(I do not live in the US right now.). A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Quartz crystals are abundant in the feldspar pits south of Laramie. Go to Albany County, since agates are commonly found near Marshall, located in northwestern Albany. Wyoming is home to some incredible jade specimens, mainly of the classes nephrite and jadeite. Youll learn so much and get the experience you might miss out on if you were on your own. And of course, nephrite jade can be found in such abundance that it is Wyomings state gemstone. Buy on Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. The Wasatch Formation is a great place to find manganese and uranium minerals. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. google_color_url="FFFFFF"; If you want to find sapphires, you may go to the Palmer Canyon in Albany, or go to Fremont, to the Grizzly Creek and Sweeny Basin. Volcanic type agates or chalcedony usually occur in stream gravels in the western half of the Bighorn Basin, of Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie Counties as well. Additionally, you cannot progress away from Black Rock to the southGoogle Earth and maps for the area are old, but mining concerns have cordoned off the area and dug huge swaths of land away, so youll just drive for 30 minutes and get stuck. If you want to find nephrite-type jades in Carbon County, which is the state mineral of Wyoming, you may want to look in the Kortes Dam area or the Sierra Madre Mountains. Thanks!! Tip: Check out my Complete Rock Tumbling Guide to make your rocks and gemstones really shine! Guide to Prospecting and Rock Hunting in Wyoming This region is full of mica minerals, phonolite, pumice, and Wyomingite in the Leucite Hills area. you can access Utah rockhounding locations https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=17-pa3pYy0AqN0D2Zh4cXklR9A7g&ll=39.483150381536596%2C-111.60763899999999&z=8. In fact, Wyoming is home to a unique variety of agate called Turritella agate that is extremely popular with local collectors. An official website of the United States government. Drive up the garbage road toward White Mountain and park near the area with the in-ground tank, then follow the trails west into the lower hills. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; Black Rock itself is ultrapotassic and in the past (and even still now) shed peridot. Rockhounds can find opal within the deposits associated with the parks hot springs. A relatively large area between Labarge and Granger, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta Counties also contains chalcedony. At the same time, some reports of meteorite findings are also standard in this region. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; hobby, or education. Specimens may become depleted from other collectors, the location may have been built on or altered, locality information in literature may be inaccurate, and property ownership may have changed hands. Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which spans over 2 million acres. Feldspar vs. Quartz: Whats the Difference? This site is devoted to sharing my love of rocks with you. Simple Explanation, 8 Factors Why Opal is Valuable (Prices for Different Types), How To Cut & Polish Petrified Wood: Follow These 3 Steps, Recommended tools and equipment for rockhounding, Commonly found in the Paleozoic rocks, the Permian Phosporia formation, and the Mississippian Madison limestone, The northwest city of Cody and the Lovell town in Big Horn County, The Spirit Mountain Cavern, located west of Cody, along the Yellowstone Highway, The Eocene Green River Formation of southwestern Wyoming, or the town of Green River, Very common in all of the Precambrian mountain cores of Wyoming, On the west of Jay Em in Muskrat Canyon area of Goshen County, about 15 miles west of Wheatland, in the Marble Canyon area of Platte County, in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Albany and Carbon Counties, the Bighorn Mountains, near Douglas, in Converse County, and from the west flank of the Black Hills in Crook County, The Copper Mountain, Freemont County, in the Laramie Range of Albany and Converse counties, the Lewiston area of Fremont County, and the Bighorn Mountains area of Washakie County, Almost in all of the Precambrian pegmatites of Wyoming, Albany County, Carbon County, or 23 miles southwest of Wheatland, Platte County. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. The GPS coordinate I put up in the map at the top of the page is right by a place called Black Rock, which is an ultrapotassic, lamproite volcaniclastic exposure. Still, if you know where to look you may be able to find one for your collection. Follow the dirt roads toward and past the water tower on the ridge. Library for the books I use when I go out rock hunting. Most of the mining has been less than 20 feet . Beryl, columbite-tantalite, copper minerals, feldspar minerals, lithium minerals, magnetite, manganese minerals, and mica minerals may be found in Copper Mountain in Fremont County. But where else can rockhounds explore, and what can they find? Here are 10 of the best rockhounding sites for rocks and minerals in Montana: Crystal Park - Amethyst, Quartz crystals Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine - Sapphire Jefferson River - Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper American Bar - Sapphire, Garnet, Kyanite Yellowstone River, Custer County - Moss Agate Pryor Mountains - Agate, Geodes, Fossils google_color_url="FFFFFF"; Wyoming is home to some incredible jade specimens, mainly of the classes nephrite and jadeite. 11 Essential Rock Tumbling Tips - Get Better Results! google_color_text="FFFFFF"; Obsidian is plentiful in Wyoming, especially abundant in Yellowstone National Park, where the Obsidian Cliff is located in the northwest part of the Park. HOME The entire region boasts many outcrops of bentonites, which are ash clay layers left over from ancient volcanic activity. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. This is one of the best family-friendly rockhounding locations in the entire country, where you can spend all day searching for you own diamonds. Manganese minerals or uranium minerals are found in the Wasatch Formation. or Forgot password? In case you wondering, the official state dinosaur of Wyoming is the Triceratops dinosaur, which is primarily uncovered in the Hell Creek Formation in the Black Hills region of South Dakota or eastern Wyoming. Welcome to the Wyoming State Geological Survey Interpreting the past, providing for the future. Also lots of buzzworms. Enter your email address to subscribe to this the content of this site, some of which, we hear, is worthwhile. i am wondering if we can even make it to the top. The Sand Creek and Red Buttes areas of Albany County are full of sedimentary rocks. The GPS coordinate I put up is right by a place called Black Rock, which is an ultrapotassic, lamproite volcaniclastic exposure. amzn_assoc_linkid = "aac5e87b1ca95eb9841c18e11fbbd48f"; This will be our first time rock hounding Wyoming. I spent about an hour at this location, and . In Wyoming, nearly all 18 million acres of public land are legal for gem enthusiasts to pursue their recreational activities. You can purchase a Bighorn National Forest visitor map for $14 at ranger district offices in Buffalo, Greybull, and Sheridan. . Black jade can be found in Fremont County as well. As a group, members learn so much about the local geology and spend time sharing knowledge of lapidary techniques necessary to enhance the appearance of their finds. I hope my articles will be useful to you. The best we have for GPS is cell phones. Im out of the US as I update this revision, so I dont have photos of the really good specimensgo figure. We have listed each type of crystal in separate sections since we know how much you love them. , Places to See Geologic Displays in Wyoming, Guide to Prospecting and Rock Hunting in Wyoming, "Rockhounding, Prospecting, and Fossil Hunting on the Shoshone National Forest". Theyre excellent for novices and experts alike, not to mention the members can likely share some of the lesser-known locations. Some areas appear to have kimberlite, though we havent used a diamond detector yet. Rockhounding Locations - Google My Maps Rockhounding Locations Rockhounding Locations Search Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More Calendar Translate Mobile Books. If you have a public-lands GPS map, you can proceed up the Plumbago Canyon road to the top, where people dont go, and find some nice specimens lying on the roadside. Ill be adding to this in the coming years. Rainbow agates are located along the Wind River near Riverton, in Fremont County. Wyoming State Mineral & Gem Society The ACEC encompasses approximately 41,500 acres, of which about 23,600 acres are public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Barstow Field Office. Make a right on it. The best rockhounding locations in the United States include the Oregon Beaches, Lake Superior, Crater of Diamonds State Park, Emerald Hollow Mine, Jade Cove Trail, Gold Prospecting Adventure, Fossil Butte National Monument, Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine, Spectrum Sunstone Mine, or Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine. You can find opal here, in the deposits associated with the hot springs. //-->, Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. GreenDay hikes; can be done as overnights. PDF Maps; Google Maps. She said she was looking for Sand People.. Follow the road toward its terminus (going down toward a river) and easy, walk-in access is available. I keep a good GPS on me so that they cant fuss me out too much, because they can and do fence in public land and claim its private. The books listed below are the best ones you can find on the internet (Amazon links): How can we talk about rockhounding in Wyoming and not mention the famous Yellowstone National Park? Find out where to find minerals in Wyoming down below. Gemstones are some of the most enjoyable specimens that rockhounds can find, but its not always easy to know where to look. In fact, everywhere in the blackened areas has petrified wood on both sides of the draw. We hope you enjoy your time on our site and come back often because were always adding new dig locations and crystal collecting updates. Pictures and notes on the fossils near Farson. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The locations and information contained in this article are primarily derived from academic papers, online resources, and other outside sources. Tom, this is an AMAZING resource. There is nothing quite like uncovering a quartz crystal with a perfect termination or finding a beautiful agate that has been waiting in a river bank for you to come along and take it home. A single column may be searched using the blank field at the top of each column. Here, rockhounds can find some incredible specimens, including: The Casper Mountains contain chromite, feldspar, and beryl. The Lost Creek areas of this county contain many uranium minerals, while petrified wood is found northeast of Eden. As you travel through Wyoming's basins and across its mountain ranges, you can pass over all of the geologic eras of time which produced a variety of rocks, minerals, and fossil types. You can follow the formations exposure along a great length of the escarpment. Members can expect various educational speakers and a lot of group interaction. Moonshine Arch near Vernal, UT along with a dinosaur track site at Red Fleet: 10.) They are most commonly found in gravels and the clays lining nearby streams. I mention all this as it helps explain how to find the peridot. Triceratops fossils are mostly found in the Hell Creek Formation in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, eastern Wyoming. google_ad_height=600; Goshen County is located in the southeastern end of Wyoming. circumstances since the article was originally published in 1989, it remains a valuable guide for anyone seeking additional resources in the pursuit of their interests, Membership is only $15 for adults 18 and up. //-->,