Gold Butte: Gold Prospecting in Clark County, Nevada

Plan your visit

Permission required before collecting

County

Clark County

State

Nevada

Nearest road

Radio Crystal Mine Trail

Coordinates

36.27571, -114.18687

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 Gold Butte

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 96°F in midsummer and 47°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 27°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, ECHO BAY station (13 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Gold Butte

This spot sits on ground mapped as Gold Butte Granite that formed roughly 1600 to 1000 million years ago. Gold in granitic terrain like this is typically tied to quartz veins along contacts and shear zones, with placer color in the streams that drain them.

Mapped unit

Gold Butte Granite

Age

1600–1000 Ma (Mesoproterozoic)

Elevation

4,450 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 Nevada, Recreation
• Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
• Royal Peacock Opal Mine (fee-dig operator)
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules