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Rock arches are sprinkled through the Western Desert.
Several are near the Tonopah Belmont mine. Always keep your eyes open for similar erosion created. ‘windows’.

“Arizona’s dry climate and varied topography make it a geology wonderland, an open textbook of geology.”

Halka Chronic
Roadside Geology of Arizona

Chalcedony forms a Desert Rose.

Short video by Geologist K. Murry about Saddle Mountains volcanic formation during Tonopah Area Coalition geology workshop.

See outlines covering subduction and volcanic action.

A few
basic rock hounding tips when visiting the Western Desert.

    Rock hounding remains a popular hobby and is allowed on BLM property including Wilderness Areas.  Good maps are needed to avoid private property and State Trust lands.         
    Saddle Mountain has been listed as a rock hunting site since the 1940’s so fire agate is a bit harder to find. But Belmont Mountain, Fourth of July Butte, Painted Rock and Eagletail Mountain are listed in current rock hounding guides also.  

  The Crescent includes 10 mountain ranges in the Basin and Range Province.  Numerous volcanic features like Woolsey Peak, Courthouse Rock, and Saddle Mountain make geology a fascinating feature within this region.  
   Here geology plays a major role in the character of the hills and mountains which govern plants and wildlife.  More recently geology has governed the ways of man.
   Another feature is the Sentinel Lava Field where the north edge defines the trough that creates the diagonal flow of the Gila River, starting near Arlington. This geologic feature is the youngest example of volcanism in Arizona.
    These are just a few of the many geology elements within the Western Desert.  See Saddle Mountain Review of Geology for more details.

Courthouse Rock and Eagletail Mountains are a unique geologic area that provide a fun hiking area.