Agate Point

A named summit in northern Humboldt County

Agate Point is a mapped summit in far northern Humboldt County. TopoQuest lists it as a summit at about 41.7505, -118.3357, with an elevation of 6,715 feet, on the USGS Kings River Ranch 7.5-minute quadrangle. That position matches the coordinates used for this entry. Wikipedia describes the Kings River, whose name the quadrangle shares, as a roughly 40-mile tributary of the Quinn River. The river rises near Disaster Peak in the Trout Creek Mountains close to the Oregon line and drains a remote, arid corner of the northwestern Great Basin, with the Bilk Creek Mountains on its west side and the Montana Mountains and Double H Mountains on its east.

What collectors report

The mineral list for Agate Point comes only from hobbyist rockhounding guides. We found no agency report, survey, or mindat locality that describes it. Rockchasing.com names “Agate Point area surfaces” in its Humboldt County table and says nothing more about the site. It also states that it has not personally verified every location it lists. Rockhounding.org lists agate, chalcedony, chert, jasper, and flint, and places the site at the same coordinates as the summit. Its own page is cautious. It says the mineral list is consistent with the volcanic terrain of the area but that “no source describes form, quality, or abundance specific to Agate Point itself,” and it advises readers to “treat this as a general-area lead rather than a confirmed, mapped site.” Rockhounding.org’s statewide agate map names Agate Point alongside Black Rock Desert and Virgin Valley but adds no detail.

Who manages the land

Land status at Agate Point is unconfirmed. Rockhounding.org says it could not confirm whether the site sits on BLM, state, or private ground. The BLM’s Winnemucca District Office covers about 11 million acres in Humboldt and Pershing counties and parts of Washoe, Lyon, and Churchill counties, and the BLM says it manages about three-quarters of the land inside that boundary. That does not settle the status of this particular hill. Rockhounding.org recommends contacting the BLM Winnemucca District office before a visit. The office is at 5100 East Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, and its phone number is 775-623-1500.

Collecting rules if the ground is BLM land

Where land is BLM-managed and open, the BLM allows rockhounds to collect reasonable amounts of rocks, mineral specimens, and gemstones for personal use only. Sale or barter is not allowed. Collectors may search the surface or use hand tools that cause no more than minor surface disturbance. Collecting on a mining claim requires the claimholder’s permission, so check the BLM’s claim records before digging. In wilderness and wilderness study areas, the BLM allows only non-motorized hand tools and minimal surface disturbance. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act makes it illegal to remove or damage cultural items such as projectile points or pottery, so leave any artifact where you find it. None of the sources we found confirms that collecting is open at Agate Point.

Getting there

Rockhounding.org says it found no verified road directions to the site, and we found none either. Rockhounding.org describes the site as remote country near the Oregon border and suggests the usual high-desert preparation, such as carrying water. This page’s “remote dirt road” access note is not confirmed by any source we found. Carry a paper map of the Kings River Ranch quadrangle and confirm both the route and the land status before you go.