Map of Phosphate Claims Rich County Utah

Phosphate claims in Utah’s Crawford Mountains.

“Details vary, but most sources agree that phosphate in Utah was first discovered and produced in the late 1890s along Woodruff Creek, southwest of the town of Woodruff in Rich County. Only a small amount of phosphate rock was produced near Woodruff Creek, and in the early 1900s production shifted to the Crawford Mountains, also in Rich County. Production from the Crawfords was intermittent in the first half of the 20th century, but became more regular in the 1950s through the mid-1970s.

The Crawford Mountains hold some of the highest grade (greater than 30 percent P2O5) phosphate deposits in Utah, but the complex geologic structure of the Meade Peak Member in the area required underground mining, which is substantially more expensive than shallow surface mining. Production from the Crawfords has been negligible since the late 1970s.” – Utah Geological Survey.

This map shows the phosphate claims across Rich County, situated near the border with Wyoming in the northern part of Utah. Claim sites are named and outlined amid numbered townships. The only other details offered are sectional borders and a handful of named canyons.

Originally drawn by Lewis A. Jeffs. This is a later 20th-century reproduction, printed by Keuffel & Esser Co. of New York and probably used in a court case, based on the manuscript ‘Exhibit B” written above the title. https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/todays-and-tomorrows-phosphate/