Brown County: Corundum & Quartz Rockhounding in Brown County, Indiana

Plan your visit

Permission required before collecting

County

Brown County

State

Indiana

Nearest road

SR 46;SR 135

Postcode

47448

Coordinates

39.19612, -86.21168

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 Brown County

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 86°F in midsummer and 39°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 21°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, COLUMBUS station (16 mi away).

Geology at Brown County

This spot sits on Borden Group, mapped as siltstone that formed roughly 360 to 325 million years ago. Sedimentary rock like this erodes unevenly, so the most productive collecting is typically along fresh cuts, badland slopes, and active drainages.

Mapped unit

Borden Group

Age

360–325 Ma (Mississippian)

Rock types

siltstone

Elevation

620 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.

• Indiana Geological and Water Survey
• Hoosier National Forest
• Indiana DNR property rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules