Social Security Bar - Chetco River: Quartz & Jasper Rockhounding in Curry County, Oregon

Plan your visit

Confirm rules before collecting

County

Curry County

State

Oregon

Nearest road

South Bank Chetco River Road

Postcode

97415

Coordinates

42.06397, -124.22980

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.

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 Social Security Bar - Chetco River

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Conditions here are workable year-round, with typical highs from 56°F in winter to 70°F in summer.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, BROOKINGS station (3 mi away).

Geology at Social Security Bar - Chetco River

This spot sits on Yolla Bolly Terrane; Dothan Formation, mapped as graywacke, fossils: well-preserved buchia piochii fossils; veins: small calcite and quartz, mudstone, and sandstone that formed roughly 200 to 66 million years ago. Tough silica like agate, jasper, and chert typically weathers out of beds like these and collects as float in drainages and on deflation surfaces.

Mapped unit

Yolla Bolly Terrane; Dothan Formation

Age

200–66 Ma (Jurassic to Cretaceous)

Rock types

graywacke, fossils: well-preserved buchia piochii fossils; veins: small calcite and quartz, mudstone, and sandstone

Elevation

30 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