08-07-11 Elusive Wyoming fluorite specimens. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; The clamber down through the woods and thicket is well worth the spectacular site of the mountainous, artesian well. Each of the included tracks will eventually have its own transcription of events. In fact, everywhere in the blackened areas has petrified wood on both sides of the draw. 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. There are several excellent rockhound locations all throughout the state. A lot of theseWyomingrock collecting sights have mining claims that come and go. This interest of mine has lasted until today, so I decided to create this website. The majority of national parks located in the U.S. prohibit gem hunting/rockhounding. Phosphate rock is also located here. 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. They are some of the most popular rocks to tumble, and its easy to see why with their intricate banding and unique designs. In the table down below, you can see what other minerals can be found in Wyoming, and their exact locations. you can access Utah rockhounding locations https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=17-pa3pYy0AqN0D2Zh4cXklR9A7g&ll=39.483150381536596%2C-111.60763899999999&z=8. Agate, calcite-aragonite, copper minerals, and uranium minerals are found in Park County, located in the northwestern part of Wyoming. (I do not live in the US right now.). Wall of crystals found hiking Big Balls of Cowtown Trail. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below. The minerals listed above are among the most famous in Wyoming; however, Wyoming is full of other minerals. They are widespread and fairly easy to find if you have a general idea of where to look. Wyoming is among the best rockhounding places in the U.S., and this is partly because around 50% of its lands are public! Bookmarked. google_color_text="FFFFFF"; Follow the road a short distance until it splits; stop at the fork and walk up the washed-out left road for a few hundred feet. 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. Thats why I wrote an article about all helpful safety tips and more:PRO Tips for Beginner & Experienced Rockhounds + Safety Tips. 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. The GemHunter (Dan Hausel) found peridot and garnets in the area, the latter of which can also be found NNW of Cedar Mountain. Cancel. 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. google_ad_width=120; Post navigation. Clear chalcedony and vein moss agate occur along this countys outcrops of the Bridger Formation. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no additional costs for you. 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! google_ad_width=120; If you head to Copper Mountain, you might find some specimens like beryl, feldspar, lithium, magnetite, and manganese. However, there was some trouble with this in the recent past. Wyoming is home to some incredible jade specimens, mainly of the classes nephrite and jadeite. 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. The Sand Creek and Red Buttes areas of Albany County are full of sedimentary rocks. Agates, copper minerals, uranium minerals, and calcite-aragonite can be found throughout Park County in northwestern Wyoming. These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. The majority of these locations are my interpretation of Robert Bestes A Location Guide for Rock Hounds in the United States. Check out the table down below to see where these specimens of sedimentary rocks are found in Wyoming. 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. Rockhounding is recognized as a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of the 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming. (I do not live in the US right now.). TIP: Opal is a one-of-a-kind, highly valuable gemstone. Rockhounding is incredible, but its even better when youre a member of a club or society. Atlantic City, area stream gravels, draws, etc. To gain permits for rockhounding in Wyoming, please check the BLM website here. If its sapphires you fancy, you may want to check out Grizzly Creek and Sweeny Basin. It is located in the northwestern part of Wyoming, and you can find amethyst, opals, and many other types of valuable gems and minerals. She said she was looking for Sand People.. If youre looking for individual hiking tracks (rather than single-point GPS data), please see my GaiaGPS page, which is hosted off-site, and is free. If youre really nice and want a piece, maybe Ill send you some. 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. No rockhound excursion would be complete in Wyoming without exploring Yellowstone National Park. 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. Rockhounding is recognized as a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of the 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; When you look for it, it often just looks like ugly, whiteish or greyish rocks. Wolsey Shale yields abundant articulated trilobites (Albertella helena, Kochina gordonensis, Strotocephalus gordonensis, Ptarmigania gordonensis, and Vanuxemella contracta), as well as brachiopods (Acrothele colleni and Micromitra scuptilis) and hyoliths (Hyolithus convexus). Rockhounding is recognized as a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of the 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming. Quartz crystals are typically found everywhere north of Saratoga along Highway 130 to Walcott Junction. google_ad_height=240; i am wondering if we can even make it to the top. There is a limit to the number of specimens you can carry, which differs from site to site. Most of the collectible material in the area is in the quartz family. 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. Here you can also find agatized and opalized wood, while agates are common a few miles west of Saratoga. Find out how these beautiful minerals are formed and more in this article:What Is Agate And How Do Agates Form? 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. However, lets talk about the 11 best places to rockhound in Wyoming. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This land is filled with hundreds of prospective rockhounding sites where you can find a nice variety of rocks and minerals including nephrite jade, azurite, quartz crystals, and unique varieties of agates. You can follow the formations exposure along a great length of the escarpment. Check out recommended tools for rockhounding here:Recommended tools and equipment for rockhounding, What Rocks Are Good For Tumbling? But where else can rockhounds explore, and what can they find? If youre planning on heading to the field, make sure you have all the gear youll need! Gold can also be found in Park County, specifically the Wood River and Sunlight Basin areas. Goshen County is located in the southeastern end of Wyoming. 15. You can also find agates a few miles west of Saratoga, Carbon County. This site is devoted to sharing my love of rocks with you. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. The Lost Creek areas of this county contain many uranium minerals, while petrified wood is found northeast of Eden. The Wyoming State Mineral and Gem Society is an umbrella organization. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The True Worth of Agates. You can find plenty of minerals in Wyoming, especially in the mountains, such as Casper Mountain, Absaroka Mountain, Laramie Range, or Medicine Bow Range. This area is very close to Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite. This new version of the guide arranges the sites into counties and regions, with a different chapter for each county. 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. Knightia Fish fossils are primarily uncovered in the Green River Formation of Wyoming. Enter your email address to subscribe to this the content of this site, some of which, we hear, is worthwhile. If opals are something you hope to find, check around Smith Creek. . A majority of counties in Wyoming contain numerous rocks, minerals, fossils, and gemstones. I love finding agates because you never know what sort of beautiful patterns and colors they might contain. Pictures and notes on the fossils near Farson. Stream gravels, washes, and draws all over this region will have the potential to contain nephrite jade as well as agates and petrified wood. The best place to rockhound in Wyoming is Fremont County where you can find nephrite jade and Turritella agates in relative abundance. Down below is where you will find out where to find gold, fossils, and petrified wood in Wyoming. Follow the dirt roads toward and past the water tower on the ridge. The entire region boasts many outcrops of bentonites, which are ash clay layers left over from ancient volcanic activity. Black Rock itself is ultrapotassic and in the past (and even still now) shed peridot. You will find everything about rocks, minerals, and crystals here. 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. Manganese minerals or uranium minerals are found in the Wasatch Formation. 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. The prominent minerals found in Wyoming are agates quite a variety of them, jades, opals, chalcedony, and other varieties of quartz crystals, among others. This area was explored by a South African diamond company briefly but nothing came of it. Jades are present in Carbon County as well. 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. Member Clubs can be found in Casper, Big Piney, Cody, Cheyenne, Gillette, Riverton, Powell, and Torrington. I mention all this as it helps explain how to find the peridot. This book is a 6" x 9" paperback with 246 pages, descriptions, maps and photos. They are most commonly found in gravels and the clays lining nearby streams. The state of Wyoming is noted for its copper minerals, lithium minerals, uranium minerals, feldspar minerals, manganese minerals, mica minerals, and quartz minerals. Peridot in ant hills and arroyos near Black Rock Butte. Geodes can also reportedly be found in gravels in the southern reaches of the Absaroka mountain range. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which spans over 2 million acres. 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. ), let me know. I recommend accessing the area from highway 414 to the west, turning right just above Behunin Reservoir. Cryptocrystalline quartz varieties like agate, jasper, chalcedony, and petrified wood are prevalent over much of the region. ROCK SHOWS Gem, mineral. Check out how valuable different types of opal can be in the article below:8 Factors Why Opal is Valuable (Prices for Different Types). 2. Bula, yall! The state fossil Knightia-fish is located in the Green Fiver Formation of Wyoming. The real gems that rockhounds are eager to get their hands on in Platte County are banded agates and drusy quartz specimens. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS An official website of the United States government. Black jade can be found in Fremont County as well. The Absaroka Mountains are an excellent place to explore. 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. Follow posted signage and always get permission from the landowner to collect. You can also usually get the landowners name and address by visiting the county records office. Fossils in the escarpment. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Use caution. Fossils in Sanders County, MT: 4.) Red Gulch Dino Track Site near Shell, WY: 8a.) Sapphires and other treasures lie north of Yellowstone. Wyoming isnt just rich in rocks and minerals; it also has gold, fossils, and petrified wood. 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. 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. Speaking of Laramie, you can find in the Laramie Range amphibole, cordierite, epidote, orthoclase and plagioclase minerals, garnet, magnetite, and mica minerals, among many other materials. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. As for what you should be looking for, the following link provides better examples than I have (since Im on my phone). Hi Frank. PurpleCamping, international trips; excursions. In the Casper Mountains, you can find chromite, feldspar minerals, or beryl. Quartz crystals, chalcedony, and vein moss agate occur along outcrops of the Bridger formation in the regions north of Sweetwater County. TIP:Agates are one of the most popular minerals among rockhounds in the United States. Various outcrops along the road contain specimens. The counties are alphabetized, and within each county the locations are . Agatized fossil shells near Rock Springs, WY: 14. The specimens found here vary from blue, and light gray, to deep colors such as violet. Objective is to get to Road 4412. Many other varieties of agates, jasper, petrified and opalized wood are also very commonly found in gravels and washes all over the state. 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. 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 There is of course another way to find larger pieces of peridot in the area. Members can participate in outings, monthly meetings and be a part of a fantastic rockhounding community. You can find agate, allanite, lithium minerals, magnetite, manganese minerals, uranium minerals, and bentonite. The club started in 2016 and has been growing in numbers ever since. 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, Some people say that they have a lot of success near the reservoir, but this hasnt been too true for my family. Quartz crystals are abundant in the feldspar pits south of Laramie. The ownership and status of land can and does change frequently, making it impossible to document accurate information for every location on this page. 1.) In Wyoming, nearly all 18 million acres of public land are legal for gem enthusiasts to pursue their recreational activities. My little girl loves rocks now (gems and fossils both). 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. Rainbow agates are plentiful in the Wind River near Riverton, Fremont County. (DO NOT TAKE ANY FOSSILS! Master Faceter, Avid Rock Hound, World Traveler. The higher hills to the west (the mesas and buttes) are all ultrapotassic and mafic rocks. Please respect the claim owners rights and stay off active claims withoutpermission. However, anywhere in the area around Black Rock should be good, and maybe to the west, too, which I havent checked yet. After a little bit it will split; right goes to Superior, and left goes to Winton. The Hartville district in Platte County may contain some copper minerals, while the kyanite is found 23 miles southwest of Wheatland, Platte County. Quartz crystals are relatively abundant in the feldspar pits just south of Laramie. Wyoming is among the top rockhounding locations in the United States. That is partly because of about 50 percent of the states public land. Sadly, it is illegal to rockhound in Yellowstone National Park, but you can do it outside the area. google_color_bg="1B1B1B"; Welcome to the Wyoming State Geological Survey Interpreting the past, providing for the future Take our Survey for a Chance to Win a Map! Im doing a fossil camping trip near the buttes to a quarry where you can pay to dig for fish fossils. Black Hills, South Dakota: 1. amzn_assoc_title = "Here is some of my favorite rockhounding gear from Amazon"; Here are 10 of the best rockhounding sites for rocks and minerals in Wyoming: Fremont County - Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, Jade Split Rock - Ruby, 'Sweetwater' Agate Sweetwater County - Agate, Quartz crystals, Chert Rock Springs - Silicified wood, Agate, Jasper Box Elder Canyon - Geodes, quartz crystals Wamsutter Agate Beds - Turritella agates Sign in to your account on ArcGIS Online. 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. Do NOT attempt unless dry. ), Check ant beds in this area for peridot and other little gems. "Rockhounding Rules on BLM Public Lands" and Fossilized leaves near Miles City, MT: 2.) This publication can be downloaded directly from the WSGS Carbon County is also a famous location for rockhounding in Wyoming. Find out more in the article below:Difference Between Real & Fake Geodes: Focus on These Signs. It will help show how non-descript the host is. The best we have for GPS is cell phones. Though there are many locations listed here, this list is far from exhaustive. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; Not a member of this organization? If you want to find sapphires in Fremont, you should go to Grizzly Creek and Sweeny Basin. These gemstones are found throughout Wyoming in Albany, Carbon, Natrona, Park, Platte, and Fremont Counties. There are many rockhounding clubs in Wyoming so you can most likely find one you like nearby. Wyoming Rockhound Locations Wyoming is among the top rockhounding locations in the United States. Johnson County is located in north-central Wyoming. google_ad_format="120x600_as"; //-->,