Lisbon Valley: Azurite & Cuprite Rockhounding in San Juan County, Utah

Plan your visit

Confirm rules before collecting

County

San Juan County

State

Utah

Nearest road

Lisbon Valley Road

Coordinates

38.15780, -109.14833

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

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.

Access note: BLM records active mining claims in this area. Collecting from inside an active claim needs the claim holder's permission.

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 Lisbon Valley

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 88°F in midsummer and 39°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 18°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, LA SAL 1SW station (12 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Lisbon Valley

This spot sits on ground mapped as Mixed eolian and alluvial deposits that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Loose deposits like these are float-collecting ground: erosion keeps moving durable rocks and minerals into gravel bars, cutbanks, and washes.

Mapped unit

Mixed eolian and alluvial deposits

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene to Holocene)

Elevation

6,380 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 Utah, Rockhounding overview
• Utah Geological Survey, collecting guidelines
• SITLA, surface use rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules