Where to Find Quartz in Tennessee
Tennessee has 10 mapped collecting spots that report quartz, spread across 9 counties. The largest share sits in Polk County with 2 spots. 9 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Every quartz spot we track in Tennessee
Best spotDucktownPolk County, TennesseePublic access · Azurite, Chalcopyrite, Garnet +9
Best spotWayne CountyWayne County, TennesseePublic access · Chert, Agatized Fossil, Flint +1
Best spotUnaka MountainsUnicoi County, TennesseePublic access · Epidote, Quartz, Unakite
CopperhillPolk County, TennesseePublic access · Azurite, Chalcopyrite, Garnet +9- GreeneHawkins County, TennesseePublic access · Calcite, Celestite, Dolomite +7
- MontereyPutnam County, TennesseePublic access · Calcite, Celestite, Dolomite +2
- Douglas LakeJefferson County, TennesseePublic access · Diamond, Quartz
GatlinburgSevier County, TennesseePermission required · Quartz, Gemstone- Little Tennessee RiverMonroe County, TennesseePublic access · Quartz
- SpringfieldRobertson County, TennesseePublic access · Quartz
Standout quartz spots in Tennessee
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Ducktown
Polk County
Ducktown sits on the Copper Basin, a Precambrian massive-sulfide deposit that made it one of the most important copper districts in the Southeast.
Unaka Mountains
Unicoi County
The Unaka Range is the type locality for unakite, the pink-and-green ornamental rock named after these mountains, an intergrowth of pink orthoclase, green epidote, and quartz weathered from the Precambrian basement.
Wayne County
Wayne County
Wayne County's Fort Payne and Mississippian limestones weather to release agatized fossils, gem-grade chert, and flint, and the Buffalo River gravel bars concentrate the harder Buffalo River chert long prized by knappers.
Best counties for quartz in Tennessee
Ranked by the number of mapped quartz spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Polk County2 spots
- Hawkins County1 spot
- Jefferson County1 spot
- Monroe County1 spot
- Putnam County1 spot
- Robertson County1 spot
- Sevier County1 spot
- Unicoi County1 spot
- Wayne County1 spot
Before you go
Read the quartz identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Quartz in the encyclopedia.
Quartz in Tennessee FAQ
Where can you find quartz in Tennessee?+
How many quartz spots are mapped in Tennessee?+
Is it legal to collect quartz in Tennessee?+
Where else to find quartz
More minerals to hunt in Tennessee
Hunt quartz in Tennessee 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.
