MINES AND MINERAL �EGON WELCOMES rock hunters to ROCKHOUND . R,ULES 1ate State.... Oregon is a collector's paradise, but !lectors of every age enjoy the thrill of even in a paradise it is wise to follow a few 9ring a flawless gem or a rare fossil, and simple rules ...certainly they will tend to n is the place·w find them. assure the best possible success. me on out and try your luck in one or he state's many rich deposits. wever, dori'-t be disappointed if you fail I. Select several sites within a ike it rich " 6n your first outing ...it took fairly small area to avoid spreading idents of Canyon City, in central Ore­ valuable collecting time too thin ... ) years to discover they had paved their become informed on the material with gold-bearing gravel! available and its exact location. 2. Don't hesitate to ask local col­ lectors for information about se­ lected sites ... check with rockhound clubs wherever they are found. 3. Bring along the proper tools and equipment-including boots and sturdy clothing-for field work ... depending on the material sought, you may find use for a rockhammer, shovel, prybar, sledge and chisel, or light pick mattock. 4. Make special preparations for seasonal weather conditions-can­ teens, caps and sunglasses for the desert, warm jackets for the moun­ tains, etc. 5. Obtain perm1s s1on of land owners before entering private property ... don't leave campsite debris scattered about and BE CAREFUL WITH FIRE. 6. Take care in entering aban­ doned mine shafts-you enter at your own risk. 7. Don't throw rocks from cliffs and endanger persons who might be below ... use proper care in handling tools. 8. Take only the material you will use and leave the rest for other col­ lectors. Published by TRAVEL INFORMATION SECTION OREGON STATE HIGHWAY DIVISION SALEM, OREGON OREGON'S MINERALS ... CLUBS, SOCIETIES & SPECIAL INFORMATION The state's metallic mineral wealth may Listed below are some members of the Northwest Federation of be Mineralogical Societies. The members welcome inquiries from out­ measured-at least in terms of collecting­ of-state collectors. For tips contact any of the listed clubs, or the by both the abundance and diversity of avail­ local Chamber of Commerce. able types. Topping the list are gold, silver, e Agate Beach Society, e Newport Agate Society, copper, lead, zinc, mercury and iron. In addi­ Agate Beach, Oregon Newport, Oregon e Albany Rock Gem Club, • North Lincoln Agate tion, the only nickel mine in the United States Albany, Oregon& Society, Oceanlake, Oregon e North Marion Gem Mineral operates in southwestern Oregon. Commercial e Blue Mountain Gem Club, & La Grande, Oregon Society, Woodburn, Oregon grade uranium ore was discovered in south­ Oregon Agate Mineral e Clackamette Mineral Gem • Society, Portland,& Oregon central Oregon in 1955 and is known to exist Society, Oregon City,& Oregon e Oregon Trail Gem Mineral Columbia Gorge Rockhounds, in other parts of the state. The list of metals e Society, Pendleton, &Oregon Corbett, Oregon Philomath Rock Mineral includes tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, anti­ Columbia • Rock Gem Club, Club, Philomath,& Oregon mony and chromium. • St. Helens, Oregon& • Polk County Rockhound e Coos County Mineral Gem Society, Monmouth, Oregon & GEMS ... Club, North Bend, Oregon e Portland Earth Science _ORING OREGON'S GEOLOGIC PAST • Coquille Valley Gem Organization, Portland, Oregon Oregon is famous for its semi-precious Mineral Club, Coquille,& Oregon e Prineville Mineral Society, gems. Agates, petrified wood, jaspers, opals e Corvallis Rock Gem Club, Prineville, Oregon OREGON ABOUNDS with geologic & and thunder eggs are found in quantity in Corvallis, Oregon e Rockamites, Forest Grove, jers, rangirtg in size from the towering e Deschutes Geology Club, Oregon ·-capped peaks of the Cascade Range to many areas of the state. Also to be found in Bend, Oregon e Rogue Gem Geology Club, ' Grants Pass, &Oregon gem quality are hematite, garnet, sunstone, e Eugene Mineral Club ' fossilized seeds and plant spores of the Eugene Oregon e Roxy Ann Gem Mineral · Club, Medford, &Oregon no deposit. These features form a visible malachite and azurite, rhodonite, chrysocolla, Far W;st Lapidary Gem e & South Douglas Gem obsidian and rock crystal. Native gold Soc1ety, • C oos B ay, regon . between the present day and a history and e M"lnera S· lc" (t ' & eFir Oak Mineralogists,0 h ca yonI te, Iregon spans 400 million years. cinnabar, when found in matrices suitable for Oakridge, Oregon � �' Spnng f1e ld Roc k Clu b , polishing, are used as gem stones. Oregon's e Hat �ock Gem Club, • Springfield, Oregon THE OLDESTROCKS found on the sur­ Herm1ston, Oregon annual gem production is estimated at e The Stonecrafters, are the schists of southwestern Oregon e High Desert Gem Mineral Enterprise, Oregon $1 ,000,000. & Society, Bend, Oregon Sweet Home Rock Mineral the limestone formations of central Ore­ e Hood River Valley e & FOSSILS ... Agate Society, Sweet Home, Oregon Among the newest are the scattered Club, Hood River, Oregon e Stinkingwater Rock Relic e Illinois Valley Mineral Club, Burns, Oregon& �r cones and lava flows of recent volcanic \ Prolific fossil beds are located in many & Hobbies Club, e Sundowners Rock Mineral, 'aval ... one eruption occured no more sections of the state. Of special interest are Cave Junction, Oregon Boring, Oregon & 250 years ago-a "fraction of a second" the John Day beds, first explored by Dr. eJohn Day Basin Gem Mineral e Tek Rock Club, Society, John Day, Oregon& Portland, Oregon �ologic time. Thomas Condon, the "Father of Oregon eJuniper Rock Club lncor- e Tillamook Rockhounds, Geology." Fossils of plants and animals which porated, Redmond, Oregon Tillamook, Oregon OREGON'S CLIMATE has ranged be­ e Klamath Mineral Club, e Trails End Gem Mineral existed 30 to 40 million years ago are taken Klamath Falls, Oregon Club, Astoria, Oregon& ,n glacial and semi-tropical, and as a result Lebanon Geological Society, from these beds. Clarno formation fossils, in­ • e Treasure Valley Rock �ossilized remains of such dissimilar crea­ Lebanon, Oregon Gem Club, Nyssa, Oregon& cluding many varieties of nuts and semi-tropi­ e Madras Gem Mineral e Tualatin Valley Gem Club, as the wooly mastodon and the crocodile & . cal plants, have become world famous. Marine Society, Madras, Oregnn Forest Grove, Oregon be found today. e Mineral Minors e Tyee Mineralites, beds in western Oregon contain an abundance Salem, Oregon The Dalles, Oregon SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMS are found in of fossil sea shells and occasional shark teeth e Morrow·County Gem Mineral e Umpqua Mineral Club, Society, Heppner, Oregon& Roseburg, Oregon y section of the state, from the beaches and whale bones. Mollusks and rare specimens e Mt. Emily Gem Mineral e Vernonia Gem Fossil Club, 1e eastern border ... Oregon gems are of marine reptiles occur in Oregon's rocks of Club, Brookings, &Oregon Vernonia, Oregon& eMt. Hood Rock Club, e West Lane Rock Mineral ,less", in that they are found among the the Mesozoic era (I 00 to 200 million years Gresham, Oregon Society, Veneta, Oregon& ; of many geologic periods. ago). e Newberg Gem Mineral e Willamette Agate Mineral Society, Newberg,& Oregon Society, Salem, Oregon& MINERALS, FOSSILS 0 Agates Opals & b -banded Petrified wood c -carnelian � � Quartz crystals - I IriS m -moss 0 Thunder eggs p -plume ¢3 Plant fossils s -sagenitic = Animal fossils Jaspers • � 1\.�arine fossils C Obsidian ® Garnet, Oregon "jade" 0 Metal minerals, ores � A -antimony � AI -aluminum � c -copper Cb -cobalt Ch -chromium G -gold I -1ron L -lead M -mercury Md -molybdenum N -nickel s -silver T -tungsten u -uran1um z - ZinC 0 AND WHERE TO FIND THEM ... similar to the "wonderstone" of Utah-in thunder eggs 0 SOUTHERN OREGON BEACHES-Gem quality provides easy access to the creek bed ... the Medford ...directions may be obtained at the Prineville Chamber agate, jasper, petrified wood, serpentine, Oregon "jade" Chamber of Commerce has a listing of other locations. of Commerce. Bl (grossularite garnet) ... Merchant's Beach and Whiskey D GREEN SPRINGS MOUNTAIN-Banded blue­ GLASS BUTTES-Obsidian ...this site is found grey agate, crystal-lined geodes ...best locations are on on Highway between Bend and Burns ... black, Run produce agatized myrtle and other woods, blue and 20 Highway about nine miles east of Ashland ... nodules variegated and silver sheen volcanic glass is found just white banded agates, flower jaspers: located off Seven 66 are found in place in a basalt seam exposed by a highway short of mile post south of the highway ...red and Devils Road, between Bandon and Charleston ...Oregon 79, "jade" and serpentine are found in the gravel bars of cut, on the left side of the road going uphill ...various gold sheen material in great abundance may be located cuts near Ashland contain fossil shells of Cretaceous by continuing east to mile post turning south toward the Rogue and Illinois rivers, and on the beaches near road 81, Gold Beach ... Eocene marine fossils are found in the marine life. cinnabar mine and driving two to three miles on the right­ sea cliffs at Cape Arago State Park, near Coos Bay ... IJI CLACKAMAS RIVER-Cinnabar, petrified wood, hand fork of the road ... prized rainbow and double Pliocene-Pleistocene fossils are found in the cliffs south of jaspers ...the river bed above Estacada produces gem flow1mJ obsidians also are found. the Cape Blanco lighthouse, near Port Orford. quality cinnabar, a variety of petrified woods and dark LAKEVIEW-Thunder eggs, agate, jasper, nod­ 0 CENTRAL OREGON BEACHES-Quality agate, green bloodstone, often associated with common opal ules, agatized wood ... Bullard Canyon and parallel jasper, Oregon "jade", petrified wood ...beach at .. -....9.9od to fair roads parallel the river for many miles.