Sedona Sunrise #15

About This Claim

Drive-Right-In Placer Ground on the Sycamore Pass Road, West of Sedona

The Sedona Sunrise #15 Is Available — the Easiest-to-Reach Claim in the Group!

If easy access is at the top of your list, meet the Sedona Sunrise #15. This full 20 acre unpatented placer claim on the Coconino National Forest has Forest Road 525C — the Sycamore Pass Road — running right through the middle of it, and the junction with Bill Gray Road (FR 761) sits just north of the claim. Both are graded Forest Service roads; a high-clearance vehicle is recommended. At about 4,337 feet, it’s the highest of our four Sedona claims, sitting on a gentle rise between two washes with red rock country in every direction — about 10½ miles west of Uptown Sedona and less than 4 miles from the Palatki cliff dwellings.

Red Rock Country With a Mining Pedigree

Sedona is famous for its red rocks — but this valley is also serious mining country. Just 12.9 miles southwest, on Cleopatra Hill in the Black Hills, lies Jerome, Arizona’s “Billion Dollar Copper Camp.” Montana Copper King William A. Clark took control of the United Verde mine in 1888, and between 1880 and 1930 alone it produced nearly 2 billion pounds of copper, more than 1 million ounces of gold and about 34.6 million ounces of silver. Next door, “Rawhide Jimmy” Douglas’s United Verde Extension struck bonanza ore in 1914 — ore that averaged an astonishing 23.5% copper in 1916 — and went on to pay $55 million in dividends. All told, the Jerome district turned out about 1.57 million ounces of gold.

And the claim sits in very good company: Yavapai County ranks first in Arizona for gold production, with more than 3.7 million ounces recorded through 1959 — including some 266,800 ounces of placer gold. Prospectors are still at it today, too: BLM records show about a hundred active mining claims in the surrounding townships, and more than 500 across the greater Verde Valley.

Long before the prospectors, the Sinagua people were putting the minerals of this valley to work. Their cliff dwellings at Palatki (about 3.8 miles away) and Honanki (about 4.3 miles) are among the largest in Sedona’s Red Rock country, and their walls and rock art still stand today. The Sinagua made paint from blue azurite, green malachite and red hematite, wore turquoise, and mined salt at the Camp Verde Salt Mine — which may have been worked for 2,000 years and is considered one of the oldest underground mines in America.

Why This Ground Is Worth a Look

The Sedona Sunrise #15 sits on younger basin sediments — sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate laid down between about 2.6 and 23 million years ago, as the Verde Valley sank and filled. Here’s the story in a nutshell: starting some 10 to 14 million years ago, movement on the great Verde Fault lifted the Black Hills — home of Jerome’s billion-dollar ore bodies — and dropped the Verde Valley. Rivers poured sand and gravel into the basin, and a great lake, ancient Lake Verde, came to fill it, stretching nearly 35 miles across the valley and reaching from Jerome toward Sedona. Older river gravels preserved on the rim above nearby Sycamore Canyon are about 45% schist and 35% granite — ancient basement rock carried north by rivers flowing from the south. Seasonal washes run just north and south of the claim, carrying water with every summer monsoon, and Spring Creek flows just a quarter mile to the east.

• Basin sediments with conglomerate – Miocene–Pliocene sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate mapped at the claim by the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Ancient pebbles from the south – older river gravels on the rim above nearby Sycamore Canyon carry schist and granite, the same ancient basement family that hosts the Black Hills’ copper-gold-silver deposits.
• Monsoon-sorted washes – seasonal washes just north and south of the claim, with Spring Creek about a quarter mile east.
• Collector’s country – the region’s rocks offer jasper-like chert, quartz, calcite, and hematite-red sandstone, with petrified wood reported in old gravels of the Sycamore Canyon area.

From Spanish Explorers to the Verde Canyon Railroad

This is some of the most storied country in Arizona. In 1583 the Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo, guided by Hopi people, reached the Verde River in search of mineral wealth and visited the mines near present-day Jerome. Prospectors filed the first copper claims at Jerome in 1876, and by 1900 the United Verde was the leading copper producer in the Arizona Territory. In 1912 the company founded Clarkdale — Arizona’s first master-planned community — whose smelter’s 430-foot brick stack, added in 1922, was once the tallest structure in Arizona. That same year crews with picks, shovels and dynamite finished the Verde Valley Railway through the red-walled Verde Canyon; today it carries visitors as the famous Verde Canyon Railroad.

Sedona itself got its post office in 1902, named for pioneer Sedona Schnebly, and from 1923 on more than 60 Hollywood productions were filmed among these red rocks. Today Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, so the stars over your claim are as spectacular as the scenery by day.

Getting here is simple: from Sedona, take State Route 89A southwest about 5 miles past the last traffic light in West Sedona, and just past mile marker 365 turn right (north) on Forest Road 525 toward Palatki and Honanki. In about 2.8 miles, bear left onto FR 525C, the Sycamore Pass Road, and FR 525C crosses right through the middle of the claim — no turn-offs needed. That’s roughly 5.9 miles from the highway. Fuel, supplies, restaurants and lodging are close by in West Sedona, Cottonwood and Cornville.

The Features of the “Sedona Sunrise #15” at a Glance

• In the Heart of Red Rock Country – About 10.6 miles west of Uptown Sedona and 8.3 miles from West Sedona, surrounded by the Coconino National Forest.
• Arizona’s #1 Gold County – Yavapai County leads the state with more than 3.7 million ounces of recorded gold through 1959, including some 266,800 ounces of placer gold.
• Billion Dollar Neighbors – Jerome’s United Verde and UVX mines, about 12.9 miles away, produced about 1.57 million ounces of gold along with billions of pounds of copper.
• A Road Right Through It – FR 525C, the Sycamore Pass Road, crosses the middle of the claim, with Bill Gray Road just north of the claim.
• Easy Access – Graded Forest Roads 525 and 525C, about 5.9 miles from State Route 89A (a high-clearance vehicle is recommended).
• Ancient History Next Door – The Palatki and Honanki cliff dwellings are just 3.8 and 4.3 miles away.
• A Full 20 Acres, Cleanly Laid Out – A tidy 1,320 by 660 foot rectangle with all four corners and the discovery monument published below, and a Google Earth KMZ to load straight into your phone.
• BLM-Verified & Active – Serial AZ106326422, in good standing and ready to transfer into your name.
• Buy One or Buy the Group – Part of the four-claim Sedona Legend & Sunrise group. Each claim is $17,995, or take all four for $71,980.

If you’re interested in purchasing this unpatented placer claim, please email me here.

Sedona Sunrise #15 Main Features

Type of Claim	Unpatented Claim; AZ106326422 (Placer)
Size of Claim	20 ACRES (approx. 1,320 ft × 660 ft)
Mining Commodities	Placer Gold; Jasper, Quartz, Calcite & Collectible Minerals
Legal Location	N½ NE¼ NW¼, Section 9, T17N R4E, Gila & Salt River Meridian
Elevation	About 4,337 ft
Land Manager	Coconino National Forest, Red Rock Ranger District
Accessibility	SR 89A → FR 525 → FR 525C (graded forest roads; high-clearance recommended), which crosses the claim; also via Bill Gray Road (FR 761) from Cottonwood
Water	Seasonal washes just north and south of the claim; Spring Creek about ¼ mile east
Closest Towns	Sedona (~10.6 mi), Cornville (~11.0 mi), Cottonwood (~10.1 mi), Arizona
Camping	At the designated West Sedona camping sites nearby along FR 525, per Coconino National Forest Order 03-04-06-26-04; 14-day stay limit
Prior Workings	None recorded — fresh ground
Cell Phone Reception	Reported in the area (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile)
Type of Deposit	Placer

Claim Boundaries, Location Map and GPS Coordinates

The Four Corners

Sedona Sunrise #15

NE	34.876315°, -111.945034°
NW	34.876322°, -111.949438°
SE	34.874512°, -111.945032°
SW	34.874495°, -111.949440°

Discovery Monument

Sedona Sunrise #15

Monument	34.875412°, -111.949257° (approx.)

Corner and monument coordinates (WGS84) read from the claim’s Google Earth KMZ boundary file. USGS Loy Butte and Page Springs 7.5′ quadrangles; Section 9, T17N R4E, Gila & Salt River Meridian.

• ↓ Download the Google Earth KMZ of “Sedona Sunrise #15” boundaries
• View the claim on the interactive map

Economic Information About the Deposit and Operations

Operation type	Placer
Development status	Prospect — no recorded workings
Commodity type	Gold; collectible minerals
Deposit size	Yours to discover

Mining District & Historic Neighbors

Region	Verde Valley, Yavapai County — nearest organized district is the Verde (Jerome) District, about 12.9 mi SW
Historic Mines Nearby	United Verde Mine, Jerome – ~1 million oz gold, 1880–1930 (~12.9 mi SW) United Verde Extension (UVX) – MRDS#10102464 (~12.9 mi SW) Clarkdale Smelter, 1915–1950 (~9.6 mi SW) Cherry Creek District gold mines (~22 mi SSW) Camp Verde Salt Mine – prehistoric & 1920s–30s (~23 mi S)

Geologic Structures

Type of Structure

Edge of the Colorado Plateau — Permian red beds of the Sedona country meeting the faulted Verde Valley basin

Structure Description

Units mapped at and around the claim (USGS SIM-2996; AZGS mapping): Miocene–Pliocene basin sedimentary rocks (sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate) — mapped at the claim (USGS SIM-2996, DeWitt et al., 2008) Hermit Formation and Supai Group red beds — Sedona’s red rock foundation Schnebly Hill Formation & Coconino Sandstone — the famous cliffs a few miles to the north and northeast Verde Formation — lake beds of ancient Lake Verde (about 2½ to 8 million years old) to the south Verde Fault zone — the great fault that lifted Jerome’s Black Hills, across the valley

Sedona Sunrise #15 Mineral Rights Transfer Process

A mining claim gives the holder the right to mine on mineral-rich land that belongs to the federal government. Mining claims are a tangible asset and show proof of all interests in minerals in the area. They can be bought, sold or used as collateral, just like any other piece of real estate.

A mining claim can be sold, traded, leased, gifted, willed, used as collateral or transferred in part or in its entirety just like any other real property using a quitclaim deed which is a recordable conveyance. Questions about the transfer process can be answered by contacting us anytime. All fees and paperwork are current.

Purchasing the “Sedona Sunrise #15”

• Full mineral rights transfer for “Sedona Sunrise #15” 20 Acre Placer Mining Claim
• Official certificates of location, claim locations and digital maps
• Email based support for claim maintenance and questions

Need help purchasing this unpatented placer claim?

Email me for more information and additional payment options.

After your purchase is complete you will be requested to fill out our new claim owner form with your name/address or add any additional claimants you want on the claim.

Digital copies of your COL and Map of Location will be delivered via email in PDF format, as well as a Google Earth™ KMZ map file with your claim’s discovery, corners and points of interest.

We handle all the filing and transfer services on your behalf. Expect to get official stamped/recorded copies of your paperwork mailed to you from the Yavapai County Recorder’s Office and the Arizona Bureau of Land Management officiating you as the new claimant within 45 days of purchase. Then officially enjoy prospecting on your own claim!

Mineralization & Commodities

Sedona Sunrise #15 is a 20 acre placer mining claim in the Verde Valley of Yavapai County, Arizona, in the red rock country west of Sedona. It comes to market in an extraordinary metals environment, with spot gold trading around $4,180 an ounce on September 30, 2026 — more than $300 higher than a year earlier — after setting an all-time high of nearly $5,600 an ounce in late January, and silver holding above $60. At these prices, every speck in the pan counts.

Metals produced in the Verde Valley region include:

Rocks and minerals for the collector in the region’s formations:

The Verde Valley region has produced gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc from the great ore bodies of Jerome, and salt, gypsum and rare sodium minerals like thenardite and glauberite from the ancient lake beds near Camp Verde. Closer to home, the area’s limestones offer jasper-like chert, quartz and calcite, and petrified wood has been reported in old gravels of the nearby Sycamore Canyon area — a fun bonus for the rockhound while you prospect.

Geology & Setting

The Sedona Sunrise #15 sits at about 4,337 ft at the center of the claim — the highest of the four Sedona claims, in the USGS Loy Butte and Page Springs 7.5′ quadrangles, west of Sedona and north of State Route 89A. The claim area is characterized by:

• Miocene–Pliocene basin sedimentary rocks (sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate) — mapped at the claim (USGS SIM-2996, DeWitt et al., 2008)
• The famous red rock layers of Sedona — colored by hematite and some 270 to 300 million years old
• The northern reaches of the Verde Valley basin, filled with sediment shed off the mineral-rich Black Hills and the Mogollon Rim
• Jerome’s billion-dollar copper-gold-silver district about 12.9 miles to the southwest
• Open juniper and high-desert country on the Coconino National Forest, with forest-road access off SR 89A

This claim is an opportunity to own 20 acres of placer mineral rights in one of the most beautiful corners of the American West — with a front-row seat to Sedona’s red rocks and the rich mining history of the Verde Valley.

About the Verde Valley Region

The Verde Valley stretches from the Black Hills and Jerome on the southwest to the red rock cliffs of Sedona and the Mogollon Rim on the northeast. Starting some ten to fourteen million years ago, movement on the Verde Fault lifted the Black Hills and dropped the valley; ancient Lake Verde filled it for millions of years before spilling over about 2½ million years ago to form today’s Verde River, about 6.5 miles from the claim. Around it lie some of the great names of Arizona history: Jerome, Clarkdale, Tuzigoot (about 8.5 miles), Montezuma Castle, and the Sinagua cliff dwellings of Palatki and Honanki.

Today the area is one of the most loved destinations in the Southwest, with world-class hiking, wineries along the Verde Valley Wine Trail in Cornville and Page Springs, the Verde Canyon Railroad, and the galleries and restaurants of Sedona and Jerome. A claim here is a place to prospect, explore and enjoy for years to come — and the Sedona Sunrise #15 puts you right in the middle of it.

Why Buy Through Mountain Man Mining?

• 7+ years in business with hundreds of successful claim transfers
• BLM-verified listings — every claim is confirmed active before listing
• All paperwork handled — no guesswork, no missed deadlines
• Free consultations — talk through the claim, the process, and your goals before you buy
• Post-sale support — we’re available to answer questions even after you own it