Home › California › Riverside CountyRockhounding in Riverside County, California Sniff around Riverside County and you’ll be following old miners and prospectors. USGS records 990 named mineral sites here, not counting sand, gravel, crushed stone and clay pits.
Check access before you go. Most sites listed here are old mines, quarries or prospects, and many are on private land or active mining claims. Get the landowner's permission, check the rules of the agency that manages any public land, and never enter mine workings. Locations are approximate.
Sketch map Fletcher Prospect (Occurrence) Temescal Rock Quarry + 4 more nearby (Producer) Jones Deposit + 17 more nearby (Occurrence) Ormand Quarry + 9 more nearby (Producer) Holmes Ranch Deposit + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) South Black Rock Deposit + 12 more nearby (Occurrence) Prospect + 2 more nearby (Producer) Unnamed Uranium Claims + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Silver Shine Claim + 4 more nearby (Prospect) Pit + 4 more nearby (Producer) Pit + 3 more nearby (Producer) Ida-Leona Mine + 39 more nearby (Past Producer) Palisades Group + 33 more nearby (Occurrence) Lee Prospect (Prospect) Nason Street Pit (Producer) Perris Asbestos Deposit + 6 more nearby (Past Producer) Elsinore Manganese Deposits + 20 more nearby (Occurrence) Electric Copper and Gold + 6 more nearby (Occurrence) Eden Hot Springs (Producer) Riverside Portland Cement Company + 14 more nearby (Producer) Pit + 2 more nearby (Producer) Ensley-Spaulding + 3 more nearby (Producer) Temecula Quarry (Past Producer) Highland Springs (Producer) Paymaster Mine (Prospect) Wm Shelton Prospect + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Clark and Losekamp Deposit + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Anita Louise (Occurrence) Blue Boy and Black Mountain Group + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Nichols Magnesite Deposit + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Audrey Lynn + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Rice Claims + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Bonanza (Prospect) Metropolitan Portal Rock Stockpile (Plant) Alert Ranch + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Catherine C. Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Schindler Mine + 11 more nearby (Producer) Pawnee Mine + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) White Water Sericite-Schist Deposit + 8 more nearby (Occurrence) Mineral Canyon Nos. 5-7 + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Columbia Mine + 10 more nearby (Past Producer) Lucky Strike Mine + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Desert Hot Springs + 2 more nearby (Producer) Phoenix Tungsten + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Lucky Strike + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Ribbenwood No. 2 Claim + 13 more nearby (Occurrence) Indian Tungsten Mine + 8 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Deposit + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Deposit + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Magnesium Canyon Tungsten Mine + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Pigeon Creek Tungsten Mine + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Milkyway Claims + 7 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Deposits + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Iron Occurrence (Occurrence) Miller Ranch Tungsten + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Sulphide Bismuth + 6 more nearby (Occurrence) Hidden Gold Mine + 5 more nearby (Past Producer) Unnamed Mine (Prospect) Sunny Day Mine (Prospect) Lost Horse Mine + 10 more nearby (Producer) Hexahedron Mine + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Hope Prospect + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Safranek Property (Occurrence) Box Canyon Mine + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) North Star Group of Mines + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Goldfields of America Mine + 27 more nearby (Occurrence) Eldorado Mine New Eldorado Mine + 14 more nearby (Producer) Ebony Deposit + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Desert View Claim (Prospect) Big-Bullett Manganese Claims + 4 more nearby (Past Producer) Groover Mine (Prospect) U-Thor Deposit + 4 more nearby (Prospect) Lucky Lady Group (Occurrence) Brown Silica Deposit + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Mastodon Mine + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Pinkham + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Palo Verde Group (Occurrence) Los Angeles Mine (Past Producer) Anderson + 53 more nearby (Occurrence) Oro Mega + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Pinon-Dale (Producer) Black Diamond Claim + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Fish Mine + 4 more nearby (Prospect) Orocopia Mine (Prospect) Pilger Estates Hot Springs (Occurrence) Outlaw Mine + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Black Eagle + 15 more nearby (Past Producer) Shooting Star No. 1 Prospect + 3 more nearby (Prospect) Golden Eagle Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Gold Cup Group + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Eagle Mtn Iron Mine + 5 more nearby (Producer) Granite Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Granite Mine + 19 more nearby (Past Producer) Red Cloud + 53 more nearby (Occurrence) Matilda Group + 3 more nearby (Past Producer) Long Hunt Nos. 1 and 2 + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Unnamed Prospect + 7 more nearby (Prospect) Chuckawalla Tungsten Mine + 48 more nearby (Past Producer) Cap Hunter Mine (Past Producer) Unnamed Prospect + 7 more nearby (Prospect) Good Fairy + 7 more nearby (Prospect) Fluor Spar Group + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Homestake + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Doran Manganese Claims + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Iron King and Iron Queen + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Desert Center Claim (Past Producer) Virginia Queen (Occurrence) Agate Occurrrence (Occurrence) Glamis Hot Spring + 1 more nearby (Producer) Black Ace Mine + 1 more nearby (Producer) Silver Joe + 2 more nearby (Prospect) Reported Gemstone Occurence (Occurrence) Brown Mine North + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Randolph and Hamilton + 12 more nearby (Occurrence) Red Ocher + 8 more nearby (Occurrence) St. John + 24 more nearby (Past Producer) Giant Chief + 10 more nearby (Occurrence) Caproni-Woock Groups (Past Producer) Mule Mountain Fire Agage Claims (Past Producer) Langdon Deposit + 9 more nearby (Producer) Unnamed Wollastonite Occurrence + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) North East No. 1 Claim + 2 more nearby (Producer) American Flag Mine + 7 more nearby (Past Producer) Roosevelt and Rainbow Group of Mines + 12 more nearby (Past Producer) Jacklin Mine + 2 more nearby (Prospect) Black Ore Claim + 2 more nearby (Prospect) Neal Group + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Maria Mountain + 15 more nearby (Occurrence) Mountaineer Mine + 42 more nearby (Occurrence) Undetermined Occurrence + 30 more nearby (Occurrence) Black Gold + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Black Warrior + 7 more nearby (Occurrence) Baker Copper Co. + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Nicolite Claim (Occurrence)
134 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 24 site(s) with USGS coordinates outside the outline are not pinned. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.Woof’s favorite find
Black Eagle We picked it because its USGS record mentions 3 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Gold, Silver) and 5 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Lead, Silver. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Gold, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 33.882, -115.553. USGS record .
Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.
Field cards: what kind of sites? 369
Prospect Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.
277
Occurrence The mineral was noted here, without development.
233
Past Producer Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
73
Producer Was producing when the record was made.
36
Unknown Status not recorded.
2
Plant A processing plant site.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards Gold Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
566 sites
Silver Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
161 sites
Copper Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
151 sites
Feldspar Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat
29 sites
Scheelite Mohs 4.5–5. Tungsten mineral that glows blue-white under shortwave UV. Mindat
23 sites
Quartz Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
21 sites
Pyrite Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
12 sites
Garnet Mohs 6.5–7.5. Usually deep red, round many-faced crystals. Mindat
11 sites
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
Minerals recorded here 23 9 9 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 Commodities 524 64 44 42 39 28 26 24 19 16 Sites (first 40) Site Commodity Minerals recorded Status Approx. location Black Eagle Lead, Silver Anglesite, Cuprite, Galena Past Producer 33.882, -115.553 Schindler Mine Gemstone Beryl, Columbite Producer 33.614, -116.791 Fano Mine Gemstone Beryl, Kunzite Occurrence 33.606, -116.786 Temescal Tin Mine Tin Cassiterite Producer 33.848, -117.481 Crescent Copper Group Copper Chalcocite, Cuprite, Malachite Past Producer 33.869, -114.759 Electric Copper and Gold — Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Cuprite, Pyrite, Silver Occurrence 33.625, -117.249 Nancy — Chalcopyrite, Malachite Occurrence 33.878, -115.627 Iron Chief Mine Gold Chalcopyrite, Pyrite Past Producer 33.879, -115.531 Eagle Nest Copper Mine Copper Cuprite, Malachite Occurrence 33.792, -114.915 Eagle Mtn Iron Mine Iron Hematite, Magnetite Producer 33.865, -115.521 Eagle Mountain Mine Iron Hematite, Magnetite Past Producer 33.883, -115.542 Maria Mountain Iron Hematite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.833, -114.667 Unnamed Deposit Iron Ilmenite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.940, -116.276 Unnamed Deposit Iron Ilmenite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.909, -116.363 Unnamed Deposit Iron Ilmenite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.994, -116.378 Unnamed Deposits Iron Ilmenite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.981, -116.330 Unnamed Deposit Iron Ilmenite, Magnetite Occurrence 33.927, -116.363 Palen Mountain Iron Magnetite Occurrence 33.724, -115.101 Lion's Den Copper Claim Copper Malachite Occurrence 33.828, -114.704 Big Horn Group — Malachite Occurrence 33.852, -114.859 Fluor Spar Group — Malachite Occurrence 33.942, -115.096 Anderson — Malachite Occurrence 34.007, -115.728 Mountain King — Malachite, Silver Occurrence 33.815, -114.850 Homestake — Malachite, Silver Occurrence 33.841, -115.077 Langdon Deposit Manganese Manganite, Psilomelane, Pyrolusite Producer 33.842, -114.801 Lucky Strike Gold Marcasite, Pyrite, Silver Occurrence 33.721, -116.557 Fletcher Prospect Molybdenum, Copper Molybdenite Occurrence 33.940, -117.519 Fletcher Claim — Molybdenite, Pyrite Occurrence 35.917, -117.534 Box Canyon Mine Manganese Psilomelane, Pyrolusite Occurrence 33.635, -116.008 Corona Lead-Zinc Lead Pyrite, Sphalerite Past Producer 33.823, -117.578 Brown Silica Deposit Silica Quartz Occurrence 33.766, -115.826 Black Eagle and Newport Manganese Mines Manganese Rhodonite Past Producer 33.721, -116.543 Beal Mc Clellan Property Manganese Rhodonite Producer 33.717, -117.268 Elsinore Manganese Deposits — Rhodonite Occurrence 33.724, -117.258 Pawnee Mine Tungsten Scheelite Past Producer 33.438, -116.710 Garnet Queen Tungsten Mine Tungsten Scheelite Past Producer 33.552, -116.483 Matilda Group Tungsten Scheelite Past Producer 33.529, -115.429 Indian Tungsten Mine — Scheelite Occurrence 33.534, -116.476 Matilda Group Tungsten Scheelite Occurrence 33.552, -115.419 Milkyway Claims — Scheelite Occurrence 33.536, -116.440
Fossil collections The Paleobiology Database lists 199 fossil collection records in Riverside County. These are research records, not public dig sites.
Nearby counties San Diego County · Imperial County · San Bernardino County · Orange County · Los Angeles County
California mineral guides Back to all California counties .
How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.
Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) . USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.
Updated October 2026
RockWoof