoise ovals, raw slices of natural blue green Arizona turquoise, rope chain spacers, and large chunks of red reef coral. A perfect addition to any jewelry collection, this necklace closes with a toggle clasp. |