Not a member of this organization? Their annual Mineral and Gem Show is a massive hit with members and anyone interested in the field of topics. Places for rockhounds to explore in Wyoming. Follow the four-wheeler track down the mountain and into the badlands below. google_ad_client="pub-2930148589555936"; This interest of mine has lasted until today, so I decided to create this website. We have listed each type of crystal in separate sections since we know how much you love them. This is where you will find what is legal or not in Wyoming, in regards to rockhounding, where you are allowed to rockhound, what, and how much. That is partly because of about 50 percent of the states public land. Check out my article about how to identify a geode. Where are the best places for rockhounding in Wyoming? The Absaroka Mountains are an excellent place to explore. Should I be digging ? 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. Wyoming's Cultural Geology Guide, published by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (2015), provides an up-to-date, comprehensive list of Museums and sites that I lost service and I dont think I went to the exact location because I didnt see much there. You are sure welcome. Wyoming is an incredible place for rockhounds. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Post navigation. The Rocky Mountain area, the Encampment district in Carbon County, Hartville district, Platte County, the Copper Mountain district, Precambrian pegmatites in Fremont and Natrona Counties, the Black Mountain, and the Copper Mountain, The Eocene Wind River formation of the Gas Hills area, Fremont and Natrona Counties, the Shirley Basin area of Carbon County, the Fall River, and Lakota sandstones in the Black Hills area of Crook County, The Casper Mountain, Natrona County, Haystack Range, Goshen County, Laramie Range, Albany, and Laramie Counties, In Albany, Fremont, Johnson, Natrona, Washakie, and Weston Counties, north of Sundance in the Warren Peaks area of Crook County, In the Laramie Range, Albany and Platte Counties, the southern part of the Medicine Bow Range, Albany and Carbon Counties, the Copper Mountain area, The western half of the Bighorn Basin, of Bighorn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie Counties, the area between Labarge and Granger, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta Counties. 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. Pictures and notes on the fossils near Farson. 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. I spent about an hour at this location, and . google_color_link="000000"; The Sublette County Rock Hounds Club is relatively new to the scene of formal rockhound organizations. Fossilized leaves near Miles City, MT: 2.) Carbon County is the home to some excellent specimens, including: Suppose youre interested in finding nephrite-type jade specimens. Atlantic City, area stream gravels, draws, etc. Tip: Not sure if the rock youve found is a geode? I encourage you to check them out if you are curious about the legalities of rock and mineral collecting. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments section below. google_ad_client="pub-2930148589555936"; This will be our first time rock hounding Wyoming. Feldspar vs. Quartz: Whats the Difference? I mention all this as it helps explain how to find the peridot. Rainbow agates have been found along the Wind River near Riverton. 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. If you want to find fossils, you should know that the Triceratops is the states official dinosaur, while the Knightia Fish is the official state fossil of Wyoming. Use this resource as a guide to get you started. google_ad_format="120x240_as"; //-->, Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. Wyoming is full of jades, mostly of the nephrite class, and the jadeite class, which sounds like something out of Star Wars. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no additional costs for you. The entire region boasts many outcrops of bentonites, which are ash clay layers left over from ancient volcanic activity. Wyoming happens to be among the best states in the entire country for rockhounding thanks to the sheer volume of prospective collecting sites and the impressive array of rocks and minerals to be found. ), let me know. Forgot username? 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. So where to rockbound in Wyoming, and what can you find? NOTE! I would probably start by contacting the assessor in whatever county youre interested in and getting whatever contact information you can for the landowner. The famous Triceratops fossils are plentiful in Wyoming; however, the Knightia Fish is the official state fossil of Wyoming. We hope you enjoy your time on our site and come back often because were always adding new dig locations and crystal collecting updates. To this general information we might add: The article Places to See Geologic Displays in Wyoming You can also find it in the Wiggins formation of the Oligocene age near the head of Frontier Creek in the Absaroka Mountains. google_ad_type="text_image"; Wyoming isnt just rich in rocks and minerals; it also has gold, fossils, and petrified wood. Zirkel Mesa to the west is actually remnants of exposed cinder cone volcanoes. 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. If you want to find gemstones, such as amethyst, a great place in Park County is Amethyst Mountain. The GPS coordinate I put up in the map at the top of the page is right by a place called Black Rock, which is an ultrapotassic, lamproite volcaniclastic exposure. To get you started on prospecting, the Wyoming State Geological Survey has prepared a 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. Sweetwater County is located in the southwestern part of Wyoming. I have written entire articles which cover the rockhounding laws and regulations for nearly every type of public land you can think of. Geologic Map of Phantom Lake Quadrangle Geologic mapping of the Phantom Lake quadrangle in Carbon County is available. Fossils in Sanders County, MT: 4.) Geodes can also reportedly be found in gravels in the southern reaches of the Absaroka mountain range. A quick jaunt down a nice dirt road brings you to the overlook, which is marked with a sign. The 12 Best Places to See Lava (With Helpful Tips) It will help show how non-descript the host is. 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 This is a simple guide to my website.