RockWoofBest regions by county
Ranked by the number of USGS-recorded sites, not by access or quality.
- Webster County: 120 sites
- Lafayette County: 85 sites
- Pontotoc County: 73 sites; most recorded: Kaolinite, Gibbsite, Bauxite
- Benton County: 69 sites
- Tippah County: 53 sites; most recorded: Montmorillonite, Bauxite, Gibbsite
Top minerals
- Montmorillonite: 7 sites
- Kaolinite: 4 sites
- Bauxite: 3 sites
- Gibbsite: 3 sites
- Quartz: 2 sites
- Zircon: 2 sites
- Ilmenite: 2 sites
- Rutile: 2 sites
Mineral cards
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
7 sites
Mica
Mohs 2–3. Peels into thin, flexible, shiny sheets. Mindat
1 site
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
1 site
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
Minerals most often recorded
Montmorillonite 7Kaolinite 4Bauxite 3Gibbsite 3Quartz 2Zircon 2Ilmenite 2Rutile 2Halite 1Kyanite 1Limestone 1Counties
| County | Sites |
|---|---|
| Webster County | 120 |
| Lafayette County | 85 |
| Pontotoc County | 73 |
| Benton County | 69 |
| Tippah County | 53 |
| Marshall County | 48 |
| Union County | 45 |
| Monroe County | 35 |
| Kemper County | 24 |
| Choctaw County | 23 |
| Winston County | 20 |
| Itawamba County | 20 |
| Montgomery County | 15 |
| Calhoun County | 14 |
| Attala County | 13 |
| Noxubee County | 6 |
| Carroll County | 6 |
| Clay County | 5 |
| Jackson County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 3 |
| Smith County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 3 |
| Tishomingo County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 2 |
| Harrison County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 2 |
| Rankin County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 2 |
| Claiborne County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Panola County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Hinds County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Adams County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Wayne County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Hancock County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Oktibbeha County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
| Lowndes County (fewer than 5 sites, no page) | 1 |
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