Gold Mines Creek (East): Actinolite & Chlorite Rockhounding in Clay County, Alabama

Plan your visit

Confirm rules before collecting

County

Clay County

State

Alabama

Nearest road

Watts Mill Road

Postcode

36266

Coordinates

33.35474, -85.88204

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Confirm rules before collecting

Land status here is not confirmed. Verify with the managing agency before collecting, federal, state, and tribal rules differ.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit Gold Mines Creek (East)

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Conditions here are workable year-round, with typical highs from 55°F in winter to 90°F in summer.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, ASHLAND 3 ENE station (7 mi away).

Geology at Gold Mines Creek (East)

This spot sits on Poe Bridge Mountain Group, mapped as schist that formed roughly 4600 to 250 million years ago. Gold in metamorphic belts like this is typically tied to quartz veins and shear zones, with placer color in the creeks that cut them.

Mapped unit

Poe Bridge Mountain Group

Age

4600–250 Ma (Precambrian to Paleozoic)

Rock types

schist

Elevation

1,090 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

• Geological Survey of Alabama
• National Forests in Alabama
• Alabama State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules