Rockhounding in DeSoto County, FL: 16 USGS Mineral Sites (2026)

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

Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown

14 paw pins, one per site. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 2 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

Desoto-Manatee Reserve

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Fluorite) and 2 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 3 other site(s), so we broke the tie by mine status (past producers first), then USGS record quality, then name. USGS lists it as prospect for Phosphorus-Phosphates. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Fluorite. Approx. location 27.241, -82.050. 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?

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
4 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
4 sites

Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.

Minerals recorded here

Sand 5

Commodities

Sand 10Phosphorus-Phosphates 6

Sites

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Dot Arcadia - Nocatee #2 Mine	Sand	Sand	Unknown	27.166, -81.911
Dot Arcadia - Nocatee #3 Mine	Sand	Sand	Unknown	27.165, -81.899
Dot Arcadia - Nocatee #1 Mine	Sand	Sand	Unknown	27.171, -81.927
Ray Smith's Excavating - Ray Smith Excavating Mine	Sand	Sand	Unknown	27.123, -82.008
W.J. Sutton Company - Pit #2	Sand	Sand	Unknown	27.134, -82.024
Pine Level Deposit	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Prospect	27.250, -81.991
Horse Creek, D.E. Carlton	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Prospect	27.317, -81.936
Desoto-Manatee Reserve	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Prospect	27.241, -82.050
De Soto County Unknown Ownerships	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Occurrence	27.200, -81.800
W.Bethel and Adjacent Deposits	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Prospect	27.321, -82.100
L.I. Davis Excavating - Hog Bay / Triple Pit	Sand	—	Producer	27.056, -81.807
Peace River Conservancy - Kings Highway Mine	Sand	—	Unknown	27.036, -82.024
Ray Smith Excavating - Quido Marxer Mine	Sand	—	Unknown	27.061, -82.041
James Dyke - King'sS Trust Mine	Sand	—	Unknown	27.052, -82.052
Ghc Construction, Inc. - Hillsborough Mine	Sand	—	Unknown	27.188, -81.860
South Florida Phosphate District	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Producer	27.510, -82.020

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 1 fossil collection records in DeSoto County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Charlotte County · Sarasota County · Hardee County · Manatee County · Highlands County

Florida mineral guides

Back to all Florida counties.

Is It Legal to Collect Rocks on Public Land? BLM, Forest Service and National Park Rules

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

Rockhounding in DeSoto County, Florida