The real gems that rockhounds are eager to get their hands on in Platte County are banded agates and drusy quartz specimens. Bula, yall! Here you can find minerals, rocks, and varieties of quartz such as allanite, beryl, calcite-aragonite, columbite-tantalite, copper minerals, euxenite, galena, hematite, jade, mica minerals, monazite, opal, pyrite, agates, uranium minerals, vermiculite, gabbro, pegmatite, sedimentary rocks, taconite, and slate, among other things. The best we have for GPS is cell phones. These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. I encourage you to check them out if you are curious about the legalities of rock and mineral collecting. LOCATIONS FOR ROCKHOUNDING IN WYOMING Includes descriptions and maps. You can also find agatized and opalized wood specimens here. You can follow the formations exposure along a great length of the escarpment. 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. Exposed and subsumed vertebrate fossils of what amounts to a type of ancient alligator-type creature, as well as some others, can be found here. The state fossil Knightia-fish is located in the Green Fiver Formation of Wyoming. Rockhounding Locations in WY, MT; UT. These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. Keep me signed in. In the Bighorn Range part of Natrona County, you may discover pegmatite, while the igneous rock pumice-pumicite is located in the Split Rock area of Natrona County. 5 Crucial Signs, Gemstone & Crystal Properties (Quick Study Home), Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Rocks and Minerals (National Geographic Kids), Difference Between Real & Fake Geodes: Focus on These Signs, What Is Agate And How Do Agates Form? google_color_text="FFFFFF"; Official websites use .gov google_ad_width=120; Guide to Prospecting and Rock Hunting in Wyoming The Sierra Madre Mountains are noted for their jade findings too. . While there may have been changes in hours of public viewing, business location and/or other Black Rock itself is ultrapotassic and in the past (and even still now), shed peridot. Fremont, Sweetwater, Washakie, Natrona, and Carbon Counties are all prime rockhound locations to find Jade. Carbon County is also a famous location for rockhounding in Wyoming. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Interesting sedimentary features near Adobe Town, WY: 7.) Fossil Butte National Monument NPS Public Domain Photo Places to Explore. We are here for any questions or concerns that might arise about your adventures in mineral collecting. Here at Rockhounding Maps, we give you access and information to the best dig sites for crystals and minerals in Wyoming. This new version of the guide arranges the sites into counties and regions, with a different chapter for each county. 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. Follow posted signage and always get permission from the landowner to collect. In Wyoming, there is a wide variety of gemstones like jade, the states official gemstone, diamonds, sapphire, ruby, opal, peridot, iolite, agate, petrified wood, and quartz crystals. However, anywhere in the area around Black Rock should be good, and maybe to the west, too, which I havent checked yet. Rainbow agates have been found along the Wind River near Riverton. There is of course another way to find larger pieces of peridot in the area. If youre unsure where to start, try looking into some of Wyomings rockhound clubs and societies. 08-13-11 A very hot day to rockhound with cool marcasite, 09-03-11 Crystal park quartz crystals and bread, 10-15-11 Another world class pseudomorph deposit, 2012 Denver gem and mineral show report fall, 2013 Denver gem and mineral show report fall, 2013 Rockhounding and mineral collecting reports, 04-06-13 Shirley basin agates and calcite, 04-13-13 red feather quartz crystals and a surprise mineral, 2014 Denver gem and mineral show report fall, Denver Coliseum Mineral Fossil and Gem Show, International Gem Jewelry Show denver 2014, Denver gem and mineral show 2010 report fall, Denver mineral show report 2010 fall part 2, Denver mineral show report 2010 fall part 3, Denver mineral show report 2010 fall part 4, Denver mineral show report 2010 fall part 5, Photo report Denver gem mineral rockhounding show 2011, Denver gem and mineral show report 2010 spring, Denver gem and mineral show report 2011 spring, Links to other Rock show reports Tucson , Denver, Blue Forest Wyoming petrified wood location, Copper Mountain Pegmatite District Wyoming. I cant tell you exactly where to go due to land-access issues. Rockhounding Wyoming by Kenneth Graham. Cancel. I have created guides for every U.S. state including thousands of rockhounding sites - and continue to add more every day. High-clearance only. Follow the four-wheeler track down the mountain and into the badlands below. If you want to know more about rockhounding in Wyoming or you prefer paper books, I recommend buying the book Rockhounding Wyoming: A Guide to the States Best Rockhounding Sites (2nd Edition). If you want to find agates in Albany, they are usually found near Marshall, located in northwestern Albany. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; And of course, nephrite jade can be found in such abundance that it is Wyomings state gemstone. Carbon County is the home to some excellent specimens, including: Suppose youre interested in finding nephrite-type jade specimens. If you want to find fossils, you should know that the Triceratops is the states official dinosaur, while the Knightia Fish is the official state fossil of Wyoming. Cryptocrystalline quartz varieties like agate, jasper, chalcedony, and petrified wood are prevalent over much of the region. The specimens found here vary from blue, and light gray, to deep colors such as violet. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; Fossil Mountain & Darby Wind Cave near Jackson, WY: 8.) Is the watermelon rock you mentioned in article of the tourmaline family? If you have limited time and want to have the best chance of success, you might prefer to use either of these private areas which have fees associated: Both are located near Kemmerer! or Forgot password? That is partly because of about 50 percent of the states public land. However, I have compiled a list of resources here so that you may investigate and obtain permission for any locations (found here or elsewhere) for yourself. A lot of theseWyomingrock collecting sights have mining claims that come and go. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below. Rockhounding Wyoming: A Guide to the State's Best Rockhounding Sites $24.95 This title will be released on July 1, 2023. Lets dig in! A majority of counties in Wyoming contain numerous rocks, minerals, fossils, and gemstones. A locations listing here is not a guarantee of accuracy. Places such as Fremont, Washakie, Sweetwater, Carbon, or Natrona County are where you can find jade, which is Wyomings official state gemstone. Also lots of buzzworms. "Rockhounding Rules on BLM Public Lands" and In that case, you might want to explore the Kortes Dam area and the Sierra Madre Mountains. //-->, Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. They were easy to dig out of formation, but even more easily were found eroded perfectly on the surface. Black jade can be found in Fremont County as well. The link in the heading goes to what I consider the best egress point, whereas the pin in the main map shows a better location for finding material. Pegmatite and sedimentary rocks such as bentonite are also found in Johnson County. If you want to find sapphires, you may go to the Palmer Canyon in Albany. Wyoming is perhaps most well known for its world-class National Parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Below you will find maps published by the Wyoming State Geological Survey. In the table down below, you can see what other minerals can be found in Wyoming, and their exact locations. Make a right on it. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; These rockhounding sights of Wyoming are mostly on public land but a good. Here, rockhounds can find some incredible specimens, including: The Casper Mountains contain chromite, feldspar, and beryl. what are the host rocks associated with watermelon rock and the labradorite? google_ad_width=120; | Other great places to find opals are the Absaroka Mountains, which are in the area of northwest Wyoming, near Smith Creek in Carbon County, or near Lusk in Niobrara County. It is the responsibility of each rockhound to obtain permission from a landowner to search and/or collect on a piece of property. Gold can also be panned in Douglas Creek in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southeastern Wyoming, or the Sweetwater River and tributaries in the southern part of the Wind River Mountains. However, that hasnt limited their successful innovation and progress. at Cedar Mountain. Im going to try and find a shark tooth location to surprise my husband. . It will turn slightly left for a short, steep incline. For reference, Ive explored both directions in a small, Cheep Patriot [sic]. Zoom in for full list. 05-01-11 Water line and fortification agate and calcite geodes and selenite phew!! When you look for it, it often just looks like ugly, whiteish or greyish rocks. Sadly, it is illegal to rockhound in Yellowstone National Park, but you can do it outside the area. was featured in the November 2012 issue of Jade State News. Wyoming's Cultural Geology Guide, published by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (2015), provides an up-to-date, comprehensive list of Museums and sites that To determine what type of public land a particular location is on, I would recommend starting with the Wyoming Game & Fish Departments Public Access Summary. The Rocky Mountain area, the Encampment district in Carbon County, Hartville district, Platte County, the Copper Mountain district, Precambrian pegmatites in Fremont and Natrona Counties, the Black Mountain, and the Copper Mountain, The Eocene Wind River formation of the Gas Hills area, Fremont and Natrona Counties, the Shirley Basin area of Carbon County, the Fall River, and Lakota sandstones in the Black Hills area of Crook County, The Casper Mountain, Natrona County, Haystack Range, Goshen County, Laramie Range, Albany, and Laramie Counties, In Albany, Fremont, Johnson, Natrona, Washakie, and Weston Counties, north of Sundance in the Warren Peaks area of Crook County, In the Laramie Range, Albany and Platte Counties, the southern part of the Medicine Bow Range, Albany and Carbon Counties, the Copper Mountain area, The western half of the Bighorn Basin, of Bighorn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie Counties, the area between Labarge and Granger, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta Counties. Rockhound Trip report spring 2008. Agatized fossil shells near Rock Springs, WY: 14. No, this wont make you rich. Members can participate in outings, monthly meetings and be a part of a fantastic rockhounding community. You can find opal here, in the deposits associated with the hot springs. Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution. Most of the gold produced in Wyoming comes from the Atlantic City-South Pass-Sweetwater district. Welcome to the Wyoming State Geological Survey Interpreting the past, providing for the future. google_color_link="000000"; TIP:Dont forget to follow all the safety recommendations when rockhounding because your health is always the most important. Stream gravels, washes, and draws all over this region will have the potential to contain nephrite jade as well as agates and petrified wood. Concretion and geodes are common in many of the sedimentary rocks in the state, but a good way of finding geodes in Wyoming is to search for the conglomerate in limestone or sandstone. Triceratops fossils are mostly found in the Hell Creek Formation in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, eastern Wyoming. 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 Buy on Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Obsidian is abundant in Yellowstone, with the most famous location being the Obsidian Cliff, located in the northwest part of the Park. Find out how these beautiful minerals are formed and more in this article:What Is Agate And How Do Agates Form? In Wyoming, you can find sedimentary rocks such as bentonite, chert, coal, concretion-geode, conglomerate, gypsum, limestone-dolomite, oil shale, shale, taconite, or trona, among many others. We hope you enjoy your time on our site and come back often because were always adding new dig locations and crystal collecting updates. Thats both an easy and challenging question since all of Wyoming is excellent for rockhounding enthusiasts. First of all, check the Tertiary igneous rocks in the Wood River and Sunlight Basin areas of Park County and the Black Hills area of northeastern Wyoming. This club hosts multiple outings every month during the summer. Rockhounding in Wyoming is a great way to discover the states diverse geology and fossilized wildlife. Most of the collectible material in the area is in the quartz family. You can get an individual or family club membership at a low rate. The GPS coordinate I put up is right by a place called Black Rock, which is an ultrapotassic, lamproite volcaniclastic exposure. Becoming a member of one or more clubs or societies comes with a wealth of benefits. You can also find agates a few miles west of Saratoga, Carbon County. Albany County is in the bottom eastern portion of Wyoming and borders the northern Colorado state line. 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. There are a couple of metamorphic rocks that you can find in the state of Wyoming. After a little bit it will split; right goes to Superior, and left goes to Winton. If you want more locations before i get these done and a different view of theWyomingmineral collecting area check out my, ___________________________________________________, ____________________________________________________, Welcome to Wyoming Rockhounding Adventures, 2010 Rockhounding and mineral collecting reports, 03-27-10 Wyoming rock hounding agate and jasper, 04-23-10 Schrckingerite or schroeckingerite found at lost creek, 05-22-10 Riverton rockhound club field trip, 05-30-10 Orthoclase the other white crystal, 09-04-10 Wiggins fork moss agate petrified wood, 10-09-10 Malachite and azurite in the rain copper mountain part 3, 10-23-10 Azurite and malachite copper mountain pt4, 2011 Rockhounding and mineral collecting reports, 04-10-11 Schrckingerite or schroeckingerite found at lost creek part2. Wyoming Rockhound Locations Wyoming is among the top rockhounding locations in the United States. The Hot Park Area is near the Sierra Madre Mountains, and barite is commonly found a few miles southwest of Encampment. This website also participates in Google Adsense. (Said Kimm-ur.). 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. I enjoy collecting and tumbling rocks with my daughter and traveling the world with my wife seeing geologic wonders. Agate, Chalcedony, Chert, Jasper, Petrified wood, Silicified wood, Quartz crystals, Agate (Turritella agate), Agate, Chalcedony, Chert, Jasper, Quartz crystals, Silicified wood, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, Silicified wood, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, Petrified wood, Agate, Jasper, Opalized wood, Silicified wood, Silicified algae, Agate (Turritella agate), Chalcedony, Jasper, Quartz crystals, Petrified wood, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper (red, yellow), Quartzite, Agate (Turritella agate), Chalcedony, Chert, Jasper, Quartz crystals, Petrified wood, Silicified wood, Coffinite, Ilsemannite, Autunite, Pyrite, Uranophane, Uraninite, Cobaltite, Erythrite, Linnaeit, Pyrrhotite, Agate, Chalcedony, Gastroliths, Jasper, Petrified wood, Quartz crystals, Azurite, Bornite, Chalcocite, Chrysocolla, Malachite. As for what you should be looking for, the following link provides better examples than I have (since Im on my phone). The 75 sites described in this guide take you across the red desert to the high mountain majesty of the Big Horns and Wind Rivers as well as the geologic wonders of Yellowstone National Park. I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. The Lost Creek areas of this county contain many uranium minerals, while petrified wood is found northeast of Eden. google_ad_type="text_image"; To find petrified wood in Wyoming, you should go northeast of Eden, Sweetwater County, or the Wind River Formation where the Eocene age petrified wood is, 35 miles north of Medicine Bow, near the old Casper road. Hello and thank you for posting this information. To get you started on prospecting, the Wyoming State Geological Survey has prepared a Peridot in ant hills and arroyos near Black Rock Butte. This article will dive deeper into the many great rockhounding sites across the state (along with maps), but Id like to highlight a few standouts here. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; The locations and information contained in this article are primarily derived from academic papers, online resources, and other outside sources. Gold can also be found in Park County, specifically the Wood River and Sunlight Basin areas. You may want to look in the Kortes Dam area or the Sierra Madre Mountains for jades. Through quite a bit of research and cross-referencing of available literature, I have compiled this list of some prospective locations in Wyoming which I would recommend to people looking to do some rockhounding. YellowOvernight hikes, typically 2 nights. here. In Wyoming, nearly all 18 million acres of public land are legal for gem enthusiasts to pursue their recreational activities. google_color_bg="1B1B1B"; It will help show how non-descript the host is. Sweetwater County is located in the southwestern part of Wyoming. This place is located in the south part of Wyoming, and Albany County is located on its eastern side. Zirkel Mesa to the west is actually remnants of exposed cinder cone volcanoes. The entire region boasts many outcrops of bentonites, which are ash clay layers left over from ancient volcanic activity. You will find everything about rocks, minerals, and crystals here. The many mountain ranges and associated volcanic activity throughout the state have created a perfect geologic environment for the creation of many interesting gemstones that you can now find in countless locations across the region. Rockhounding is recognized as a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of the 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming. Welcome to Wyoming Rockhounding Adventures, 2010 Rockhounding and mineral collecting reports, 03-27-10 Wyoming rock hounding agate and jasper, 04-23-10 Schrckingerite or schroeckingerite found at lost creek, 05-22-10 Riverton rockhound club field trip, 05-30-10 Orthoclase the other white crystal, 09-04-10 Wiggins fork moss agate petrified wood, 10-09-10 Malachite and azurite in the rain copper mountain part 3, 10-23-10 Azurite and malachite copper mountain pt4, 2011 Rockhounding and mineral collecting reports, 04-10-11 Schrckingerite or schroeckingerite found at lost creek part2. Use this resource as a guide to get you started. Below is a list of rockhounding locations in wyoming with a description of the minerals found there and pictures. National forest and national grassland maps are also available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) USGS Store, which offers secure, online ordering ($5 service charge applies), along with ordering by phone . 05-01-11 Water line and fortification agate and calcite geodes and selenite phew!! Check out the table down below to see where these specimens of sedimentary rocks are found in Wyoming. If opals are something you hope to find, check around Smith Creek. TIP:Feldspar minerals are very common in Wyoming. //-->,