Red Mountain Turquoise: Field Guide to Nevada's Red-Matrix Spider Web
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Oscar Branson’s 1975 book placed the Red Mountain mine near Cortez, Nevada, and singled out its red matrix. Every statement below is quoted or paraphrased from that book, with page numbers, so you can check each one. Branson wrote in 1975; anything he describes as current describes 1975, not today.
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What Branson recorded
Writing in 1975, Branson described it this way:
“The Red Mountain Mine, near Cortez, Nevada produces some very attractive turquoise. The finest is a very hard compact spider web, with small to large veining.”
— Branson (1975), p. 27 [1]
Of the matrix, Branson (1975) wrote:
“The matrix is red with a black outline.”
— Branson (1975), p. 27 [1]
According to Branson (1975, p. 27), the deep blue was tinted deep green, which made very striking stones, and the mine also produced various blues and greens from light to dark. [1]
Branson (1975, p. 27) named rust-coloured veins in the matrix as the stone's notable characteristic. [1]
See all the turquoise mines we profile, including the other Nevada mines.
How this page is sourced. We strive for accuracy: every factual statement above is quoted from or credited to the printed work listed below, with page numbers, and this page is continuously updated with new information as we read more of our library. See something we should correct? Contact us.
From the Library: Lowry, Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (2010)
2010 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2010, not today.
Lowry (2010) places the deposits:
“These deposits are located on the east side of the Carico Lake Valley along the south slopes of Red Mountain.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 239 [2]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 239), the deposits were discovered in the 1970s and had several owners, including Clyde Wright, the Edgars, Erma Blossom and Austin Turner; as of 2010 the owner was Kelly McGinnis. [2]
From the Library: Schiffer, Turquoise Jewelry (2008)
2008 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2008, not today.
Writing in 2008, Schiffer characterized the stone:
“Red Mountain turquoise is known for its red and black-toned matrix.”
— Schiffer (2008), p. 11 [3]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry (1993)
1993 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1993, not today.
Bassman (1993, p. 25) pictured one- and two-strand Red Mountain turquoise necklaces with matching earrings, set off with spiny oyster shell, made in 1991 by Cheryl Marie Yestewa. [4]
From the Library: Ryan & Chambless, Turquoise in America Part Two: 1910–1990 (2020)
2020 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2020, not today.
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 202), Red Mountain lies about 12 miles southwest of the Fox turquoise mine, and before 1971 the area was under a blanket claim by the Aztec Mining Company. [5]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) on its reputation:
“Red Mountain became famous for the dark web it produced in the higher grades.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 202 [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 202), the Edgars mined the known prospect briefly before any claim was staked, calling it X15 after the spy plane because they were convinced someone was spying on them; a 1986 Nevada Bureau of Mines report lists J. W. and Dick Edgar's X15 as a prospect in 1965. [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 202), on February 3, 1971 James Doras (Ben) Edgar located Red Mountain Numbers 1 through 3 with his son James D. (Bucky) Edgar and Bucky's friend Thomas Morgan. [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 203), the Red Mountain pit was on Red Mountain 1 and the X15 diggings on Red Mountain 2; Cutler Edgar had the claims later in 1971 and sold them to Menless Winfield, who held them in 1972. [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 203), Warren Austin Turner bought the claims in 1973 and leased or sold them to Donald B. Potts, who filed amended locations in December 1974 and held them through the rest of the 1970s; Turner then had them through much of the 1980s, doing little mining and often sub-leasing. [5]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 203), the Northern Lights claims below Red Mountain produced a green-blue turquoise, were held by L. W. Hardy in the late 1970s, and as of 2020 were held by Philip Chambless and John Huntress with Helen and Richard Shull. [5]
Recollections below are the speakers' own memories, recorded in interviews published by Ryan & Chambless (2020); they are credited to the speaker, not stated as fact.
Tom Morgan recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 203), that the X15 lay two hundred yards south of the original claims on the same ridge, and that Cutler Edgar sold the claims to Menless Winfield for fifty thousand dollars. [5]
Tom Morgan, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020), on the X15 colours:
“It threw some pretty blue but also some real pretty bluegreens, yellow-green, and grass green.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 203 [5]
Tom Morgan recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 204), that a batch of nuggets washed in chlorinated water turned snow white on the outside, yet when Jesse Zachery Jr. cut into them the insides were spider web. [5]
Tom Morgan's verdict, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020):
“Some of that spider web that came off Red Mountain was better than anything in the world.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 204 [5]
Randall Marchese, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020), described the X15 stone he leased from Don Potts:
“It made a translucent, very hard, apple-green to a pale-blue turquoise.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 204 [5]
Randall Marchese recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 205), that his crew worked Red Mountain from 1974 until 1978, and that in about a week they picked roughly four to five hundred pounds of turquoise off the old dump. [5]
From the Library: Lowry, Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide (2002)
2002 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2002, not today.
Lowry (2002) on the range of Red Mountain stone:
“Over the years this mine has produced a large quantity of graded turquoise, but the best Red Mountain turquoise rivals some of the higher quality material produced by the best mines in the Southwest.”
— Lowry (2002), p. 61 [6]
According to Lowry (2002, p. 61), Red Mountain was a good source of intricate spiderweb-matrix stones used in fine gold and silver Indian jewelry, and of small, high-grade nuggets drilled, polished and strung as necklaces. [6]
Field Notes by Mateo James
Lowry dates the discovery to the 1970s. Ryan & Chambless (2020) agree the first Red Mountain claims were filed in February 1971, but cite a 1986 Nevada Bureau of Mines report showing the Edgars already listing the spot as a prospect in 1965. Their chain of holders (the Edgars, Winfield, Turner, Potts) also leaves out the Clyde Wright and Erma Blossom names in Lowry's list. I tend to side with Ryan & Chambless on the dates, and I have kept both lists of owners.
Sources
- Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. Santa Fe: Treasure Chest Publications, 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions in 1975.
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2010. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2010.
- Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry. Revised 4th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2008. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2008.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1993. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1993.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide. Photography by Mark Nohl. Tucson, AZ: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2002. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2002.