Bear Creek - Site 1: Petrified Wood Rockhounding in Crook County, Oregon

Quick details

Access

Check locally

County

Crook County

State

Oregon

Nearest road

Bear Creek-Fife Road

Coordinates

43.94085, -120.61934

Geology at Bear Creek - Site 1

This spot sits on John Day/Clarno Group; Clarno Formation, mapped as mudflow, greenish gray, breccia, andesite flows, and greenish gray; calcic andesine some soda labradorite phenocrysts; vesicle fill: alteration mineral mostly in vesicles and fracture filling; alteration: iron magnesium montmorillonite clays silic carbonate zeolites hematite limonite; mineralogy: hornblende clinopyroxene hypersthene olivine augite hornblende-augite andesite that formed roughly 56 to 23 million years ago. Petrified wood typically comes from volcanic ash beds like the ones associated with this ground, where buried forests were slowly replaced by silica.

Mapped unit

John Day/Clarno Group; Clarno Formation

Age

56–23 Ma (Eocene to Oligocene)

Rock types

mudflow, greenish gray, breccia, andesite flows, and greenish gray; calcic andesine some soda labradorite phenocrysts; vesicle fill: alteration mineral mostly in vesicles and fracture filling; alteration: iron magnesium montmorillonite clays silic carbonate zeolites hematite limonite; mineralogy: hornblende clinopyroxene hypersthene olivine augite hornblende-augite andesite

Elevation

3,970 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.

Best time to visit Bear Creek - Site 1

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 84°F in midsummer and 40°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 20°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, BROTHERS station (9 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

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.

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 Oregon/Washington — Rockhounding & mineral material
• Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI)
• Oregon Parks and Recreation Department — beach collecting rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules

Found at Bear Creek - Site 1

Each chip opens all spots that produce that material; the encyclopedia link opens the full ID and field guide.

• Petrified WoodEncyclopedia →