Agate, Jasper, Pyrolusite, Rhodochrosite, Chalcedony, Chalcopyrite, Cuprite, Galena, Gold, Hematite, Malachite, Pyrite, Limonite, Goethite, etc. Visitors will find their first indications of wonderstone amongst the piles discarded at the end of the road location. A detailed investigation of the gem-quality red beryl from the southern Wah Wah Mountains, Utah, has confirmed the unique mineralogical and gemological character of this material. Wonderstone is generally given its characteristic yellow, orange, brown, and red matrixes of colors from the years of staining from dissolved minerals such as iron oxide. Some profiteers have been hoarding red beryl hopping the price increases as less material is available. Blawn Mountain Mining District (3.98 miles away) Footnotes * Mine bounds on map indicate the general area that a mine occupies. HomePrograms and ServicesGeologyExplore Popular Geology. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Some also show hints of sagenite. Central Wah Wah Mountains The lack of flowing water in the inventory unit is typical of Great Basin mountain ranges. It contains some of the best southern rockhounding locations, with endless minerals, rocks, gemstones, crystals, and fossils that can be collected. It is your responsibility to know the rockhounding laws and regulations for each site you visit. Finding amethyst in Utah is also relatively simple. Apatite, Biotite, Barite, Cerussite, Limonite, Rhodochrosite, Galena, Magnetite, Hornblende, Prehnite, Pyrite, Quartz, Sphene, Scheelite, Silver, Stilbite, Zircon, etc. The booklet also lists the classes of different streams and seasonal restrictions to certain activities on the various streams. Ajvarski, Donkey's Ear, Gatherer's Gold, Jimmy Nardello, Lipstick, Melrose, Gypsy F1 hybrid, Mareko Fana, Stocky Red Roaster, Red Wonder, Little Bells and Sirenevyi are all discussed here. Something even rarer than diamonds and native to Utah is the precious gemstone red beryl, also known as bixbite. The Wah Wah Mountains contain the oldest known living ponderosa pine individuals in the world. Lugged the bag to the car and pushed farther back. Plant fossils and cephalopods are also common. These precious gemstones are not so often unearthed in the rockhounding capital of the U.S.A. Jasper, on the other hand, can be found throughout the state of Utah. Now Gemstone Mining Inc., Cedar City, UT, the owner of the only known bixbite deposit - the Ruby Violet claim in Utah's Wah-Wah mountain range - plans to increase production and make more material available by fall. Birdseye marble responds beautifully to a great polish and is fun for making unusual decorative bookends. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Am. Just as with gems and crystals, Utah has an amazing variety of minerals spread throughout its territory. The books listed below are the best ones you can find on the internet (Amazon links): The coolest rocks, that you can find in Utah, include black agates, wonderstone, thundereggs, or even meteorites. This is a 3.4 mile out-and-back hike with 1600 cumulative feet of elevation gain that takes about 1-2 hours to complete. Some awesome minerals that you can find in Utah include gold, quartz, garnets, galena, gypsum, zircon, tourmaline, wollastonite, stilbite, epidote, magnetite, barite, and many others. You can find topaz, beryl, gold, malachite, azurite, galena, pyrite, limonite, quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, garnet, sphalerite, agates, opals, jasper, bertrandite, and various other minerals, crystals, gemstones, and rocks! Once on the forest road, you must travel 1.5 miles until you see a sign indicating that you have crossed into the Forest Service lands and off private lands. It is also known as Radiator Charlies Mortgage Lifter, after Charles Byles (1890-1976), an auto mechanic, This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our. Emerald, Aquamarine, helidor, morganite, and goshinite are other examples of the mineral Beryl. The Dugway Geode Beds are one of the most popular rock-hounding destinations in Utah for enthusiasts and amateurs alike. Popular finds include moqui marbles, fossils, dugway geodes, wonderstone, topaz, opal and petrified wood. Make sure you know where the boundaries of this private property begin, so as not to inadvertently wander onto private property. In Tooele County, at Clifton mining district, or at Gold Hill, in the area mines, you can also find opal. Actinolite, Barite, Bismuth, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Garnet, Magnetite, Pyrolusite, Rutile, Tetrahedrite, etc. DNR must have legal access which allows recreational use (e.g. For a small fee, you can likely take home some great fossil specimens of your own as its a designated area for this activity. Geodes can be found amongst a portion of public BLM land, and digging deeper amongst previous excavation sights is likely to produce your best chances of finding good specimens. The Strawberry mine in Morgan County, Farmington Mining District in Davis County, or in placer sands in Bear Gulch are some great locations to find gold in Utah, among many others. It can easily be found throughout the state. However, while it is an intriguing area you need to be warned that this is really a remote place to visit. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. The eastern side of San Rafael Swell, or the surrounding area of Thompson Springs, is also abundant in petrified wood. Tip: Check out my Complete Rock Tumbling Guide to make your rocks and gemstones really shine! Enjoy the resources the public lands of Utah has to offer and treat it with respect. Chalcedony and blue-banded geodes can also be found in Washington county, in Central, at the nodules in the basalt exposures. Each of these has several rockhounding locations nearby and unique specimens to gather! Wah-Wah Mine Beaver, Utah. Magnetite, Wulfenite, Azurite, Bornite, Diopside, Garnet, Magnetite, Malachite, Apatite, Pyrite, Scheelite, etc. Although these rocks are technically a limestone, the stone industry has termed this particular deposit as marble. The now individual rocks contain fossilized remains of algae ball structures and are commonly referred to as birds eyes. These unique round features were formed by algae that surrounded things such as snail shells or other debris. In Tooele County, you can find agates at the Clifton or Dugway mining district. Open Pit Mining Operation at the Ruby-Violet Red Bery Mine; Wah Wah Mountains, Utah. Red Beryl from the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah It is difficult to determine which of the fabulous gem materials found on earth is the rarest. Utah is virtually unmatched in the variety of gemstones and sheer number of rockhounding locations ready to be explored. The area mines near the Promontory Mountains, the general area of Mineral Point, Bear River Range, and the area gravels and washes of Smithfield are just some of the many locations where you can find it. First I have heard of it. Mindat, an online mineralogical database (Washington) [2] Black blue-banded agates are found in Beaver County, at the Blue Valley, in the washes and draws, while moss agates in Iron County, near Cedar City. A private mining claim is located area so do not collect on any marked claims or rock piles showing signs of recent mining activity and be aware of your surroundings. Kelsey includes a hike up Wah Wah Peak in his Utah Mountaineering Guide (1986). Utah is one of the most rugged and beautiful states in the entire country, and its epic landscapes contain a wealth of rocks and minerals that call to rockhounds around the world. What sets the Salt Lake area apart is the shores of the Great Salt Lake and, of course, the Salt Flats. While the Gold and Fish pamphlet is required, it is still vital that you obtain land owner permission and fulfill all of the requirements under that jurisdiction before you can begin to legally prospect for gold. Moqui marbles are spherical dark colored concretions of iron and sandstone commonly range in size from pea size to several inches in diameter, although some can be as large as grapefruits. Beryl, Chalcedony, Fluorite, Garnet, Topaz, Gold, Lead, and Silver minerals, Cerussite, Chalcopyrite, Fluorite, Galena, Limonite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Beryl, Calcite, Fluorite, Garnet, Hematite, Quartz crystals, Topaz. Each land owner generally has its own set of rules for collecting activities. In that case, you can also head to Summit County, Daggett County, Duchesne County, Uintah County, or Emery County, as they also have various areas for a rock collection. Hiking info for Wah Wah Mountains High Point, located in Wah Wah Mountains BLM, Utah. Users are provided with buckets for collections and even rockhounding tools if you need some to borrow. Anglesite, Azurite, Cerussite, Galena, Malachite, Autunite, Orpiment, Realgar, Pyrite, Hematite, Marcasite, etc. In Grand County, you can find opal on the area surfaces of Agate town or head towards the Colorado River. We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. The gravels of streams draw, and washes contain various noteworthy collectible specimens that . The best place to find snowflake obsidian in Utah is at Black Rock, Millard County, in western Utah, in the area washes and draws. Take a look below for information on visiting this site and collecting some for yourself. The Wah Wah Mountains are located in Beaver and Millard counties. If it is then buried while hot, it take this compacting action to form the mineral into a soft glassy-like welded-tuff material we know as wonderstone. From the expansive sandstone mesas in the south to the rocky mountains and Salt Flats to the north, there is an almost limitless supply of rockhounding sites awaiting the casual rock and mineral collector. Lastly, years of descending groundwater carry essential and specific minerals that combine with the beryllium-rich gases to form the the brilliant pink crystals. One of the most common questions rockhounds have is whether or not they are allowed to collect at a certain location. Unfortunately for rockhounds, the law in most states prohibits them from publishing their names or contact information online. TIP: Utah is full of cool rocks like wonderstones or blue agates. This office can field any questions about finding existing mineral claims or establishing new claims. This website also participates in Google Adsense. Before you set out, determine land ownership of your area of interest, learn the permissible collection activities and that owner's rules governing where you can collect, what you can and cannot collect, and how it may legally collected. The Ultimate Guide + (Fun Facts About Geodes). Ginkgo Petrified Forest BEAVER COUNTY You don't have to drive to the Sierras for exceptional gem-hounding or big-wall rock-climbing.Southern Utah's pristine Mineral Mountains just west of Beaver will fulfill any stone enthusiast's yearning for rock. The original trilobite quarry was opened around 1969 by Robert "Bob" Harris of Delta, Utah. You can find beautiful pyrope garnets at the Moses Rock & Comb Ridge. One of the more interesting sites to check out is the Moses Rock and Comb Ridge area in the southeastern part of the state. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; Azurite, Malachite, Carnotite, Coffinite, Pyrite, Uraninite, etc. Some other great places to find azurite include Willard, Little Bear River, and Swan Creek. Overall hundreds of nodules lay across the surface of a half acre. Follow posted signage and always get permission from the landowner to collect. Corvusite, Uraninite, Autunite, Azurite, Malachite, Chalcocite, etc. Red Beryl Mine in the Wah Wah Mountains of Beaver County Utah from the Department of Land Transfer I - YouTube Red Beryl Mine in the Wah Wah Mountains of Beaver County Utah from the. Yes, it is possible! Apatite, Augite, Magnetite, Orthclase, Sodalite, Sphene. 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