15. The Rockhounding Wyoming guide book lists a spot just south of Cody. I am uploading a couple of pictures that my friend Henri took of me hunting it with his kids. Veins of banded agate and drusy quartz occur in Mississippian limestone beds a few miles northwest of Guernsey, Platte County. Rainbow agates are located along the Wind River near Riverton, in Fremont County. Rockhounds can explore most of Wyoming's geologic products up close because over 50% of the state is public land! Fremont County, washes and draws in extreme SE corner, Wind River and tributaries, in gravels near Riverton, Warm Springs, area draws and hills over a large area, Rattlesnake Mountain, area N of Shoshone River, Sweetwater County, all area outcrops of Green River formation, Rock Springs, washes and draws over large area to E, Blacks Fork Creek, NE corner of Uinta County. Wyoming Rockhounding Guide | Bureau of Land Management LOCATIONS FOR ROCKHOUNDING IN WYOMING Includes descriptions and maps. Becoming a member of one or more clubs or societies comes with a wealth of benefits. 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. (I do not live in the US right now.). Rockhounding Wyoming by Kenneth Graham. You can also find other types of agates like moss agate and Sweetwater agate, another variety that is unique to the state of Wyoming. Agatized fossil shells near Rock Springs, WY: 14. This club hosts multiple outings every month during the summer. Rockhounding Near Me: Best Locations State-by-State (Map) google_ad_client="pub-2930148589555936"; google_color_link="000000"; 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. A lot of theseWyomingrock collecting sights have mining claims that come and go. google_ad_host="pub-6693688277674466"; Black jade can be found in Fremont County as well. Geologic Map of Phantom Lake Quadrangle. 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. Albany is among the best rock-hounding places in Wyoming since you can find various rocks and minerals. Obsidian is abundant in the park, with the most famous location to find these beauties being the Obsidian Cliff. The club started in 2016 and has been growing in numbers ever since. The locations and information contained in this article are primarily derived from academic papers, online resources, and other outside sources. Rockhounding is incredible, but its even better when youre a member of a club or society. WYOMING ROCKS AND MINERALS Description of the types of rocks and minerals found in wyoming. If youre planning on heading to the field, make sure you have all the gear youll need! The Sierra Madre Mountains are noted for their jade findings too. 08-07-11 Elusive Wyoming fluorite specimens. Agate, calcite-aragonite, copper minerals, and uranium minerals are found in Park County, located in the northwestern part of Wyoming. Wyoming State Mineral & Gem Society amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; 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. It is going to take me a while to get all the locations in here. 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. Wyoming is also noted for its abundance of discovered meteorites. However, Jade can be located in the Sweetwater River district, just southeast of the Wind River Mountains. Wyoming is home to some incredible jade specimens, mainly of the classes nephrite and jadeite. Zirkel Mesa to the west is actually remnants of exposed cinder cone volcanoes. That was a joke. Member Clubs can be found in Casper, Big Piney, Cody, Cheyenne, Gillette, Riverton, Powell, and Torrington. As you can see, opals are found in many places in Wyoming, so let us dive into where to find chalcedony in Wyoming. You can buy ithere(Amazon link). Note: stramatolites can be found in some washes at the base of the Pryors nearby. You can purchase a Bighorn National Forest visitor map for $14 at ranger district offices in Buffalo, Greybull, and Sheridan. The Riverton Mineral and Gem Society is an organization for people of all ages and experience levels. I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. 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. 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. 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. Since rockhounds are highly prize geodes, we have made a special section on where to find these sedimentary rocks in Wyoming. If opals are something you hope to find, check around Smith Creek. Jade can be found in the Sweetwater River district southeast of the Wind River Mountains in Fremont County. I mention all this as it helps explain how to find the peridot. 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. I have written entire articles which cover the rockhounding laws and regulations for nearly every type of public land you can think of. You can follow the formations exposure along a great length of the escarpment. The counties are alphabetized, and within each county the locations are . what are the host rocks associated with watermelon rock and the labradorite? 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. . If its sapphires you fancy, you may want to check out Grizzly Creek and Sweeny Basin. As for what you should be looking for, the following link provides better examples than I have (since Im on my phone). Many other varieties of agates, jasper, petrified and opalized wood are also very commonly found in gravels and washes all over the state. Pegmatite and sedimentary rocks such as bentonite are also found in Johnson County. Take our Survey for a Chance to Win a Map! Simple Explanation, 8 Factors Why Opal is Valuable (Prices for Different Types), How To Cut & Polish Petrified Wood: Follow These 3 Steps, Recommended tools and equipment for rockhounding, Commonly found in the Paleozoic rocks, the Permian Phosporia formation, and the Mississippian Madison limestone, The northwest city of Cody and the Lovell town in Big Horn County, The Spirit Mountain Cavern, located west of Cody, along the Yellowstone Highway, The Eocene Green River Formation of southwestern Wyoming, or the town of Green River, Very common in all of the Precambrian mountain cores of Wyoming, On the west of Jay Em in Muskrat Canyon area of Goshen County, about 15 miles west of Wheatland, in the Marble Canyon area of Platte County, in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Albany and Carbon Counties, the Bighorn Mountains, near Douglas, in Converse County, and from the west flank of the Black Hills in Crook County, The Copper Mountain, Freemont County, in the Laramie Range of Albany and Converse counties, the Lewiston area of Fremont County, and the Bighorn Mountains area of Washakie County, Almost in all of the Precambrian pegmatites of Wyoming, Albany County, Carbon County, or 23 miles southwest of Wheatland, Platte County. Quartz crystals, chalcedony, and vein moss agate occur along outcrops of the Bridger formation in the regions north of Sweetwater County. Outside Cody, Wyoming | COMPASS MENTUS 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. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below. Montana Rockhounding Location Guide & Map - Rockhound Resource ArcGIS login. I encourage you to check them out if you are curious about the legalities of rock and mineral collecting. HOME NPS Public Domain Photo. i am wondering if we can even make it to the top. PDF BLM Wyoming Rockhounding on Public Lands - Bureau of Land Management However, there are no charges for attending club-led outings, and you dont have to be a resident of Wyoming to join. If youre into gemstones like amethyst, I suggest checking out Amethyst Mountain; it got its name for a reason. If you want to find geodes in Wyoming, you should look for places with many sedimentary rocks, such as in the beds of the conglomerate, which crop out throughout the state. This is a great resource for anyone who loves rockhounding, from beginners to experts alike! Most of the mining has been less than 20 feet . Rocks there have a different variety of lab than down below. The pyroxene group of minerals is confined to Precambrian rocks and the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Absaroka Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. Gator Girl Rocks provides useful information about This interest of mine has lasted until today, so I decided to create this website. The best place to rockhound in Wyoming is Fremont County where you can find nephrite jade and Turritella agates in relative abundance. Beryl, columbite-tantalite, copper minerals, feldspar minerals, lithium minerals, magnetite, manganese minerals, and mica minerals may be found in Copper Mountain in Fremont County. google_ad_client="pub-2930148589555936"; 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. lol Thanks again! This website also participates in Google Adsense. The Hartville district in Platte County may contain some copper minerals, while the kyanite is found 23 miles southwest of Wheatland, Platte County. Members have access to the Jade State Newsletter, containing news and updates on subjects concerning geology and mineralogy. Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which spans over 2 million acres. Quartz crystals can also be found northeast of Buffalo and in Box Elder Canyon. Welcome to the Wyoming State Geological Survey Interpreting the past, providing for the future Take our Survey for a Chance to Win a Map! Members can participate in outings, monthly meetings and be a part of a fantastic rockhounding community. These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. Agates, copper minerals, uranium minerals, and calcite-aragonite can be found throughout Park County in northwestern Wyoming. Its located in the southern part of the state, with Albany on its eastern side. You can find plenty of minerals in Wyoming, especially in the mountains, such as Casper Mountain, Absaroka Mountain, Laramie Range, or Medicine Bow Range. Precambrian metamorphic rocks are abundant in Wyoming. 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. 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; just get the KML file. The majority of national parks located in the U.S. prohibit gem hunting/rockhounding. 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. Only very minor surface mining has been done here. 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. Rockhounds might find pegmatite within the Bighorn Range in Natrona County, while igneous rocks like pumice-pumice in the Split Rock area. I recommend walk-in access via the Radio Creek Road starting at a pullout located here.