Rowley Mine: Wulfenite & Vanadinite Rockhounding in Maricopa County, Arizona

Plan your visit

Permission required before collecting

County

Maricopa County

State

Arizona

Coordinates

33.04910, -113.03332

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

Land & collecting status

Permission required before collecting

Requires landowner or agency permission before any collecting. Do not enter without explicit authorization.

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 Rowley Mine

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: November to April. Typical highs run 107°F in midsummer and 69°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 40°F. Summer heat here is intense, so carry more water than you think you need and work the early morning.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, PAINTED ROCK DAM station (2 mi away).

Geology at Rowley Mine

This spot sits on Late and middle Pleistocene surficial deposits, mapped as gravel and sand that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Loose deposits like these are float-collecting ground: erosion keeps moving durable rocks and minerals into gravel bars, cutbanks, and washes.

Mapped unit

Late and middle Pleistocene surficial deposits

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene)

Rock types

gravel and sand

Elevation

630 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.

State guidance last verified: April 1, 2026

• BLM Arizona, Recreational Mineral Collecting
• Arizona Geological Survey
• Arizona State Land Department recreation permits
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules