Home › California › Tulare CountyRockhounding in Tulare County, California Sniff around Tulare County and you’ll be following old miners and prospectors. USGS records 396 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 Hill Top + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Dinuba Magnesite Co. (Past Producer) Dickey + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Drum Valley (Unknown) Barton (Prospect) Venice Hills + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Bill Waley Indian Allotment + 5 more nearby (Past Producer) Divine No. 1 and No. 2 + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Thomas Jacobs + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Joyner Bros. + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Cross Ranch Deposit (Prospect) J. A. Barrington + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Cutler + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Naranjo Deposits (Prospect) Davis + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Baty + 5 more nearby (Past Producer) Bowlin Mine + 8 more nearby (Past Producer) Cole Property + 7 more nearby (Occurrence) Gram + 6 more nearby (Occurrence) Ante-Up (Prospect) Unnamed Tactite Zone + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Dry Creek + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Cedar Creek + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Alice Homer + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Baker Lease + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Yokohl Valley + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Gill Mine + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Gill Ranch Deposit + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) California Magnesite, Camp 4 + 1 more nearby (Unknown) James Mine + 9 more nearby (Past Producer) Dog Town (Past Producer) Mill Creek Tungsten (Prospect) Eshom Creek + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Mine (Prospect) Homer Ranch + 3 more nearby (Past Producer) Manikan + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Hinds Ranch (Occurrence) Gill Tungsten Deposits (Past Producer) Gill Ranch + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Cemetery Borrow Pit (Producer) Porterville White Granite Quarry + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Holston Mine + 7 more nearby (Past Producer) Mentz Property + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Minnie Ellen + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Way-Up (Past Producer) Blue Bird + 3 more nearby (Prospect) Redwood Canyon + 8 more nearby (Past Producer) Kaweah River + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Blossom Peak + 5 more nearby (Past Producer) Carter (Occurrence) Tulare County Tungsten + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Thanksgiving + 3 more nearby (Producer) Barber No. 2 + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Alcorn and Prindle + 10 more nearby (Prospect) James Marble (Occurrence) Credow Mountain + 4 more nearby (Past Producer) Last Chance Mine (Past Producer) White River Lode + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Loverin-Stadler Placer (Prospect) McKee (Occurrence) Eagle + 4 more nearby (Past Producer) Royal Tungsten + 8 more nearby (Prospect) Barbour Prospect + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Frazier Valley (Unknown) Sequoia Ranch (Prospect) O'Kelley Deposit + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Prospects (Prospect) Bald Mountain + 16 more nearby (Prospect) Indian + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) W. Hart (Prospect) Sequoia National Park + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Griffith (Prospect) Britton Ranch (Occurrence) Blue Moon + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Freitas Claim (Prospect) Big Mack + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Florence G. + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Tule Indian Reservation (Occurrence) Blue Ridge (Occurrence) Unnamed Molybdenum Deposit (Prospect) Guthrie Claims (Unknown) White River (Producer) Copper Queen (Occurrence) Good Luck Tungsten (Past Producer) Calvert (Occurrence) Tyler Creek + 2 more nearby (Past Producer) Copper Queen (Unknown) Visalia Land and Investment Co. (Prospect) White Chief + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Spanish Prospect (Prospect) Barber - Witt + 10 more nearby (Occurrence) Arsenic and Soda Springs + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Wingrove + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) White River Claims + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Wible + 4 more nearby (Past Producer) Copper Mountain (Prospect) Mineral King + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Comanche + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Elster Claim + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Elder Berry + 9 more nearby (Occurrence) Three Point Nos. 1 and 2 (Prospect) Billy Boy Group + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Copper Mountain (Occurrence) Oakland + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Kaweah + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Lion's Nest + 4 more nearby (Occurrence) Annie Fox + 5 more nearby (Occurrence) Pine Tree Mine (Prospect) Mable H. Quartz Claim (Prospect) Carver (Occurrence) Thomas Eistrat Property (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Sunnyside Group (Prospect) Sunnyside + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Kern River + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Jay Bird No. 1 (Unknown) Tip-Top Lead-Zinc Property (Prospect) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence + 3 more nearby (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Unnamed Occurrence + 1 more nearby (Occurrence) Pacific Star Mines + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Bright Mars 1 and 2 Claims + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Rainbow Lode Claim (Unknown) San George Mine (Prospect) Los Tres Burros No. 1 + 2 more nearby (Unknown) Unnamed Occurrence (Occurrence) Sherman Peak + 1 more nearby (Past Producer) Brush Creek (Past Producer) Bench Meadow (Prospect) Strawberry-Templeton Mdw Prospects (Prospect) South Fork Kern River Placers (Prospect) Kern-Sierra Group + 4 more nearby (Past Producer) Blue Gem Prospect + 1 more nearby (Prospect) Sierra Nevada + 2 more nearby (Occurrence) Little Western Mine (Past Producer) Great Western + 2 more nearby (Past Producer)
140 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 5 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
Powell We picked it because its USGS record mentions 4 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Garnet, Gold, Silver) and 7 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Copper. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Garnet, Gold, Feldspar, Pyrite, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 36.231, -118.650. 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? 130
Prospect Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.
113
Occurrence The mineral was noted here, without development.
104
Past Producer Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
45
Unknown Status not recorded.
4
Producer Was producing when the record was made.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards Copper Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
75 sites
Gold Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
67 sites
Scheelite Mohs 4.5–5. Tungsten mineral that glows blue-white under shortwave UV. Mindat
46 sites
Silver Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
23 sites
Quartz Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
14 sites
Pyrite Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
13 sites
Garnet Mohs 6.5–7.5. Usually deep red, round many-faced crystals. Mindat
12 sites
Galena Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
7 sites
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
Minerals recorded here 45 10 10 9 7 7 7 3 2 2 1 1 Commodities 105 56 37 31 15 11 10 10 8 6 Sites (first 40) Site Commodity Minerals recorded Status Approx. location Round Valley Copper — Bornite, Chalcopyrite Occurrence 36.207, -119.043 Hart Group — Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Malachite Occurrence 36.657, -118.906 Oakland — Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite Occurrence 36.618, -118.533 Gram — Chalcopyrite Occurrence 36.217, -119.033 Iron Capping — Chalcopyrite, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite Occurrence 36.190, -118.625 Lady Franklin — Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite, Stibnite Occurrence 36.418, -118.549 Powell Copper Chalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite Past Producer 36.231, -118.650 Annie Fox — Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Pyrite Occurrence 36.442, -118.572 Kern-Sierra Group Tungsten, Molybdenum, Copper Chalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Scheelite Past Producer 35.900, -118.134 Barber - Witt — Chalcopyrite, Pyrite Occurrence 36.239, -118.659 Bowlin Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.265, -119.078 Gill Mine Chromium Chromite Occurrence 36.259, -119.031 Holston Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.024, -118.954 Gill Ranch Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.277, -119.056 Scattlefield Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.265, -119.073 James Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.113, -119.027 Earl Smith Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.257, -119.055 Waddell Mine Chromium Chromite Past Producer 36.268, -119.078 Prospect Near Holston Chrome Chromium Chromite Occurrence 36.025, -118.975 White River Lode Tungsten, Copper Chrysocolla, Scheelite Occurrence 35.800, -118.868 Chihuahua — Galena, Pyrite Occurrence 36.442, -118.545 Young America — Galena, Sphalerite Occurrence 36.481, -118.574 White Horse — Galena, Sphalerite Occurrence 36.479, -118.573 White Chief — Galena, Sphalerite Occurrence 36.411, -118.636 Elster Claim — Galena, Sphalerite Occurrence 36.219, -118.620 Venice Hills — Garnierite Occurrence 36.385, -119.174 Homer Ranch Tungsten Gold, Scheelite Past Producer 36.533, -118.968 Thanksgiving Tungsten Hedenbergite, Pyrrhotite, Scheelite Producer 36.233, -118.884 White River Prospect — Molybdenite Occurrence 35.850, -118.651 Wingrove Molybdenum Molybdenite Occurrence 35.883, -118.668 Wingrove — Molybdenite Occurrence 35.883, -118.668 White River Claims Molybdenum, Copper, Silver Molybdenite Occurrence 35.850, -118.651 Kaweah — Molybdenite, Pyrite, Scheelite Occurrence 40.967, -122.918 Kaweah Molybdenum, Tungsten Molybdenite, Scheelite, Wolframite Occurrence 36.583, -118.568 Redwood Canyon Tungsten Powellite, Scheelite Past Producer 36.650, -118.868 Barbour Prospect — Pyrolusite Occurrence 36.224, -118.833 Gill Ranch Deposit — Rhodonite Occurrence 36.207, -118.977 Barrington Tungsten Scheelite Past Producer 36.600, -119.051 Royal Tungsten Tungsten Scheelite Prospect 36.333, -118.818 Baker Lease Tungsten Scheelite Past Producer 36.333, -118.984
Nearby counties Fresno County · Kern County · Inyo County · Kings County · Madera 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
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