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

Hanna Furnace Corp/ Buffalo, N.Y. + 2 more nearby (Unknown)Bethlehem Steel/ Lackawana, N.Y. (Unknown)Iroquois Gas Corp.Well No.796 (Prospect)West Falls (Past Producer)Henry Jones Well (Past Producer)Springville Well (Past Producer)B.Feldman No.1 Well (Prospect)F.W.Heist No.1 Well (Prospect)Unnamed Salt Well (Prospect)Fred Howe Well (Past Producer)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
10 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.

Woof’s favorite find

Williams Gold Refin./ Buffalo, N.Y.

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 gem or collectible mineral (Gold) and 1 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as unknown for Gold. Minerals mentioned: Gold. Approx. location 42.906, -78.843. 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?

4
Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

4
Unknown

Status not recorded.

4
Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

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

No individual minerals are listed in these records.

Commodities

Salt 7Iron 3Bloating Material 1Gold 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
West FallsBloating Material—Past Producer42.728, -78.697
Henry Jones WellSalt—Past Producer42.587, -78.701
Bethlehem Steel/ Lackawana, N.Y.Iron—Unknown42.819, -78.833
Fred Howe WellSalt—Past Producer42.545, -78.469
Hanna Furnace Corp/ Buffalo, N.Y.Iron—Unknown42.906, -78.843
Republic Steel/ Buffalo, N.Y.Iron—Unknown42.906, -78.843
Iroquois Gas Corp.Well No.796Salt—Prospect42.591, -78.754
F.W.Heist No.1 WellSalt—Prospect42.936, -78.539
B.Feldman No.1 WellSalt—Prospect42.966, -78.515
Unnamed Salt WellSalt—Prospect42.667, -78.506
Williams Gold Refin./ Buffalo, N.Y.Gold—Unknown42.906, -78.843
Springville WellSalt—Past Producer42.494, -78.688

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 118 fossil collection records in Erie County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Niagara County · Wyoming County · Cattaraugus County · Genesee County · Orleans County

New York mineral guides

Back to all New York 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