Clear Hills: Rockhounding in Clear Hills County, Alberta
Clear Hills is a mapped rockhounding spot in Clear Hills County, Alberta, Canada. Reported finds include opal. Below: coordinates, access notes, and nearby spots.
Map showing Clear Hills in Clear Hills County, Alberta
About Clear Hills
The Clear Hills of northwestern Alberta, roughly 480 km northwest of Edmonton, expose flat-lying beds of oolitic ironstone 1.5 to 9 m thick along their southeastern slopes. The Alberta Geological Survey estimates more than a billion tonnes of iron-bearing rock here, the largest potential iron ore source in the four western provinces. The opal is common opal rather than precious: silica occurs in the ironstone both as quartz grains and as an intergranular opal cement binding the goethite ooliths. Despite extensive processing tests, the deposits have never been brought into production, and this remains an undeveloped upland area rather than an established collecting site.
Quick details
- Access
- Permission required
- County
- Clear Hills County
- Province
- Alberta
- Postal code
- T0H 3Y0
- Coordinates
- 56.66333, -118.64244
Land & collecting status
Permission required before collecting
Requires landowner or agency permission before any collecting. Do not enter without explicit authorization.
Collecting rules in Canada are set provincially and by land owner. Crown land and many public beaches allow casual hand collecting, while provincial and national parks are off-limits. Confirm the rules for this site before you dig.
Found at Clear Hills
Nearby rockhounding spots
Other rockhounding spots in Alberta within driving distance of Clear Hills.
Clear Hills FAQ
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