Where to Find Chalcedony in California
California chalcedony shows up in the desert agate districts and along the coast. The Mojave fields (Wiley's Well, Cady Mountains, Lavic) yield blue, white, and pink chalcedony in basalt and rhyolite. The San Diego County pegmatite belt produces chalcedony in association with tourmaline at the Himalaya and Stewart mines. Coast chalcedony turns up at Agate Beach in Marin County and Jade Cove in Monterey County as tide-tumbled pebbles. Smaller showings of dendritic and moss chalcedony occur in the Coso Range and the Argus Mountains. Field specimens clean up with a quick rinse in mild acid to remove desert caliche.
Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.
Every chalcedony spot we track in California
Best spotGem HillKern County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper +2- Best spotTrinity RiverTrinity County, CaliforniaPublic access · Chalcedony, Gold, Jasper +2
- Best spotUnnamed Location (Fire Agate)Riverside County, CaliforniaPublic access · Chalcedony, Fire Agate
Castle Butte FoothillsKern County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Chert +2- Crescent City BeachesDel Norte County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper +2
Eagle CragsSan Bernardino County, CaliforniaPermission required · Blue Agate, Bentonite, Calcite +2- Lead Pipe Spring AreaSan Bernardino County, CaliforniaPermission required · Blue Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper +2
- Fandango PassModoc County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper +1
- Unnamed Location (LA County)Los Angeles County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper +1
- Area around Goose LakeModoc County, CaliforniaPublic access · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper
- Tick CanyonLos Angeles County, CaliforniaPublic access · Chalcedony, Banded Agate, Bloodstone
- Unnamed Location (Chalcedony/Curtisite)CaliforniaPublic access · Chalcedony, Curtisite
Standout chalcedony spots in California
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Gem Hill
Kern County
Gem Hill is a focused Kern County silica locality, with Mindat recording agate, chalcedony, iris agate, jasper, petrified wood, native gold, and uranium minerals nearby.
Unnamed Location (Fire Agate)
Riverside County
The Wiley Well and Mule Mountains area is one of California's best documented public desert collecting districts, with BLM specifically identifying the Wiley Well District Geode Beds for rockhounding.
Trinity River
Trinity County
The Trinity River is a north-state benchmark because it combines historic placer-gold country with Klamath Mountains metamorphic and ultramafic source rocks.
Best counties for chalcedony in California
Ranked by the number of mapped chalcedony spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
Before you go
Read the chalcedony identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Chalcedony in the encyclopedia.
Chalcedony in California FAQ
Where can you find chalcedony in California?+
How many chalcedony spots are mapped in California?+
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Where else to find chalcedony
More minerals to hunt in California
Hunt chalcedony in California with the map in your pocket
RockHoundR puts these spots on an offline map with BLM and Forest Service overlays, geology layers, and a log for your finds.
