FIELD GUIDE · ALASKA · RECORD usgs-local::a3695
Rockhounding at Unnamed Tailings - Dredge — Eagle A-1, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK [USGS a3695], Alaska
Ready with conditions
This record counts as Ready with conditions for planning. The listed permission, boundary, route, permit or seasonal requirements must be satisfied first. This is not confirmation that access is currently open.
USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
Unnamed Tailings - Dredge — Eagle A-1, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK [USGS a3695] is a area centroid in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK. Land-access context: Eastern Interior Field Office. Open-access land record — site access needs confirmation.
Ready applies to viewing / research after the stated access conditions are met. Collecting is not authorized by this Ready status. USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
Rockhounding in Unnamed Tailings - Dredge — Eagle A-1, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK [USGS a3695]
Unnamed Tailings - Dredge — Eagle A-1, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK [USGS a3695] is a area centroid in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK. Land-access context: Eastern Interior Field Office. Open-access land record — site access needs confirmation.
This page combines the atlas record, mapped context, manager/evidence fields and review history. It is designed to answer the practical questions behind “rockhounding near me” without turning a mineral occurrence into an unsupported claim of public collecting permission.
What might you find?
Nearby MRDS context: Gold
Land manager & access context
Eastern Interior Field Office
USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
Coordinates & map precision
Approximate centroid of a historical mapped mining area. This is an area reference, not an entrance or collecting point.64.067986, -141.106438
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Location features, name and access status
- Name provenance
- Descriptive label; no proper place name was supplied by the source.
- Mapped feature
- Tailings - Dredge
- What the feature means
- A mapped accumulation or impoundment of mining residue, classified as tailings - dredge. The map does not establish mineral content, stability, contamination or collecting permission.
- Source quadrangle
- Eagle A-1
- Historical map date
- 1956
- Map precision
- Approximate centroid of a historical mapped mining area. This is an area reference, not an entrance or collecting point.
- Documented source record
- USGS historical public record; source existence is separate from present access
- Rocks and minerals
- A separate USGS MRDS record within 87.9 m reports the following. This is nearby geological context, not a verified material identification for this feature. MRDS 10107543 — Walker Fork Placer. Primary commodities: Gold. Reported ore minerals: Gold. Reported gangue: Garnet, Ilmenite, Limonite, Magnetite, Psilomelane, Pyrite.
- Current location status
- Ready — conditions apply
- Conditions that must be satisfied
- USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
- Underlying access evidence status
- conditional
- Ready activity
- viewing / research after the stated access conditions are met
- Collecting permission
- Not verified for collecting. A public-access land classification does not authorize specimen or artifact removal.
- Mine entry
- No mine workings, shafts, adits, processing ponds or closed structures may be entered under this record.
- Source-field audit
- 28 October 2026 — metadata validation, not a field or access review.
- Public-access dataset screening
- PAD-US fee-property spatial match, 2026-10-28. See the access source and source date in the status reason.
- Individual access review
- Pending — a dataset match is not an individual route or field review.
Source: USGS historical topographic mining-feature inventory, Horton and San Juan (2025), DOI 10.5066/P9TAALR6. Historical point symbols and area centroids are not verified entrances or specimen coordinates.
Evidence, confidence & legal-use notes
USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
Automated spatial match to USGS PAD-US 4.1 fee-property geometry on 28 October 2026; not an individual field or current-route review. USGS PAD-US 4.1 labels Eastern Interior Field Office Open Access. This pin is an area centroid; the extent of the historical mining area has not been checked against the property boundary. Access attribution: GAP - Default (2024). This is a property-access lead; mine entry, specimen collecting and a safe approach are not established.
Evidence snapshot: 2026-10-28. Conditions can change after a review date, so recheck the current controlling source before travel.
Field-ready planning checklist
- Confirm the exact property or land unit and current managing authority.
- Check private boundaries, active mining claims, leases, closures and posted restrictions.
- Verify that the material and collecting method you intend to use are allowed.
- Use the map precision label correctly: context points are not specimen coordinates.
- Check road, weather, fire, seasonal and safety conditions before leaving.
- Leave protected cultural, paleontological and archaeological resources undisturbed.
Using this location for “rockhounding near me”
Distance is only the first filter. A useful nearby destination also needs an appropriate status, a realistic access route, a relevant material or geological reason and current permission evidence. Compare this record with nearby alternatives before choosing a trip.
COMMUNITY FIELD INTELLIGENCE
Public Testimony & Field Stories
Approved visitor reports add real-world context to the official and geological evidence above. Community testimony never overrides land-manager rules, ownership, claims, closures or protected-resource law.