Round Mountain
Arizona
Find: Fire agates, banded red chalcedony, small quartz clusters and nodules possible as well.
GPS:
32.47149, -109.07569 (collecting area)
32.59962, -108.97281 (entrance point)
Nearest city: Phoenix, AZ
Recommended Vehicle: High clearance 4x4, offroad tires helpful.
Season: Winter + Late Fall/Early Spring likely best.
Summary:
Round Mountain is tucked away in the far Eastern portion of Arizona. It is exceptionally remote and takes commitment to access.
In my opinion, the easiest way to access the site is actually from New Mexico. You’ll enter from a gate marked as “Lazy B Ranch” and a long gravel road will cross you back into Arizona. At the end, you will find a loop road with signs designating Round Mountain Rockhounding Area. Looking closely between the entrance point and collecting area on a satellite map will help to see the route. Zoom in closely, as the loop road can be tricky to see from high elevation.
You will find interesting variations in the material based on where you are within the large expanse of land out here. True fire agates with chatoyancy can be found here. Chatoyancy is the flashing effect you see that gives fire agates their iridescent range of colors from deep reds, to flashy greens. I have not come across green flash over 3 days of exploring Round Mountain, but it could certainly be out here.
When looking at the coordinates of the collecting area from a satellite map, you’ll notice a looping route around the area. If you plan to do the full loop, you will want a vehicle with off-road tires, 4x4, and high clearance. It is really chopped up and not maintained throughout the loop. You could probably make it down the main gravel road access in a Subaru Outback or something similar and hike the rest.
Be careful of spiders, snakes, and scorpions when flipping over rocks. You will want to pack extra water - it is remote desert far from services.
3 Helpful Tools
Geology Pick
A geology pick was helpful to overturn and pry out buried stones.
Garden Sprayer
I use a garden sprayer to clean the agate from here at home. You can pressure wash them too individually if they have deep pockets or channels.
Water Bladder
I try to bring 3L of water if I’m in the desert. A water bladder helps in places like this.
This is an example of what the road on the loop looks like. There are many choppy drops into washes like this.
I hiked a good amount of miles out here. Making zig zags to find pieces I liked.
Nice deep reds and clear oranges with some awesome shape underneath.
The sunset really helped spot the chalcedony, especially the red ones.