Carrizozo Creek: Rose Agate & Agatized Algae Rockhounding in Cimarron County, Oklahoma
- Minerals reported
- 3
- Elevation
- 4,350 ft
- Best months
- August to June
The Black Mesa country at the far tip of the Oklahoma panhandle produces the state's most distinctive agate, including rose-colored agate, agatized algae, and agatized wood eroded from Tertiary gravels. The dry creeks and washes of Cimarron County, such as Carrizozo Creek near the tri-state corner, concentrate this material. It is the westernmost and geologically most unusual rockhounding ground in Oklahoma. Reported finds include rose agate, agatized algae, agatized cyad wood. Below: coordinates, access notes, nearby spots, and trip-planning links.
Plan your visit
Permission required before collecting
- County
- Cimarron County
- State
- Oklahoma
- Coordinates
- 36.99646, -102.97353
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.
Access note: Almost all land around Black Mesa is private ranch ground, and the Black Mesa Nature Preserve and Black Mesa State Park are closed to collecting. Collect only from public road right-of-ways or with landowner permission; several Kenton-area ranches allow digging for a fee. Vertebrate fossils and dinosaur bone, which also occur here, are protected and may not be removed.
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 Carrizozo Creek
Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)
Best months: August to June. Typical highs run 93°F in midsummer and 51°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 19°F.
Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, KENTON station (6 mi away).
Geology at Carrizozo Creek
This spot sits on Dockum Group, mapped as siltstone, conglomerate, and sandstone that formed roughly 235 to 200 million years ago. Sedimentary beds like these are the typical host for petrified and silicified wood, which weathers out as durable float on slopes and in washes.
- Mapped unit
- Dockum Group
- Age
- 235–200 Ma (Late Triassic)
- Rock types
- siltstone, conglomerate, and sandstone
- Elevation
- 4,350 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.
Today's weather
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Get the appSources & 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.
- Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, selenite digging
- Oklahoma Geological Survey
- Ouachita National Forest
- Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules
Found at Carrizozo Creek
Each name opens all spots that produce that material; the encyclopedia link opens the full ID and field guide.
Nearby rockhounding spots
Other rockhounding spots within driving distance of Carrizozo Creek.
- Tri-State MarkerCimarron County, Oklahoma · 2 mi awayRose Agate
Across the state line from Carrizozo Creek
Carrizozo Creek is close enough to the Oklahoma border that the next-closest rockhounding spots are in a neighboring state. Worth knowing if you are already on the road.
- Union CountyUnion County, New Mexico · 2 mi awayPetrified Wood, Rose Agate
- Cimarron National GrasslandMorton County, Kansas · 58 mi awayAgate, Jasper, Chalcedony
- Sugarite Mine & coal fieldsColfax County, New Mexico · 76 mi awayAmber
- Point of RocksColfax County, New Mexico · 76 mi awaySearlesite, Fluorescent Villiaumite
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More rockhounding in Oklahoma
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