For rockhounds, the park is an incredible place to explore and collect limited quantities of stones.Īlthough you can pan for gold and collect specific kinds of rocks and minerals, you’re prohibiting from removing fossils, gemstones, silver, or platinum.īecause of the vast accumulation of glaciers and volcanic sites, Wrangell St. Elias, allows limited collections of rocks and minerals. The largest national park in the United States, Wrangell St. You’re only allowed to use a pan and trough to search for gold, and you’re prohibited from selling any gold you collect.ĭevices such as metal detectors and scuba gear are not allowed for gold panning. Gold panning is a popular attraction at the park, but there are restrictions. There are plenty of private sites that charge a small fee for gold panning, but if you want to find gold at a National Park, Whiskeytown is the place to go. Whiskeytown, California, is the only area of the National Parks system (in the contiguous United States) that allows gold panning. Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area However, individual rockhounds are limited to two locations in the United States if they want to collect rocks on federal land. On rare occasions, private companies with legitimate claims can extract large amounts of material for commercial use. You cannot remove rocks in the National Parks without risking a hefty penalty and criminal charges.įor people that have mineral claims to a section of federal land, the government conducts an environmental study before allowing the removal of any rocks or artifacts. Nearly all rockhounding and gold panning are prohibited in the National Parks System. The following list displays locations you can visit for your next rockhounding trip. For instance, if you’re hoping to find opal or quartz rocks, you can search (with the appropriate permission) near areas where the stone is collected for commercial uses.įor a small fee, you can purchase a geological map for your state that displays the best areas to search for rocks and artifacts. Knowing what valuable materials are nearby will help you narrow down your search. Without researching your state’s mineral, gem, and precious metal sites, you may have trouble deciding the best location to search. If you want to discover valuable rocks, you can find a lot of helpful information from your state’s geological survey. How Does the Location Affect the Search for Valuable Rocks? If you are interested in checking out the best books about rocks and minerals identification you can find them by clicking here (Amazon link).
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