Brush Creek Falls Resort Gem Mine

Onyx

Also found at:

• No other locations listed yet

Opals

Precious opals with brilliant play-of-color. Nevada's Virgin Valley produces spectacular fire opals worth thousands.

Also found at:

• Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine
• Bonanza Opal Mine
• Spencer Opal Mine

Ruby

Red corundum, one of the world's most precious gemstones. North Carolina's Cowee Valley and Franklin area are known US sources for rubies found in public mining operations.

Also found at:

• Gem Mountain
• Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine
• Appalachian Gem and Gold Mine

Sapphires

Montana is the only significant sapphire source in the US. Yogo Gulch and Missouri River sapphires are world-renowned.

Also found at:

• Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine
• Hiddenite Gem Mines
• Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine

Petrified Wood

Ancient wood turned to stone. Arizona's Petrified Forest and Washington's Ginkgo Petrified Forest are world-famous.

Also found at:

• Sucker Creek
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Petrified Forest BLM Area

Fossils

From shark teeth in Florida to dinosaurs in Montana, the US offers world-class fossil hunting for all skill levels.

Also found at:

• Fairy Stone State Park
• Calvert Cliffs State Park
• Flag Ponds Nature Park

Gemstones

Also found at:

• River Bend Mining / Lucky Strike Mine
• Jackpot Mine at Discovery Depot
• Shenandoah Caverns Gemstone Sluice

West Virginia Fossil Beds

Valley Head, West Virginia · Public Land

Road cuts and exposures for Carboniferous plant fossils, marine fossils, and occasional flint/chert specimens.

West Virginia Lithographic Limestone

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia · Public Land

Greenbrier County limestone beds for high-quality lithographic stone and fine fossil specimens.

Greenbrier County Flint Beds

Lewisburg, West Virginia · Public Land

Greenbrier limestone exposures for flint/chert nodules and Mississippian marine fossils. The Greenbrier Valley is rich in geological history.

Harpers Ferry Area Quartz

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia · Public Land

Potomac River and Shenandoah River gravels for quartz pebbles and other rocks. The area's metamorphic geology produces interesting specimens.

Smoke Hole Caverns / Moonshine Mining Company

Cabins, West Virginia · Fee Dig

The premier gemstone panning and mining attraction at Smoke Hole Resort in the mountains of West Virginia. Over 50 different gemstone varieties and 30...

Devil Anse Gem Mine

Matewan, West Virginia · Fee Dig

The first gem mine operation on the Hatfield McCoy ATV trail system. Covered mining facility open rain or shine, 7 days a week. Guarantees gem finds i...