Duchesne: Albertite & Sepiolite Rockhounding in Duchesne County, Utah

Quick details

Access

Permission required

County

Duchesne County

State

Utah

Nearest road

Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway

Coordinates

40.15391, -110.40996

Geology at Duchesne

This spot sits on Alluvium, mapped as boulder to pebble gravel, sand, silt, and clay that formed within roughly the last 12,000 years. Loose deposits like these are float-collecting ground: erosion keeps moving durable rocks and minerals into gravel bars, cutbanks, and washes.

Mapped unit

Alluvium

Age

< 1 Ma (Holocene)

Rock types

boulder to pebble gravel, sand, silt, and clay

Elevation

5,560 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 Duchesne

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 88°F in midsummer and 33°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 10°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, DUCHESNE station (1 mi away).

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.

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 Utah — Rockhounding overview
• Utah Geological Survey — collecting guidelines
• SITLA — surface use rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules

Found at Duchesne

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

• Albertite
• Sepiolite
• Wurtzilite