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A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

Burro Mountains Turquoise: Field Guide to the Elizabeth Pocket

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Burro Mountains turquoise — mined across Grant and Hidalgo Counties, New Mexico under marketing names including Azure, Tyrone, Parker, Porterfield, and Burro Chief — produced what the Elizabeth Pocket discovery of 1893 made the highest-volume, highest-grade turquoise find in recorded U.S. history. At its peak, the Azure Mining Company held the title of principal turquoise producer in the world.

Mateo's Field Notes

The geology of the Burro Mountains tells the formation story directly. Philip Chambless and Mike Ryan II record in Turquoise in America, Part One: "Turquoise formed when copper-bearing solutions rising in fissures with a northwest dip intersected fissures containing phosphate-bearing solutions with a southeast dip. The alumina was supplied by the decomposition of the feldspar within the same rock." (CHAMBLESS ~lines 3998–4058) That intersection — copper from one direction, phosphate from another, aluminum from the decomposing rock between them — is the chemical recipe for turquoise. The Burro Mountains geology provided all three in abundance, which is why the deposits stretched for miles of hillside rather than clustering in a single pocket.

The stone character across those miles was variable but consistently high-grade in the best areas. Per Chambless: "The color was mostly a deep blue, slightly translucent, and with hardness above 6 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, making it an ideal gem stone for jewelry." The Azure vein itself showed the geological complexity of the district: "A light greenish-blue might be bisected by a much bluer one making it evident that the two different formations were deposited at different times and under different conditions." (CHAMBLESS ~lines 4000–4490)

The defining event in Burro Mountains history was the Elizabeth Pocket discovery of 1893. Joe Dan and Joe P. Lowry document the claim origin: "These prehistoric workings were claimed by John Coleman and named the Calliate Claim in 1875. 'Turquoise John' was said to be on a hunting trip when he discovered the deposits. In 1893, the most famous and best turquoise from this area was discovered in what was called the Elizabeth Pocket." (LOWRY ~lines 11622–11655) Chambless's research provides the scale: the Elizabeth Pocket "produced more high-grade turquoise than had ever been discovered to that point in U.S. recorded history." The Azure Mining Company, which controlled those rights, became at its peak "the principal producer of turquoise in the world" — estimated sales from 1891 to 1914 running between two and five million dollars. (CHAMBLESS ~lines 4480–5100)

That quality sat at the top of the global market. The Burro Mountains / Elizabeth Pocket material was considered, per Chambless, "with Courtland, Arizona and Cerrillos, as the best in the world and brought up to $20 per carat wholesale." (CHAMBLESS ~4480–4490) Southwest turquoise replacing Persian turquoise in the U.S. market as the dominant prestige stone is traced in part to this specific deposit and this specific discovery.

Collector's Handbook: How to Recognize Burro Mountains / Tyrone Turquoise

  • Color tells: Primarily deep blue, slightly translucent. The Azure vein produced variable color depending on formation zone — light greenish-blue to deep blue within the same deposit. (CHAMBLESS ~4000–4490)
  • Matrix tells: Not specified as a single signature pattern in the corpus. The variability across miles of hillside deposits means matrix character varies by claim area.
  • Natural vs. treated notes: Hardness above 6 on the Mohs scale is documented for the Elizabeth Pocket material — naturally gem-grade. (CHAMBLESS ~4000–4490) Rush-era production predates modern stabilization; vintage Burro Mountains pieces should be natural unless documented otherwise.
  • Mine status: The rush-era production ended in the early twentieth century with the Azure Company's operations. The Tyrone copper mine complex continued under Phelps Dodge; turquoise byproduct rights and current production status are not confirmed in the corpus sources consulted.
  • Imitation caution: The marketing name proliferation (Azure, Tyrone, Parker, Porterfield, Burro Chief, Elizabeth Pocket, Calliate, Montezuma) means the same stone entered the market under many labels. Vintage pieces labeled "Azure" often originate from this district — the name was used by both the company and as a generic descriptor.

References

  • Chambless, Philip, and Mike Ryan II. Turquoise in America, Part One: The Great American Turquoise Rush 1890–1910. Callais Press, 2021. ~lines 3998–4058, 4480–5100.
  • Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Gibbs Smith, 2010. ~lines 11622–11655.

Related Entries

The three contemporaneous world-class mines: Cerrillos field guide (the Chaco-linked prehistoric and rush-era benchmark) and the Courtland, Arizona district (covered in historical context in the grading guide). For geological formation context, see turquoise grading and color. For matrix types, see turquoise matrix guide. For the Great American Turquoise Rush timeline, see the Southwest Jewelry Guide.