Graveyard Point
Oregon
Find: Seam/plume agates, chalcedony, botryoidal chalcedony
GPS: 43.562410, -117.054040
Nearest city: Boise, ID
Recommended Vehicle: 4x4
Season: Accessible year-round, Winter likely to have snow and very cold temperatures. Summer is hot and dry.
Summary:
Graveyard Point is a famed location when talking about rockhounding spots in general. Collection here has spanned many decades and there have been lots of claims throughout the area over time.
Agate is what you’ll be looking for here - plume agates to be more specific. It has branches of coloration that look almost like roots of a plant headed towards the center of the agate. The plume agate takes a good polish and that’s where color will be very noticeable. If you’re curious how the plume agate will look polished, try spraying it with water to get a better idea of the color.
Please be courteous of both private land and private claims in the area. Keep an eye out for claim markers which will designate the corners of a mineral claim.
Video
Check out the video for a better look at what can be found when exploring this spot.
3 Helpful Tools
Geology Pick
A geology pick is helpful for prying out stones that are buried in the soil and sagebrush here.
D-Handle Shovel
I had plenty of fun just surface collecting here, but if you’d like to dig instead, a short D-Handle shovel like this should work well.
Hiking Backpack
I walked a lot at this location and a hiking backpack for food and water was helpful.
This is the best closeup I have of Graveyard Point plume agate.
There is also botryoidal chalcedony here.
This piece had a texture almost like sea glass.
Here is a large chunk of agate. I have since cut a couple of these on a lapidary saw.
A piece of agate buried in the dirt.
Some beautiful twists and turns!
AWD was great to have here. The roads were chopped up when I visited in 2022.