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

Legion Creek Area (Past Producer)Davis Ranch Prospect (Occurrence)Big Branch Area (Past Producer)Althaus Mine (Past Producer)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
4 paw pins, one per site. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 1 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

Althaus Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 gem or collectible mineral (Quartz) and 2 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Feldspar. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Feldspar. Approx. location 30.414, -98.619. 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.

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

Talc 3Barite 1Anthophyllite 1Feldspar 1

Commodities

Talc-Soapstone 3Barium-Barite 1Feldspar 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
Legion Creek AreaTalc-SoapstoneAnthophyllite, TalcPast Producer30.484, -98.722
Davis Ranch ProspectBarium-BariteBariteOccurrence30.447, -98.612
Althaus MineFeldsparFeldsparPast Producer30.414, -98.619
Big Branch AreaTalc-SoapstoneTalcPast Producer30.442, -98.609
Crabapple Creek AreaTalc-SoapstoneTalcPast Producer30.498, -98.517

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 7 fossil collection records in Gillespie County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Blanco County · Llano County · Burnet County · Mason County · San Saba County

Texas mineral guides

Back to all Texas 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