The disease strikes when least expected. The overall length of a pegmatite structure varies between 2 meters up to 10 or 20 meters for a large structure. A view of the west wall of Pit C. At one point, four different pegmatites were exposed in the face. Jasper The vast mountains of public lands, while daunting to some, illicit a newfound sense of exploration and discovery for others. While not the rarest gemstone around, its certainly a great specimen and some of the formations that come out of the mountains in Colorado are very impressive. The region around the mine consists of gently rolling hills covered with pine trees and wild grasses. While there is some chance of public lands collecting in the area, most people end up at the inexpensive Florissant Fossil Quarry to dig and split shale. Close-up view of the west face of Pit C. The three small horizontally oriented openings are pockets. 39.5965N 120.0760W. Antero and neighboring peaks are the worlds third-highest elevation gem field. 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. On Crystal Peak's summit above 9,600 feet, scholars sat and sketched the valley's first geologic map, according to history compiled by the Florissant museum. Gunnison and the surrounding area have long been noted for their rock and mineral specimens. The following article provides some basic information on safety, rockhounding tools, collecting and our responsibilities towards the environment. The most famous is Crystal Peak. There were two sites left at the Two Point Mine to explore. The Stateline Kimberlite District. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. For activities that end up bringing you out to the remote reaches of the lands (like rockhounding) having a guidebook along has the potential to save you a lot of hassle. Located southwest of Buena Vista and high above the Arkansas River Valley, Mount Antero is part of central Colorado's pegmatite belt, where veins of exceptionally coarse rocks contain large concentrations of rare minerals. Colorado Rockhounding is a complete guide to the state's rich and varied mineral, gemstone, and fossil sources. The discovery came after three summers of exploration, test trenching, and open pit mining. Later on, trees were reintroduced to complete the reclamation task. Graphic by Bill Tanaka. Amazing smoky quartz, topaz and Amazonite have come from there. The formation has basically divided the area into a lower and upper unit. There is a relationship between the frequency of pocket-producing pegmatites and the north-south fault structures mapped at the Two Point Mine. The pocket discovery lay exactly at an intersection. Claims are typically 182 m wide and 457 m in length. The blue-green microcline feldspar and rich black smoky quartz crystals create an unparalleled contrast making these specimens highly prized among collectors. The pockets measured between 20 to 40 cm in diameter and 5 to 8 cm high. The discovery came after three summers of exploration, test trenching, and open pit mining. The collecting crew work the face of Pit C. From left: David Roter, George Robertson, Bryan Lees, and Robert Lorda (red hard hat). There were no white caps inside the pocket. In some areas, the faults are no more than thin planer features cutting through the surrounding granite. Though effort continued beyond 1997, only the first two years are summarized here. In Colorado, rockhounds may pick agate and petrified wood from the vast Great Plains, follow dinosaur tracks on hogback ridges, pan gold in mountain streams, hunt gemstones on towering peaks, and search for metal sulfide minerals in . The majority of these locations are my interpretation of Robert Bestes A Location Guide for Rock Hounds in the United States. Every piece was stained with limonite. November 10, 2018. Search in the southern areas near this mine, and you will find plenty of geodes of all sizes. The 10th highest peak in the US boasts an incredible amount of minerals, high above where normal hikers tend to spend their time. The downside is that considerable quantity of the land was developed into cabin and home areas some years ago. The opening only reached 20 cm high. Places like the Florissant Fossil Quarry offer visitors a near guarantee in at least finding some sort of fossil specimen of their own. Hiding within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Crystal Mine can be found off of Long Valley Road and just before you reach Lookout Campground. The tree root wound completely through the pocket to its very end, wedging and forcing the plates in all directions. Just to the southeast of the Two Point Mine are the excavations of Rock Currier and Bob Bartsch. Each produced a few high-quality small amazonite and smoky quartz plates. With over 770 types of minerals to be found, its second only to California in the number of different gems and minerals statewide. So, be sure to check where in the area you can go rockhounding. The Crystal Mine is in Dog valley (there are actually two separate locations) both of which can be reached from the Dog Valley side or alternatively through Verdi although I would be hesitant to head up right now with the snow, the roads can get pretty hairy and the closer to the mine the worse they get. The area also has an interesting history. Though there are many locations listed here, this list is far from exhaustive. I enjoy collecting and tumbling rocks with my daughter and traveling the world with my wife seeing geologic wonders. It is along the edges of these intrusions where some of the better specimens can be found. The pegmatites are not continuous structures. . To get to Wolf Creek Pass, the driver must be wide-awake as the road can deceive you. Walking around with your nose to the ground reopens that childhood part of us that thinks finding a pretty stone is a wondrous event. Another view inside the Tree Root Pocket. Every day for about 8 days, there was a collecting contest to see if the great piece pulled out today was better than the one collected yesterday. All of the best Two Point Mine pockets are oriented in a near horizontal position. Albite, Ankerite, Chlorite, Diopside, Epidote, Garnet, Lazurite, Magnetite, Stilbite, Talc, etc. The ownership and status of land can and does change frequently, making it impossible to document accurate information on this page. This is the most common microcline form found at the Two Point Mine. This area was filled and reclaimed. The broken root (left center) was followed directly into the pocket. The great thing about rockhounding is that it doesnt require much in the way of equipment or supplies. You can also check online resources like Mindat.org, which is a comprehensive database of minerals from around the world. Further work on the Two Point Mine evaluated other potential intersection sites. Its a little bit soft for rings, but it works well in most other types of jewelry. The pocket opening within a lens of this size could be up to 2 meters in diameter and 10 to 20 cm high. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. This updated and expanded comprehensive users guide to finding different rockhounding sites across the state includes pertinent information like driving directions, access specifics, seasons, regulations, and specific methods to help improve your rockhounding adventures at each site. The mine area is crisscrossed with faults, joints and pegmatites. In some areas they lie more or less horizontally, like bedding planes, while in others they dip wildly to angles approaching vertical. About 20 feet down, a series of 4 pegmatites, stacked one above the other, was uncovered. All of the space left over after the collapse has filled with clay. On approximately 250 million acres of public lands, visitors enjoy countless types of outdoor adventure - participating in activities as widely varied as camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, boating, whitewater rafting, hang gliding, off-highway vehicle driving, mountain biking, birding and wildlife . Many old prospectors search for pockets by following tree roots. On a typical crystal, a slight etching covered a few of the faces while others showed a brilliant luster. In the past, because most amazonite pockets are collapsed and the crystal groups disassembled, few amazonite and smoky quartz groups survived. Cherry Creek prospecting tips. However, because of the terrain and vegetation, these marked claim boundaries are sometimes difficult to see. amzn_assoc_linkid = "449ea551b1326ba1099098f322f2d915"; Most of the crystal group dismemberment involved the separation of amazonite from quartz. In Colorado, for over a century, the word Crystal Peak has evoked the vision of amazonite (green microcline feldspar) and smoky quartz combinations that have drawn prospectors to the area. The area is remarkable for those searching for rocks. If the pegmatite was very strong, i.e. Albite, Beryl, Lepidolite, Mica, Tourmaline, Monazite. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Crystal Peak Located on the Wah Wah Mountain Range, Crystal Peak is a result of a volcanic eruption from a nearby caldera around 35 million years ago. Crystal Park is open for day use only and has a fee per car. About 100 ne pieces were removed in addition to several hundred lesser pieces. A tree root followed the narrow seam of a pegmatite downwards into the pocket. Amazonite is a blue-green formation of microcline, with some of the higher-quality samples being used in jewelry. Colorados state mineral is rhodochrosite (well-known areas are near Alma). You wouldnt be amiss for thinking theyre an actual piece of wood. In the center of the pocket, the specimens were slightly more blue than the ones at the edges. Once youve collected some rocks and minerals, its time to clean them up. 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 pegmatites form where the intrusive rock has cooled much slower than the surrounding granite, allowing larger crystal growth to occur. Rockhounding and Mineral Collecting . 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. Rockhounding, Rockhounding end of March. First, theres no such thing as just a rock. A rock is more than an aggregate of minerals. . The company entered into a lease agreement with John O. Buckner in 1995 for the Two Point property. Get out there and start rockhounding! crystal peak colorado rockhounding. 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 pocket was packed with clay and contained only amazonite, no smoky quartz. The Tree Root Pocket. Market acceptability of nely-repaired specimens will give the eld collector the incentive to save and repair important pieces. You can even order some shale from the location and crack it at home, in case making a trip out isnt in the cards. State Mineral. Poppi, Luciano, Foord, Eugene E., Kile, Daniel E. (2000) Crystal chemical variations in Li- and Fe-rich micas from Pikes Peak batholith (central Colorado). Thelma Hurianek was instrumental in discovering the Museum Pocket that was reconstructed and is now on display at the Denver Museum of Natural History. In the late 1800s, prospectors first struck gold along Clear Creek near Central City. Amazonite, Fluorite (purple), Quartz crystals (clear, smoky), Fluorite, Gold, Silver, Chalcocite, Sphalerite, Willemite, Apophyllite, Aragonite, Calcite, Halloysite, Zeolite crystals, Stilbite, Zeolites, Aquamarine, Bertrandite, Beryl, Smoky Quartz crystals.