Rocks in Nevada

Discover 13 unusual rocks in Nevada.

Tufa Cave

Tufa Cave

A large wave-cut shelter, a major archeological site, overlooks the dry basin of Winnemucca Lake.

Goldfield, Nevada

Gemfield

One of the best places to dig—some say on the planet—for six different types of chalcedony.

Nye County, Nevada

Sailing Stones of Bonnie Claire Playa

Under the right conditions, rocks will move across this dry lakebed, leaving trails behind them.

Nye County, Nevada

Fang Ridge

Red rock "fangs" jut out of the desert near the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Incandescent rocks.

Sutcliffe, Nevada

Incandescent Rocks

Colorful outcrops and cliffs just north of Reno provide a scenic backdrop for hiking and mountain biking.

Elephant Head Rock, silhouetted.

Gerlach, Nevada

Elephant Head Rock

A remote, little-known natural arch in granite in the desert of northwestern Nevada.

Near eastern mouth of Thousand Creek Gorge.

Winnemucca, Nevada

Thousand Creek Gorge

A spectacular but little-known slot canyon in extreme northern Nevada, with sheer walls nearly 500 feet high and a perennial stream.

Looking east at the Sand Springs Range (skylined) from near US-50. The Project Shoal site is near the crest about a quarter of the way from the left edge of the photo.

Project Shoal Site

On October 26, 1963, a 12-kiloton nuclear device was detonated here in granite some 1,211 feet below the ground surface.

Searchlight, Nevada

Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs

Thousands of glyphs created by an unknown culture decorate the rock formations of this canyon.

Some of North America's oldest known petroglyphs.

Winnemucca Lake

This dry lake bed contains the oldest known petroglyphs in North America.

Some garnets collected at the Garnet Hill Rockhound Area.

Garnet Hill Rockhound Area

Rich red almandine gemstones are waiting inside the volcanic rock strewn across this eastern Nevada hillside.

Seven Magic Mountains

Brightly colored 30-foot-tall totems light up the desert sky just outside Las Vegas.

"Bonsai Rock" at the west shore of Lake Tahoe, February 2010

Washoe County, Nevada

Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe

Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

The gorgeous formations at Valley of Fire State Park.

Clark County, Nevada

Valley of Fire

The drama of nature in full effect in this Nevada State Park.

Are we missing something unusual in Nevada?