Where to Find Quartz in Virginia
Virginia quartz follows the Blue Ridge metamorphic belt and the Piedmont pegmatite zones. Amelia Court House in Amelia County is the historic flagship, with smoky, milky, and rose quartz coming out of the old feldspar mines along the Rutherford pegmatite. The Morefield mine, when open to public digs, has yielded gem-grade amazonite-and-quartz pockets. Rockbridge and Botetourt counties produce vein quartz with hematite inclusions, and the Stuart area in Patrick County is known for blue-gray phantom quartz from the same pegmatite belt that crosses into North Carolina. Field finds in red Piedmont soil clean up well with mild dish soap.
Every quartz spot we track in Virginia
Best spotAmelia Court HouseAmelia County, VirginiaPublic access · Amazonite, Amethyst, Feldspar +8- Best spotLoudon CountyLoudoun County, VirginiaPublic access · Calcite, Datolite, Epidote +6
- Best spotByrd CreekFluvanna County, VirginiaPublic access · Gold, Quartz
- Best spotFancy HillAmherst County, VirginiaPublic access · Amethyst, Quartz
FaberAlbemarle County, VirginiaPublic access · Azurite, Cerussite, Chalcopyrite +6- Ashland MillHanover County, VirginiaPublic access · Mica, Quartz, Moonstone +4
- MonetaBedford County, VirginiaPublic access · Garnet, Pyrite, Quartz +4
- Peaks of OtterBedford County, VirginiaPublic access · Beryl, Columbite, Feldspar +4
- Rose RiverMadison County, VirginiaPublic access · Unakite, Epidote, Jasper +4
- Hanks KnobCarroll County, VirginiaPublic access · Garnet, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite +2
- Chestnut MountainBedford County, VirginiaPublic access · Garnet, Biotite, Quartz +1
- Front RoyalWarren County, VirginiaPublic access · Biotite, Quartz, Unakite +1
- LadysmithCaroline County, VirginiaPublic access · Green Beryl, Feldspar, Quartz +1
- Tye River GapRockbridge County, VirginiaPublic access · Epidote, Unakite, Beryl +1
- BrokenburgSpotsylvania County, VirginiaPublic access · Beryl, Feldspar, Quartz
- Charlotte CourthouseCharlotte County, VirginiaPublic access · Amethyst, Quartz
- MinnievillePrince William County, VirginiaPublic access · Amethyst, Quartz
- RivertonWarren County, VirginiaPublic access · Calcite, Quartz
- Sayler's CreekAmelia County, VirginiaPublic access · Amethyst, Quartz
- TreviliansLouisa County, VirginiaPublic access · Amethyst, Quartz
- Walker MountainBland County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz, Agate
- Chestnut Creek WetlandsFloyd County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
- Chestnut RidgeBath County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
FloydFloyd County, VirginiaPermission required · Quartz- Laurel ForkCarroll County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
- South Fork Shenandoah RiverRockingham County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
- SpottswoodRockbridge County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
- Spruce RunGiles County, VirginiaPublic access · Quartz
Standout quartz spots in Virginia
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Amelia Court House
Amelia County
The Amelia pegmatite district is one of the most productive rare-mineral areas on the East Coast, long famous for gem amazonite, blue-green beryl, topaz, and cleavelandite.
Fancy Hill
Amherst County
The Fancy Hill area of Amherst County is a well-known Blue Ridge amethyst and quartz locality, where purple crystals and quartz veins occur in the crystalline basement.
Byrd Creek
Fluvanna County
Byrd Creek lies in the Virginia gold-pyrite belt, the Piedmont trend that produced the state's historic lode and placer gold, and its gravels still yield fine placer gold to panners.
Loudon County
Loudoun County
The Triassic diabase and basalt of the Culpeper Basin in Loudoun County host a classic Virginia zeolite suite, with prehnite, stilbite, natrolite, and datolite lining vugs and fractures.
Best counties for quartz in Virginia
Ranked by the number of mapped quartz spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Bedford County3 spots
- Amelia County2 spots
- Carroll County2 spots
- Floyd County2 spots
- Rockbridge County2 spots
- Warren County2 spots
- Albemarle County1 spot
- Amherst County1 spot
- Bath County1 spot
- Bland County1 spot
- Caroline County1 spot
- Charlotte County1 spot
- Fluvanna County1 spot
- Giles County1 spot
- Hanover County1 spot
- Loudoun County1 spot
- Louisa County1 spot
- Madison County1 spot
- Prince William County1 spot
- Rockingham County1 spot
- Spotsylvania 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 Virginia FAQ
Where can you find quartz in Virginia?+
How many quartz spots are mapped in Virginia?+
Is it legal to collect quartz in Virginia?+
Where else to find quartz
More minerals to hunt in Virginia
Hunt quartz in Virginia 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.
