wyoming rockhounding locations google maps wyoming rockhounding locations google maps

Palmer Canyon is the place to be if you want to find sapphire. 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. It will help show how non-descript the host is. You are sure welcome. Introduction 1. 15 Best Rocks & Minerals, Are Agates Valuable rocks? what are the host rocks associated with watermelon rock and the labradorite? Cracking them open reminds me of opening a Kinder-Egg with a surprise toy inside. Here at Rockhounding Maps, we give you access and information to the best dig sites for crystals and minerals in Wyoming. The majority of counties in Wyoming contain numerous minerals, rocks, gemstones, and fossils. google_color_text="FFFFFF"; The Medicine Bow Mountains are excellent places to find slate, galena, beryl, barite, and platinum-sperrylite. Devils Kitchen walk-in access near Red Gulch, Wyoming: 9.) As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 05-01-11 Water line and fortification agate and calcite geodes and selenite phew!! Rockhounding in eastern Wyoming offers a lot of opportunities to find a wide variety of rocks and minerals. 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? But where else can rockhounds explore, and what can they find? Places for rockhounds to explore in Wyoming. 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 is one of the best family-friendly rockhounding locations in the entire country, where you can spend all day searching for you own diamonds. (Said Kimm-ur.). Bookmarked. Wyoming is among the top rockhounding locations in the United States. Zirkel Mesa to the west is actually remnants of exposed cinder cone volcanoes. Objective is to get to Road 4412. here. 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. We wont be over that area probably until June but I like to plan ahead. Fish fossils and some shark teeth near Farson, WY: 13.) And if you have any tips (Ill keep your finds a secret! If youre hoping to find agates in Albany County, check around Marshall in the northwestern region of the county. Agates, copper minerals, uranium minerals, and calcite-aragonite can be found throughout Park County in northwestern Wyoming. If you want to hunt for Jade in Wyoming, you can start from the northern part of the Granite Mountains, or to the south of Crooks Countys Gap-Green Mountain. See my Wyoming Rockhounding Location Guide for more places to rockhound. Follow the four-wheeler track down the mountain and into the badlands below. 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. Please direct technical questions (including broken links) about this Web site to webmaster@wsmgs.org. We have listed each type of crystal in separate sections since we know how much you love them. If you sign up for GaiaGPS (free, takes about 2 clicks, and Ive never gotten mail from them, as its a husband+wife team that runs it), you can download the GPS data in the map to use on your phone or to import to Google Earth. For additional reading, Id highly recommend these books you can find on Amazon: Please remember that rock collecting locations are constantly changing. It should be no surprise that there are several rockhound societies in Wyoming worth checking into. I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. Albany County is home to some of the best rockhounding locations in Wyoming because there are various rock and mineral specimens, including: Sand Creek and the Red Buttes areas in Albany County are full of sedimentary rocks. While much of the region is difficult to access, a large portion of the land is managed by the National Forest Service and is largely open to the public for collecting. Black jade can be found in Fremont County as well. Precambrian metamorphic rocks are abundant in Wyoming. The best we have for GPS is cell phones. 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. And of course, nephrite jade can be found in such abundance that it is Wyomings state gemstone. Rockhounds have several excellent locations to choose from in Wyoming. Cancel. This site contains affiliate links to products. I find the watermelon stone about halfway up the canyon. Here are 10 of the best rockhounding sites for rocks and minerals in Wyoming: If youre doing some rockhounding in Wyoming, you wont be lacking for rocks and minerals to find. at Cedar Mountain. popular museums of interest to rockhounders, places to visit, and rockhounding sites for children and families. Carbon County is another prime rockhounding location in Wyoming. The number of potential collecting sites here makes it an excellent location for those interested not only in rocks, but also minerals that can be found within them! Is the watermelon rock you mentioned in article of the tourmaline family? The Lost Creek areas of this county contain many uranium minerals, while petrified wood is found northeast of Eden. Quartz crystals are relatively abundant in the feldspar pits just south of Laramie. . lol Thanks again! google_ad_host="pub-6693688277674466"; Down below is where you will find out where to find gold, fossils, and petrified wood in Wyoming. We are noobies at rockhounding and shark teeth have been on our bucket list. Map of the area. The ant hills are basically everywhere if you get out and walk around, and your biggest issue will most likely be needing 44 to get there, and especially across the creek to the north. ArcGIS login. Feldspar vs. Quartz: Whats the Difference? As you tour the State of Wyoming, feel free to contact any of the The Riverton Mineral and Gem Society is an organization for people of all ages and experience levels. Another good place would be the 100 miles west of Casper County, discovered by a local rockhound. Places such as Fremont, Washakie, Sweetwater, Carbon, or Natrona County are where you can find jade, which is Wyomings official state gemstone. Any tips would be great! Gold can also be found in Park County, specifically the Wood River and Sunlight Basin areas. We also hope to find Jade on same trip. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. We are using my Subaru forester. 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. Thanks! Other sources include: North Carolina Rockhounding Location Guide & Map, Montana Rockhounding Location Guide & Map. The real gems that rockhounds are eager to get their hands on in Platte County are banded agates and drusy quartz specimens. 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 Agatized fossil shells near Rock Springs, WY: 14. My kid loved exploring it with me. You will find everything about rocks, minerals, and crystals here. Thats one of the reasons why you can quite a lot of fake ones for sale. Though there are many locations listed here, this list is far from exhaustive. Check out how valuable different types of opal can be in the article below:8 Factors Why Opal is Valuable (Prices for Different Types). amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; You can find pegmatites in the Haystack Range of Goshen County. google_ad_type="text_image"; 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. Fossils in the escarpment. google_color_bg="1B1B1B"; Posted on Published: September 29, 2020- Last updated: July 26, 2022. For reference, Ive explored both directions in a small, Cheep Patriot [sic]. The gravels of streams and rivers like the Sweetwater and Wind Rivers are great places to search for rocks and minerals like quartz, agate, and petrified wood. They are some of the most popular rocks to tumble, and its easy to see why with their intricate banding and unique designs. If you explore the highway cut north of Laramie, you might find meteorites. You can also find quite a few more interesting minerals like amazonite, tourmaline, and beryl in the tailings of old mines scattered across the hills and mountain ranges. Whether you're one of the thousands who come to Wyoming each year to admire its unique geologic features or you've come to rockhound and prospect for gemstones and gold, This region is full of mica minerals, phonolite, pumice, and Wyomingite in the Leucite Hills area. Most of the geodes in Wyoming tend to be lined with chalcedony, and more rarely with microcrystalline quartz. Its located in the southern part of the state, with Albany on its eastern side. In Sweetwater County, west of Wamsutter along the old road to Baggs, the Green River Basin is plentiful in agates. This way I can make arrangements to make trip as enjoyable and stress free as possible. 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. 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 . Sharktooth Ridge teeth and trace fossils near Rawlins, WY: 6.) If you want to find gemstones, such as amethyst, a great place in Park County is Amethyst Mountain. google_color_link="000000"; Wyoming isnt just rich in rocks and minerals; it also has gold, fossils, and petrified wood. Wyomings state gemstone, nephrite, can primarily be found in Fremont County, particularly in the large area centered around the towns of Lander and Atlantic City. Rockhounding is recognized as a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of the 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming. The specimens found here vary from blue, and light gray, to deep colors such as violet. You can also find agates a few miles west of Saratoga, Carbon County. TIP:Dont forget to follow all the safety recommendations when rockhounding because your health is always the most important. A locations listing here is not a guarantee of accuracy. Obsidian isnt listed here since we know how much rockhounds love this igneous rock, so let us talk about obsidian separately. google_ad_height=240; 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. However, Jade can be located in the Sweetwater River district, just southeast of the Wind River Mountains. at Cedar Mountain. Second edition. The best place to find geodes in Wyoming is in Box Elder Canyon near the town of Glenrock. Rockhounding Locations - Google My Maps Rockhounding Locations Rockhounding Locations Search Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More Calendar Translate Mobile Books. Suitable for the advanced backpacker. Follow the dirt roads toward and past the water tower on the ridge. I'm transcribing these hikes in my own order, but if you'd like to see one moved to the top of the review list, just let me know. LockA locked padlock If you want to find agates in Albany, they are usually found near Marshall, located in northwestern Albany. During my brief exploration, I didnt have time to find the gems, but did get diverted by the thousands of exposed fossils. These rockhounding sights of Wyoming are mostly on public land but a good. google_ad_width=120; You can also find it in the Wiggins formation of the Oligocene age near the head of Frontier Creek in the Absaroka Mountains. The ants use them for construction material. Wyoming is home to a large array of rocks and minerals that will be of interest to the collector, some of which are fairly unique to the area. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; Members can participate in outings, monthly meetings and be a part of a fantastic rockhounding community. The most commonly found and collected rocks and minerals in Wyoming are: If youve already found a rock and youre not sure what it is, I would highly recommend checking out my Practical Rock Identification System. Let me know if this is useful or if I can improve it in any way! Sign in to your account on ArcGIS Online. Should I be digging ? As for what you should be looking for, the following link provides better examples than I have (since Im on my phone). google_color_border="1B1B1B"; 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. PurpleCamping, international trips; excursions. You can buy ithere(Amazon link). Triceratops fossils are mostly found in the Hell Creek Formation in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, eastern Wyoming. Let us begin with gems. If youre really nice and want a piece, maybe Ill send you some. What a great reason to go rockhounding. (I do not live in the US right now.). We are here for any questions or concerns that might arise about your adventures in mineral collecting. Obsidian Cliff is located in the northwest region of Yellowstone. These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. The True Worth of Agates. Wyoming Rockhound Locations Wyoming is among the top rockhounding locations in the United States. HowtoFindRocks.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 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. NPS Public Domain Photo. At the top of this small incline, make a right. Agates also happen to be some of the most commonly collected rocks in the United States, including Wyoming. The club started in 2016 and has been growing in numbers ever since. Geologic Map of Phantom Lake Quadrangle Geologic mapping of the Phantom Lake quadrangle in Carbon County is available. The famous Triceratops fossils are plentiful in Wyoming; however, the Knightia Fish is the official state fossil of Wyoming. To this general information we might add: The article Places to See Geologic Displays in Wyoming Afton Canyon is one of only three places where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round in the Mojave Desert. This collecting area contains several lithum enriched pegmatites. Natrona County is in central Wyoming. The Medicine Bow Mountains contain slate, platinum-sperrylite, galena, beryl, and barite. The relatively recent volcanic and metamorphic activity in Wyoming has given rise to many desirable and sought-after rocks and minerals, but it helps to have an idea of where to look and what to search for. An official website of the United States government. Rockhounding in Wyoming is a great way to get out and enjoy the states expansive landscapes and beautifully unique terrain. Still, there may be privately owned mining claims inside those boundaries and youll need to get permission to collect on that location. 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. When you look for it, it often just looks like ugly, whiteish or greyish rocks. To get you started on prospecting, the Wyoming State Geological Survey has prepared a Teepee Canyon Agates 13. Peridot in ant hills and arroyos near Black Rock Butte. Note: stramatolites can be found in some washes at the base of the Pryors nearby. Rockhounds can explore most of Wyoming's geologic products up close because over 50% of the state is public land! 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). The Triceratops was designated as the official state dinosaur of Wyoming in 1994, while the Knightia Fish gained the status of state fossil in 1987. google_ad_type="text_image"; Check out how to cut and polish petrified wood in the article below:How To Cut & Polish Petrified Wood: Follow These 3 Steps. Tip: Not sure if the rock youve found is a geode? Official websites use .gov Bula, yall! Also explore the WSMGS Topic Library for articles such as I am in Farson WY and went to check out the fish fossil/shark tooth location listed. google_ad_width=120; Geology of WyomingCompile digital bedrock and surficial geologic maps at 1:100,000 scale for the state in order to revise the 1:500,000 scale geologic map of Wyoming and surficial geologic map of Wyoming. 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. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Some of the most prominent metamorphic rocks in Wyoming are gneiss, marble, quartzite, schist, and slate, among many others. Everyone enjoys the prospect of finding their very own geodes out in the wild, and its easy to see why. Below is a list of rockhounding locations in wyoming with a description of the minerals found there and pictures. Take our Survey for a Chance to Win a Map! google_color_link="000000"; There are a couple of metamorphic rocks that you can find in the state of Wyoming. Use caution, be respectful, and play by whatever the rules are now. I'm starting with the most popular and working my way to the more obscure. It is, simply put, the most comprehensive and easy-to-understand rock identification system youll find anywhere. TIP: Opal is a one-of-a-kind, highly valuable gemstone. You can probably find it just about anywhere in the area, though I had good success looking along the eastern flank of Black Rock. HOME Wyoming is home to some incredible jade specimens, mainly of the classes nephrite and jadeite. Copyright 2022 Rockhound Resource | Birch on Trellis Framework by Mediavine, Greybull, area washes and draws btwn Big Horn River and Mountains, Lovell, E to Big Horn Mountains in draws and washes, Fremont County, all regional washes and draws. Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which spans over 2 million acres. Joining up with a local rockhounding club for a group trip can often get you access to otherwise off-limits locations like privately owned mines and quarries. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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.