Where Can You Go to Dig for Gems in Colorado

Colorado is one of the best places in the United States to go rockhounding. Only California has a wider multifariousness of minerals. Some people recall information technology's a downside that these deposits tend to be small and scattered.

To others, that makes it all the more exciting. Within Colorado, one of the best areas to find interesting rocks is Chaffee Canton, 127 different minerals have been identified and constitute. The Weather Channel fifty-fifty filmed their Prospectors Television show here. To make it even better, 80% of the county is public land.

Best Rockhounding Sites in Chaffee County

The best known (and highest) site in Chaffee County is Mountain Antero, where a variety of semi-precious stones, including aquamarine and smoky quartz, have been plant. This list of sites will tell you where to go and give you data on what types of minerals and gems to discover. Make certain that yous avoid trespassing. For instance, a popular rockhounding site on Cherry-red Mountain recently airtight to collectors. Private lands are sometimes accessible through the Columbine Gem and Mineral Order

Besides, conduct in heed that Colorado even so has a claims organization. Claims are mostly marked with pillars or cairns and must be respected. Sometimes a rockhounding club will have claims specific to the group that is available to members.

Which Gems to Find?

Colorado has such a multifariousness of minerals that it can be difficult to know what types to look for. The list of sites can assist you determine what has been establish where.

The official land gemstone of Colorado is aquamarine, found on Mountain Antero as well as Mt. White, Mt. Baldwin, and Mt. Princeton. These are all high altitudes (above x,000 feet), so make sure you acclimate properly before hunting.

Colorado is also known for rhodochrosite. Notwithstanding, it is hard to discover on the surface. Nevertheless, Colorado is as well a corking identify to look for amazonite and smoky quartz clusters, topaz (generally light bluish), and fluorite.

Another pick is fossil hunting. Colorado has a variety of fossils, and yous might even discover a dinosaur. Petrified wood is also relatively unremarkably found. And aye, in that location are still places in the state where yous can pan for gold.

How to Find Gems?

For most casual rockhounds, you are looking at surface collecting. Public dig sites (where you lot generally pay a fee) can exist a practiced source for more mutual gemstones, and there will usually exist somewhere at that place to help you lot await. However, you lot are unlikely to discover anything rare or particularly cool in that location.

The first job is to larn how to identify gemstones accurately. Information technology'due south worth paying a visit to the Coors Mineral Hall at the Denver Museum of Nature and Scientific discipline, or the Geology Museum at the Colorado Schoolhouse of Mines in Golden, CO. The old may exist an like shooting fish in a barrel trip if you fly into Denver. Both sites take vast collections, including excellent examples of the minerals constitute in the state so that you lot can identify the gems you lot observe. You tin can also get a gem identification app for your telephone or become erstwhile school and buy a book.

Learning to detect gems can be more challenging. For many novices, the best answer is to find a rockhound club with a planned trip, where yous tin chase with more experienced people who can assistance yous train your eye and besides place your finds.

What Equipment do you Need?

If you are casually hunting, use just your eyes and hands. However, if you lot desire to become more than serious, then you should get the right gear. Here are some things you should consider getting:

• A jeweler's loupe. A special hand lens that allows y'all to await more than closely at your rock. The loupe can assistance you place gems, spot microscopic fossils, etc. A manus lens is the outset thing you should go.
• Stone hammer. At that place are a diverseness of types of rock hammers, including mason's hammers, chipping hammers, and geo picks. What you demand depends on what you are looking for and where. Rockhounding clubs may accept tools to loan if you inquire.
• Rock chisels. You should get a set of rock chisels.
• A rock screen. If yous are a beginner, a standard kitchen strainer is quite sufficient. Equally yous go more interested in rockhounding, a stone screen helps get through the dust to find smaller crystals.
• A blacklight or UV lite. These are affordable, and they are used to tell whether a mineral is fluorescing for identification.
• Brushes. Ordinary paint brushes will do. Use them to clean dirt and grit from rocks or fossils.
• Rubber goggles. If you program on doing whatever excavation, chipping, or prying, you must habiliment practiced prophylactic goggles.
• Gloves. Yous should also wear proper gloves. Some crystals are sharp and will cut your hands.
• A container to collect your rocks and samples. Labeled Ziploc bags are more often than not good enough for stones. Fossils should be put in containers with lids as they tend to intermission.

What To Do With Your Gems?

What should you practice with your gems when you find them? If you are serious, you should consider getting a display case or a gemstone organizer — store gems in jewelry bags or gemstone jars.

You tin become gems appraised by a dealer, and you lot can consider selling them if you do find something unusually valuable. Most people, though, collect gems to show them off.

You can even become to a stone and jewel show and show off your drove to the public.

Best Rockhounding Activities in Chaffee Canton

Back to Chaffee County. What kind of rockhounding activities can yous find? Here are some suggestions:

1. The Columbine Precious stone and Mineral Gild make regular field trips. You lot take to buy an almanac membership, merely information technology is very cheap and is worth it fifty-fifty if you are but going to be there on holiday.
2. Cache Creek past Granite is designated by the BLM equally a aureate-panning hot spot. Make sure to take the right gear.
3. The Rock Doc has rockhounding equipment for sale and a minor display of local minerals. Their staff likewise take a lot of cognition.

If you lot want to try your manus at rockhounding, Chaffee County is a nifty place to catch the issues. While you are here, stay at Creekside Chalets – contact the states to find out near our excellent accommodation and other activities in Chaffee County.

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