Haystack Butte: Jellybean Jasper & Agate Rockhounding in Malheur County, Oregon

Plan your visit

Confirm rules before collecting

County

Malheur County

State

Oregon

Nearest road

Haystack Rock Road

Coordinates

43.70700, -117.25700

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 Haystack Butte

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: February to June. Typical highs run 94°F in midsummer and 39°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 20°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, OWYHEE DAM station (4 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Haystack Butte

This spot sits on Oregon-Idaho Graben; Lower member, mapped as arkosic sandstone and matrix: quartz plagioclase potassium feldspar detrital biotite or muscovite that formed roughly 23 to 5 million years ago. Sedimentary beds like these are the typical host for petrified and silicified wood, which weathers out as durable float on slopes and in washes.

Mapped unit

Oregon-Idaho Graben; Lower member

Age

23–5 Ma (Miocene)

Rock types

arkosic sandstone and matrix: quartz plagioclase potassium feldspar detrital biotite or muscovite

Elevation

2,690 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