Priday Agate Beds: Agate & Chalcedony Rockhounding in Jefferson County, Oregon

Plan your visit

Pay-to-dig site

County

Jefferson County

State

Oregon

Nearest road

Northeast Pony Butte Road

Coordinates

44.73734, -120.90733

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

Land & collecting status

Pay-to-dig site

This is a fee-dig location. Hours, prices, and what you can keep vary by operator. Call ahead before driving out.

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 Priday Agate Beds

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: February to November. Typical highs run 88°F in midsummer and 43°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 26°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, ANTELOPE 6 SSW station (9 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Priday Agate Beds

This spot sits on John Day/Clarno Group; John Day Formation, mapped as ash-flow tuff and na sanidine quartz oligoclase phenocrysts that formed roughly 56 to 23 million years ago. Volcanic ground like this is where agate, jasper, and other chalcedony typically form, filling old gas pockets and fracture seams in the flow rock.

Mapped unit

John Day/Clarno Group; John Day Formation

Age

56–23 Ma (Eocene to Oligocene)

Rock types

ash-flow tuff and na sanidine quartz oligoclase phenocrysts

Elevation

2,860 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 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