Rockhounding in Swain County, North Carolina

Sketch map

Woof’s favorite find

Fontana Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 3 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Gold, Silver) and 8 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Copper, Zinc. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Gold, Mica, Magnetite, Pyrite, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 35.478, -83.770. 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?

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

• Feldspar

  Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat

  61 sites

• Mica

  Mohs 2–3. Peels into thin, flexible, shiny sheets. Mindat

  32 sites

• Copper

  Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat

  15 sites

• Garnet

  Mohs 6.5–7.5. Usually deep red, round many-faced crystals. Mindat

  7 sites

• Pyrite

  Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat

  7 sites

• Silver

  Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat

  6 sites

• Gold

  Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat

  5 sites

• Magnetite

  Mohs 5.5–6.5. Black and strongly magnetic. Mindat

  4 sites

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

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 USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date.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