Geology

Valley of Fire — Wonderstone & Chalcedony

Clark County, NV

Approximate location — plotted from published sources, not a site visit, and not a guarantee of access.

Wonderstone — banded rhyolitic ash-flow tuff stained in bands of red, yellow and purple by iron oxides percolating through the rock — crops out in the hills around the Valley of Fire, alongside nodular chalcedony weathering out of the same volcanic sequence. The colour is the point: these are the same iron-rich Jurassic Aztec sandstone and overlying volcanics that give the valley its name. Collecting is prohibited inside the state park; this is a place to look at the geology, not to take it. Specimens may be collected on adjoining BLM ground, subject to BLM's hobby-collecting limits — confirm the boundary before you pick anything up.

Facts

RegionClark County, NV
Coordinates (approx.)36.3981, -114.6937
MineralsWonderstone, Chalcedony
AccessState park paved road
Fee$10/vehicle (NV plates), $15 non-NV
SourceNevada State Parks — park rules, fees, and the collecting prohibition: https://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire
Land statusValley of Fire State Park (rock collecting prohibited)
RockRhyolitic ash-flow tuff (wonderstone); nodular chalcedony
ColourIron-oxide banding — red, yellow, purple
CollectingPROHIBITED inside Valley of Fire State Park; BLM hobby limits apply outside

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Nearby amenities

Public recreation data — BLM & Recreation.gov (RIDB). Verify current access, fees, and seasonal closures before traveling.

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Plan ahead. Leave no trace. Verify current access before traveling.