RockWoof
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

Baldwin Mines (Past Producer)Gillespie Farm Diggings (Past Producer)Mineral Creek Diggings (Past Producer)Main Baldwin Diggings (Past Producer)Lytle Creek Diggings + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Outcrop (Past Producer)Tete Des Morts Diggings (Past Producer)Indian Mines (Past Producer)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
8 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 3 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

Baldwin Mines

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 of the minerals on our cards and 1 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 6 other site(s), so we broke the tie by mine status (past producers first), then USGS record quality, then name. USGS lists it as past producer for Lead. Minerals mentioned: Galena. Approx. location 42.063, -90.892. 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?

11
Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

1
Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

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

Minerals recorded here

Galena 7Sphalerite 1

Commodities

Lead 11Zinc 3Phosphorus-Phosphates 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
Lytle Creek DiggingsLeadGalenaOccurrence42.270, -90.787
Gillespie Farm DiggingsLeadGalenaPast Producer42.202, -90.870
Main Baldwin DiggingsLeadGalenaPast Producer42.079, -90.841
Indian MinesLeadGalenaPast Producer42.066, -90.363
Mineral Creek DiggingsLeadGalenaPast Producer42.138, -90.885
Baldwin MinesLeadGalenaPast Producer42.063, -90.892
Zwingle Mines and OccurrencesZinc, LeadGalena, SphaleritePast Producer42.296, -90.690
OutcropPhosphorus-Phosphates—Past Producer42.373, -90.560
Tete Des Morts DiggingsLead—Past Producer42.368, -90.511
Lytle Creek DiggingsLead—Past Producer42.269, -90.787
North Buena Vista SubdistrictLead, Zinc—Past Producer42.685, -90.966
Dubuque SubdistrictZinc, Lead—Past Producer42.582, -90.872

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 2 fossil collection records in Jackson County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Dubuque County · Delaware County · Jones County · Clayton County · Clinton County

Iowa mineral guides

Back to all Iowa counties.

Related articles

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