Download Fire Agate stock photos. This location is part of the Arizona Mineral Industry Location System (AzMILS), an inventory of mineral occurences, prospects and mine locations in Arizona. Having been ravaged by collectors through the years, it is sparse on lands where collection is open. numerous wildflowers sprout from the hillsides during the with its iridescent appearance, but is much harder and more This is a well labeled site off of highway 260 approximately 12-13 miles east from the town of Payson, AZ. Free shipping for many products! Most importantly, have fun collecting, and feel free to email us about your trip. Delivered right as the newspaper goes to print on Wednesdays. Pinterest. Aguacalientes Fire Agate Rough in Jar with a lot of Potential . Mineral specimens such as bismuth, beryl, and microcline have been found in a number of pegmatite veins. You'll be digging for and collecting Fire Agate in Duncan, Arizona at the Lazy B Ranch. Upon reaching the base of the steep escarpment, Highway 78 continues a downward but more gradual descent of another 1,400 feet in elevation over the next 10 miles to arrive at Three Way, Arizona, at elevation of 3,600 feet. (623-580-5500) Nearest City: Tonopah Elevation: 1214'-1452 Best Time: Fall-Spring This beautiful site is located off of Highway 15 between Barstow and Baker. At Three Way, Highway 78 ends and the journey continues straight ahead on U.S. Highway 191 to once again cross the Gila River and for the next 13 miles passes through a fascinating Sonoran Desert landscape of weathered and dissected volcanic hills, mountainous ridges, mesas, and sharp pinnacles or buttes, almost all of which is public BLM or State of Arizona land. We were fortunate to have one of our previously inventoried Arizona Fire Agates appear in a book on gemstones (in fact, that book contains about 35 gemstones from the All That Glitters inventory, most representing . A rockhound hopes to reach this massive geode 90 feet underground. contains a variety of colors, highlighted by the refraction of Drive Good luck to you at Saddle Mountain. The road is You can park anywhere along here to start scouting for fire nH20) imbedded within, and commonly completely enclosed by, semi-transparent to translucent layers of cryptocrystalline chalcedony. THE FIRE AGATE AND CHALCEDONY OF THE BLACK HILLS ROCKHOUND AREA, Every year during the Summer Monsoon Season intense thunderstorms expose, transport, and deposit new fire agate and chalcedony for collecting as heavy rain runoff rushes down from the higher regions of the Black Hills Rockhound Area to the lowlands below, Looking west from the prominent ridge on north side of fire agate deposit towards the parking area at Black Hills Rockhound area in center of photo, 2 miles in from US Highway 191. Are some areas better to look than others? Or will a further away location be better? Geodes begin when a hollowed rock forms. Where To Find Gold in Arizona (5 Must Try Places), Where To Find Dinosaur Fossils and Footprints in Arizona, The Uncle Sam Diamond: Unveiled After 40 Years (The Story Behind This Record Setting Diamond), One-of-a-Kind Discovery: Unusual Diamond Found with Another Diamond Inside, Ancient Amethyst Ring May Have Served as Hangover Prevention, Man Discovers 794-Pound Emerald Worth $300 Million, Rare Discovery Reveals Insect Trapped in Opal! Massive cliffs and large broken blocks of andesite flow rock and rhyolite welded tuff bedrock comprise the tops of a low ridge lying about a half mile to the north of the designated parking area in the center of the Black Hills Fire Agate area. Mesa, Arizona. A top-notch area in Arizona to gather rocks and minerals is near Congress Junction. The most representative specimens contain deep iridescence of reds and browns, hence its fiery name. I was just there and picked up a bucket full. This location has been written about in rock & mineral magazine and there are multiple YouTube videos showing ordinary rockhounds collecting beautiful Fire Agate nodules. Mark K. A containment date of July 12 was given on July 10. They can be found in many places throughout the state. New Mexico), turn right onto a dirt road, which is just before a Anyone can contact or email him on the site, for assistance and booking, as he manages the Web Site. Looking southwest across High Sonoran Desert from the overlook on State Road 78, 5.6 miles into Arizona from the New Mexico-Arizona border. This beautiful mineral is very collectable and a prize for any serious hunter. Its name 'Fire' comes from its chalcedony. The first time I went to Saddle, I was on the phone with Dianne and Sheri while they gave me directions. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Fire Agate-rough-SE Arizona(1) at the best online prices at eBay! Nice Rare Specimen of high grade Arizona fire agate, with sweet colors showing. This puts you onto a It is estimated that the San Carlos Indian Reservation supplies 80%-90% of the world supply that is mined only by San Carlos Tribal members. These gemstones can be found in only a few locations worldwide, which makes them special to every gem collector. Mineral specimens such as Fluorite, Agate, Garnet, and Jasper can be found in excellent condition. junction 10 miles from Safford; this is the road to Morenci. If you're not, be sure to consider and take The gemstone was formed by fairly recent volcanic activity. respect nearby private property rights. Open the stone with a hammer and chisel if your sample is not already broken open. S of Apache Nat. Mexico: Fire agate, lace agate, banded agate. Round Mountain Rockhound Area is a prime collecting spot for fire agates, an uncommon semi-precious gem found only in Mexico, California and Arizona. var today = new Date() In Mexico, you can find both fire agates and Laguna agates. Fires Legend. Click the image for driving directions and a KML file. On July 11, the fire wasactive in the head of Squaw Creek and above the Verde River. The site is open to casual collection of a reasonable number of specimens for personal use. experience and understanding of the quarry counts! The rough outside of agate will block all light, so you'll have to get it open in order to test the transparency. In most cases the overall volume percentage of chalcedony and fire agate that forms within the flow rock is extremely small much less than 1%, although examination of the vertical sequence of the Black Hill andesite deposits does show that certain layers or levels do contain more void space and hence higher concentrations of chalcedony and fire agate than others. Fire Agate is a type of brown agate with iridescent layers inside of a clear to chalcedony. In this video, I'll take you to a spot slightly south of Saddle Mountain, just off of a main dirt road replete with millions of pieces of Fire Agate, and provide the location and coordinates to get you there. You have permission to edit this article. I know that there is supposedly fire agate around Burro Creek and this store looks worth dropping in on . Fluorite, Malachite, and Other Gemstones in Tucson, Arizona. A MODICUM OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR AND RECOVERY OF THE RECLUSIVE AND ELUSIVE FIRE AGATE AND CHALCEDONY OF THE BLACK HILLS ROCKHOUND AREA, Close up of pyroclastic rhyolite ash fall welded tuff bedrock forming massive resistant cliffs at east end of ridge north of parking area. These are rounded black pebbles that are less than a few inches across. Make sure youre a good steward of the property. Eastern Arizona Courier 301 E Highway 70, Suite A, Safford, AZ 85546 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | The EASTERN ARIZONA COURIER is owned by Wick Communications. It has a hardness of 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Mineral diversity is much greater here than in other parts of the state. Doug Barlow said the bigger rocks are popular among those who like to whittle. The stones are plentifully found on the surface of the ground at The flat desert floor has some exceptional specimens of fire agate and nice petrified wood specimens. This list does not include prescribed burns. fees or permits required. The Cave Creek region, merely northeast of Phoenix, does have some of the finest rockhounding youll encounter in a limited region in Arizona. You dont see banding as you find in a typical Agate. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. other side. Graham297 is located in T9S R20E Sec 12 N2 in the Kennedy Peak - 7.5 Min quad. Here, on the lower slopes well below the ridge east of the parking lot an abundance of Prickly Pear Cactus indicates the presence of an increased percentage of fine sediment and mineral soil plus accompanying retention of ground moisture. 575-535-4455 info@casitasdegila.com Southwestern Guesthouses on 265 Acres near Silver City, New Mexico overlooking Bear Creek and the Gila Wilderness Active Fire (<1000 acres) . Click here to remove banner ads from this forum. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. Overall,rockhounding near Phoenix, Arizona, is a big deal because the availability of locations and actual gems is mind-blowing. Since the clay and finest rock particles are selectively carried furthest away by the periodic flash flood runoff from the source bedrock upslope, a concentration or lag deposit of the larger rock fragments and, of most interest to rockhounds, the physically and chemically inert pieces of chalcedony and fire agate, accumulates over the ground surface following each successive flash flood coming off the surrounding the uplands. Translation of BLM wordage: the big pieces have already been picked up by somebody else before you got here. But dont be put off: there are still tons of collectable material out there somewhere! We are thrilled that you found our website and are planning a rockhounding trip near you. . Subscribe to azcentral.com today. You'll spend most of your time picking up Agates right off the . The 7 year old we were with found the best piece!!! Rockhounding Reports, Locations, Trips and Shows, forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/57708/surface-collecting-west-phoenix. fire agates, an uncommon semi-precious gem found only in Mexico, The Black Hills Rockhound Area is located in Arizona, 50 miles west of Casitas de Gila Guesthouses, just off US Highway 191, about 13 miles west of the crossroads community of Three Way and 19 miles east of Safford, Arizona. Best fire agate location in CA is in Christopher's back yard!!!! "According to Warren Jones, fire agate was discovered in Arizona in 1939," say Si and Ann Frazier, Lapidary Journal Foreign Correspondents. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. There is a sign near milepost 141 on Highway 191 marking the graded dirt road to the site. 2 were here. The fire agate and chalcedony of the Southern New MexicoArizona border area is formed when low pressure and low temperature epithermal hydrothermal waters (50-200C / 122-392F) carrying colloidal SiO2 and iron oxides are injected into cavities in volcanic rocks such as gas bubbles in flow rocks, irregular-shaped vug fillings, or along fault or bedding plane fractures. From Phoenix take I-10 west towards Tonopah. None other than the state gemstone of Arizona, turquoise is an iconic stone and color of southwest folklore. camping sites. Though fire agate can be found at a few locations across the state, the Round Montain Rockhound Area on BLM land near the towns of Safford and Duncan is your best avenue for collection. These are pieces of white chalcedony that also become concentrated on the lower slopes through the breakdown of the andesite bedrock. 2. To crack a bit of stone, place it on a solid, stable surface. A rockhound will want to pack a variety of tools for this trip. Fire agate is a vitreous and waxy Silicon dioxide crystal with traces of iron. Garnet, Quartz, Calcite, Mica, Feldspar, Jasper, Tourmaline, and agate are among the rocks and minerals found. Invalid password or account does not exist. "It wont take much to get ignition source going and get that fired up and spread across the landscape," Department of Forestry Fire ManagementOfficer John Truett said in March. For over 50 years, people from all over have been coming to Saddle Mountain in search of Fire Agate. 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