A wide variety of rocks and minerals can be found including rhodonite, amethyst, sphalerite, agate, garnet, fluorite, and fossils. These are mostly comprised of old mining prospects, streams, and historically known rock and mineral collecting sites. Get out there and start rockhounding! The pocket opening was about 50 cm in diameter, 10 cm high and produced about 50 single crystals. In this area, the best bet is to simply walk around and look for surface-exposed pieces of petrified wood on chalky sandy soils. On the surface, a few small fragments of deep blue-green amazonite (called color by local diggers) were lying exposed on the dump of a small hole dug years earlier. I will be visiting Colorado towards the end of next week. Snag a few pocket-sized baubles that catch your eye, or load actual buckets of finds for a tiny fee. The survey was a disappointment. This intersection-type was similar to the one located in 1996 inside Pit C. Also, in October, 1997, a small test pit dug on the north end of Pit A yielded another pocket inside one of these intersection-types. After a quick wash, Robert Lorda and Bill Hawes (in photo) begin the long process of piecing the pocket back together. Options. From dilapidated abandoned mines to roadcuts along old travel routes, from remote mountain top collecting areas to pay-to-dig locations with modern facilities, there is something in Colorado for the amateur and experienced rockhound alike. Extensive lava flows cover much of the southwestern Mineral County. During the week of June 1, 1997, new equipment was moved onto the property. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Most of the crystal group dismemberment involved the separation of amazonite from quartz. Your reward will be a treasure trove of agate and chalcedony. Your best bet is to find the tailings of old silver mines, but be aware that not all of these areas are safe. With over 770 types of minerals to be found, it's second only to California in the number of different gems and minerals statewide. The specimens were. The color is best described as deep blue-green, one of the nest amazonite colors. But there is a little-known hobby that hearkens back to the state's gold rush days still practiced today by 21st-century miners using the same hand tools that explorers used hundreds of years ago. Specimens from Crystal Peak are sometimes referred to as coming from Lake George or Florissant, but the actual collecting area is located near Crystal Peak. Albite, Ankerite, Chlorite, Diopside, Epidote, Garnet, Lazurite, Magnetite, Stilbite, Talc, etc. Crystal Park is open for day use only and has a fee per car. The pockets measured between 20 to 40 cm in diameter and 5 to 8 cm high. Intrusive, coarse-grained igneous rock substantially containing crystals typically 1 cm or more in diameter is referred to as a pegmatite. These faults are near vertical. too fast for risk of injuring a good pocket. Found some Amazonite near Crystal Peak. And one of the best resources is membership in the Colorado Mineral Society (CMS). The Tree Root Pocket contained possibly the highest number of ne amazonite and smoky quartz groups ever documented from the Lake George region from a single pocket. Close-up view of the west face of Pit C. The three small horizontally oriented openings are pockets. The pegmatites form where the intrusive rock has cooled much slower than the surrounding granite, allowing larger crystal growth to occur. Carol Watson stands near a pocket discovery in Pit A. Story and Photos by Mark Leatherman. And as an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission on qualifying purchases after clicking on those links, at no additional cost to you. Next, get the most recently published guide to rock hounding in Colorado that describes the sites and includes directions and maps. While there seems to be a correlation of pockets being discovered at the intersections of north south fault structures and pegmatites, not all intersections yield pockets. If youre interested in getting started with rockhounding, this blog post is for you. Unfortunately, not a single additional pocket was discovered at depth, a surprise to everyone. There is a relationship between the frequency of pocket-producing pegmatites and the north-south fault structures mapped at the Two Point Mine. The later ts into the more classic model of pegmatite formation through magmatic differentiation during the late stages of cooling. The contents of the pocket shown in the photo above. You will find the area rich in geodes and quartz. The following project review provides historical and geologic information concerning the amazonite/smoky quartz occurrence at the Two Point Mine and the efforts of Collectors Edge Minerals, Inc. (CEMI) to conduct specimen mining and recovery during the 1996-1997 season. Overview Silica. The pockets were laying horizontally. The Two Points steep terrain and hard rock kept serious development from occurring until. Given the improvement in digging and repair techniques during the l990s, the potential for future important large nds is very good. In a sad twist, Mount Antero is covered in mining claims these days. Website. 4) Not really a good place for fossils or gemstones (there's not much to be found), but do check out Garden of the Gods. Turns out Mother Nature made, and buried, some really impressive display pieces in the area! It's a private community, and you're not allowed to collect minerals within the area. By mid-June, new exploration efforts were nally underway and a new pit, Pit D, was explored. Before repair work, photographs were taken of each group. Other sources include: California Rockhounding Location Guide & Map, Where to Buy Tumbling Rocks: 5 Popular Sites, Compared. For the adventurous, hiking the mountains of Colorado with a gold pan can incite a nostalgia of the old days and maybe turn up some specimens. Within a week, the pocket had opened up to 2 meters wide and about 1.7 meters deep. The opening uncovered the previous day was originally created when the graphic granite roof plates separated from their ner-grained granite host-rock. For the Tree Root Pocket collectors, this was a one-in-a-million eld collecting experience. Modern mining has stringent reclamation standards, therefore some of the pits dug the previous year were lled in, recontoured and seeded. Unfortunately, mining claims and thousands of people picking at the easy stuff over the years make it a bit harder to mine above the treeline than it should be. A popular activity in these areas, where the possibility of finding a geological treasure is real. Pit B, the original discovery pit of Two Point Mine, did not yield anything but broken quartz crystals. While not common, its still worth a trip just to enjoy the mountains. The discovery came after three summers of exploration, test trenching, and open pit mining. The following are just a few of the great areas to go for a mineral hunt in the state. Near Canon City, some of the oldest known vertebrate fossils have been uncovered. Unfortunately for rockhounds, the law prohibits them from publishing their names or contact information online. Apache Tears, properly known as black obsidian (Ruby Mountain in Chaffee County), were named for the Indian legend that they are the petrified tears of Apache women mourning the slaughter of their men in battle. Usually, the pegmatites are difficult to notice until their thickness reaches at least 10 cm; then they are easy to spot because they contain a course graphic granite texture which is visually distinctive from the more ne-grained granite host-rock. Market acceptability of nely-repaired specimens will give the eld collector the incentive to save and repair important pieces. Almost anywhere you turn in Colorado there will be something worth finding because collectible rocks and minerals are well distributed throughout the entire state. Crystal park is handicap accessible to a degree below are a few of colorado's richest rockhounding sites to get you started jerry's rock and gem was established in 1954 as jerry's. Part 10 carbondale / crystal river koa offers excellent camping amenities to its guests completely furnished cabins and lodges on most leases a rockhounding field . Located at the mountainside in the Pike National Forest, Colorado, is Devil's Head, famous for rockhounding. Further work would involve drilling and blasting that would not occur until 1997. The Pikes Peak granite is a 1.03 billion year old Precambrian granite which extends for over 120 km along the front range of Colorado near Colorado Springs. The replacement occurs by percolating groundwater that replaces the organic materials with silica. It contains more hematite and the amazonite is of a lighter non-commercial color. Though many weekend prospectors have combed hillsides digging with hand tools, few have had the resources to mine these valuable specimens with mechanized equipment. I enjoy collecting and tumbling rocks with my daughter and traveling the world with my wife seeing geologic wonders. Lake George intrusive center, after Wobus, 1976. Many outstanding repairs were discovered, including this one. Breaking into one and finding a pocket of minerals is an incredible experience, however. Within a few years, it was difficult to tell that the area was ever disturbed. It was . Crystal Peak is a USGS named summit in middle of the northern Sierra Nevada Diamond Mountains, on the border of Lassen and Plumas Counties, roughly between Reno and Susanville as the crow flies. About 3 meters down, the unconsolidated granite gave way to hard rock and the digging was discontinued. Theres still gold in them hills! Despite early miners flocking to Colorado by the tens of thousands and pulling nearly their weight out in gold, they didnt get it all. You will discover this rock paradise 10 miles south of Grand Junction. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. A hint of the amazonites quality can be seen through the clay. They include limestone, granite, sandstone and shale, as well as gravel beds, clay and even can you believe? But like you said stuff was pretty hard to find. Also, there were no baveno or manebach twins present inside the pocket, with the exception of one broken manebach measuring 9 cm across. Rockhounding Colorado: A Guide to the States Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series). The roof collapse created damage to many of the specimens. The graphic granite and pocket compose the pegmatite while the finer grained granite above and below (the graphic granite) comprise the granite host-rock. Looking for the best Rockhound locations near Colorado Springs?Look no further as we offer the best areas in Colorado Springs to find rocks, crystals and minerals for your collection.Find out what minerals or crystals you can find and where to hunt for rocks near Colorado Springs.Rockhounding near C. However, because of the terrain and vegetation, these marked claim boundaries are sometimes difficult to see. This will help you avoid damaging the specimens. Though effort continued beyond 1997, only the first two years are summarized here. So what are you waiting for? The Lake George intrusive center is considered to be a late, textural variant of the Pikes Peak Granite (Wobus, 1976). I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. Services. Because the granite in the target area was very weathered, the GPR system picked up variations between the decomposed granite and solid granite bedrock or granite boulders. A locations listing here is not a guarantee of accuracy. While world-class trout fishing is the main attraction, adventures also include viewing fossils and petrified redwoods at nearby Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as scenic and historic auto tours of Elevenmile Canyon and the Tarryall Valley. Unfortunately, none of the targets produced a pocket. Though there are many locations listed here, this list is far from exhaustive. In fact, any deposit that makes up the Earths outer crust. Topaz Mountain. crystal peak colorado rockhounding. The vast mountains of public lands, while daunting to some, illicit a newfound sense of exploration and discovery for others. Two kilometers to the southeast of the Two Point Mine lay the famous Gem Mines where Albert Whitmore mined amazonite in the late 1800s through the 1920s. Photo by Dave Roter. Consequently many crystals have detached from their matrix. The crystal groups exhibited great aesthetics but at this point one could not determine if the amazonite color was very good. Garnet Hill Located in the Colorado Rockies near the Crystal Peak area is a mining spot that is popular for its teal blue amazonite and smoky Quartz combination of crystals. At least until you noticed the abnormal weight. For the casual collector or the obsessed amateur, theres a little something for everyone, just about everywhere. Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing. This site contains a detailed process for accessing as much information as possible through these means. The formation of Crystal Peak. Once youve collected some rocks and minerals, its time to clean them up. 719-836-4298. You can also read through my free rock identification guide and mineral identification guide which are filled with useful information and tools. By the second day, it became apparent that the pocket was large. Rhodocrosite, on rare occasions, forms pink gemstones with high clarity. The repairs helped recreate the outstanding beauty of this pocket. Several of the amazonite plates contained snow-white albite balls that measured to 4 cm and two pieces contained 1.5 cm cassiterite crystals. I encourage you to check them out if you are curious about the legalities of rock and mineral collecting. Hiding within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Crystal Mine can be found off of Long Valley Road and just before you reach Lookout Campground. Pegamite, a gem-bearing granitic formation, is what youll be looking for. The Tree Root Pocket made its debut at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show in September, 1997 to an excited audience. JEEPN4GOLD/Google. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; Once youve found a good spot to start rockhounding, its time to start collecting! Many of the pieces consist of groups containing amazonite, quartz and (sometimes) white albite. Add in the short summer season where you can reach the gem fields it may not be worth it for the average rockhound. The formation has basically divided the area into a lower and upper unit. Starting with the rich gold and silver deposits which were the starting point of so many Colorado towns, the Centennial State. The best places to rockhound in Colorado include the areas around Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Gunnison, as well as Chaffee, Mesa, and Mineral Counties. Many old prospectors search for pockets by following tree roots.