Fish Lake Valley — Agate & Opal

A large basin on the state line

Fish Lake Valley is an endorheic basin in southwestern Nevada, just northwest of Death Valley. Wikipedia gives its size as 25 miles long and 8 miles wide. Most of it is in Esmeralda County, and its southwestern part extends into Mono and Inyo counties in California. The White Mountains border it on the west and south, and the Silver Peak Range on the east and southeast. Wikipedia says the valley is fed by Cottonwood Creek and other small mountain streams, and that a borax-mixed salt pan covers about 10 miles of its main section. The town of Dyer holds the valley’s post office and services, and Nevada State Route 264 runs through it to Oasis, California. The old Fish Lake Valley settlement, which Wikipedia describes as a ghost town that got a post office in 1881, sits near the state line at the valley’s south end.

What collectors report

This entry covers a broad area, not a specific dig. Its coordinates match the Google Maps marker for “Fish Lake Valley” that Rockhound Resource links to, and Rockhounding.org’s point is within a few hundred feet of it. Only hobbyist guides list minerals here, and no agency source confirms them. Rockhound Resource says “the large area of Fish Lake Valley is well known for yielding opalite specimens,” and its table lists cinnabar and opalite. Rockhounding.org lists the same two minerals, has no directions or trip reports, and says nothing about who owns the land. How To Find Rocks puts Fish Lake Valley in its obsidian table at nearly the same coordinates and recommends it for Apache tears. None of these three guides mentions chalcedony roses, common opal, or moss agate, so treat those as unconfirmed.

Cinnabar is a mercury mineral, and the valley has a mining history tied to it. Western Mining History, drawing on the USGS mineral database, lists the Wild Rose mine (also called Mt. Montgomery) as a mercury mine in the Fish Lake Valley District. That mine is well northwest of this entry’s point. The database warns that its locations have not been verified and that all mines should be assumed to be on private property.

Who manages the land

The BLM’s Tonopah Field Office, part of the Battle Mountain District, is in Tonopah. The BLM’s page for the Fish Lake Valley Herd Management Area, which lies west of Dyer, counts 64,007 acres of BLM land and 3,078 acres of private and other public land. Wikipedia says the valley is sparsely populated, mainly by ranchers and Paiute residents. Neither source maps land status at this entry’s point, so check a current land-status map before collecting.

Collecting rules

On BLM land, the BLM allows reasonable amounts of rocks, minerals, and gemstones for personal use, not for sale, using hand tools with no more than minor surface disturbance. Collecting is not allowed in campgrounds or picnic sites, or on mining claims without the claimholder’s permission. Rockhounding.org notes that its claim data comes from the BLM and that claims change quickly. Artifacts such as arrowheads, pottery, and historic bottles must be left in place under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. In Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas, the BLM allows only non-motorized, non-mechanized tools and transport. Private ranch land requires the owner’s permission.

Getting there

None of the sources give directions to a collecting spot. Wikipedia describes Route 264 entering the valley from the west, turning southeast at Dyer, and meeting Route 773 in the northwest hills. Dyer has the only services Wikipedia lists. Confirm road conditions and land status with the Tonopah Field Office (775-482-7800) before you go.