WSMGS Affiliated Clubs when planning your visit. ), Check ant beds in this area for peridot and other little gems. types. Here at Rockhounding Maps, we give you access and information to the best dig sites for crystals and minerals in Wyoming. The Sublette County Rock Hounds Club is relatively new to the scene of formal rockhound organizations. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "rockhoundreso-20"; Red Gulch Dino Track Site near Shell, WY: 8a.) In Wyoming, nearly all 18 million acres of public land are legal for gem enthusiasts to pursue their recreational activities. The Medicine Bow Mountains contain slate, platinum-sperrylite, galena, beryl, and barite. You never know what type of crystals or patterns youre going to find inside and it makes them incredibly exciting. HowtoFindRocks.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Sublette County, located in western Wyoming, is noted for jade findings. 130 to Walcott Junction. If you head to Copper Mountain, you might find some specimens like beryl, feldspar, lithium, magnetite, and manganese. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; 5 Crucial Signs. Keep me signed in. LockA locked padlock The state fossil Knightia-fish is located in the Green Fiver Formation of Wyoming. Member Clubs can be found in Casper, Big Piney, Cody, Cheyenne, Gillette, Riverton, Powell, and Torrington. 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. Jade can be found in the Sweetwater River district southeast of the Wind River Mountains in Fremont County. In Wyoming, you can find sedimentary rocks such as bentonite, chert, coal, concretion-geode, conglomerate, gypsum, limestone-dolomite, oil shale, shale, taconite, or trona, among many others. This is a great resource for anyone who loves rockhounding, from beginners to experts alike! It is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. 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. Whether you're one of the thousands who come to Wyoming each year to admire its unique geologic features or you've come to rockhound and prospect for gemstones and gold, ROCK SHOWS Gem, mineral. You will find everything about rocks, minerals, and crystals here. I would probably start by contacting the assessor in whatever county youre interested in and getting whatever contact information you can for the landowner. Check out my article about how to identify a geode. My kid loved exploring it with me. Im doing a fossil camping trip near the buttes to a quarry where you can pay to dig for fish fossils. It is located in the northwestern part of Wyoming, and you can find amethyst, opals, and many other types of valuable gems and minerals. If you want to find sapphires in Fremont, you should go to Grizzly Creek and Sweeny Basin. However, there are no charges for attending club-led outings, and you dont have to be a resident of Wyoming to join. Thank you for your reply! google_ad_height=600; It will help show how non-descript the host is. Check out the table down below to see where these specimens of sedimentary rocks are found in Wyoming. That was a joke. I hope this will make it a bit easier to find information on my Wyoming rockhounding pages. Use this resource as a guide to get you started. These are mostly comprised of old mining prospects, washes, streams, and historically known rock and mineral collecting sites. google_color_bg="1B1B1B"; Petrified wood occurs in the Specimen Ridge and Amethyst Mountain area of Yellowstone. I keep a good GPS on me so that they cant fuss me out too much, because they can and do fence in public land and claim its private. Turritella agates are most commonly found in southwest Wyoming, especially near the town of Granger. Wyoming is perhaps most well known for its world-class National Parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. google_ad_host="pub-6693688277674466"; Let us begin with gems. For reference, Ive explored both directions in a small, Cheep Patriot [sic]. google_color_border="1B1B1B"; 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. I mention all this as it helps explain how to find the peridot. YellowOvernight hikes, typically 2 nights. The best rockhounding locations in the United States include the Oregon Beaches, Lake Superior, Crater of Diamonds State Park, Emerald Hollow Mine, Jade Cove Trail, Gold Prospecting Adventure, Fossil Butte National Monument, Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine, Spectrum Sunstone Mine, or Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine. The many mountain ranges and associated volcanic activity throughout the state have created a perfect geologic environment for the creation of many interesting gemstones that you can now find in countless locations across the region. It is, simply put, the most comprehensive and easy-to-understand rock identification system youll find anywhere. While you cant collect rocks within those parks, the fantastically complicated and gorgeous geology found within their borders is a testament to the complex geological history of the area. This bundle of information includes a book, videos, and online tools. 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. google_color_text="FFFFFF"; If you want to dig for gems in Wyoming, Amethyst Mountain would be an excellent place to start. Cracking them open reminds me of opening a Kinder-Egg with a surprise toy inside. A majority of counties in Wyoming contain numerous rocks, minerals, fossils, and gemstones. Wyoming is among the best rockhounding places in the U.S., and this is partly because around 50% of its lands are public! A relatively large area between Labarge and Granger, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta Counties also contains chalcedony. 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. This place is located in the south part of Wyoming, and Albany County is located on its eastern side. Most of the collectible material in the area is in the quartz family. google_ad_format="120x240_as"; 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. The best place to start is in Yellowstone National Park. . Please take our survey about how you use and access the data we provide on our website. Peridot in ant hills and arroyos near Black Rock Butte. google_ad_height=240; Quartz crystals are abundant in the feldspar pits south of Laramie. In the Bighorn Range part of Natrona County, you may discover pegmatite, while the igneous rock pumice-pumicite is located in the Split Rock area of Natrona County. My neighbor and i hopefully will be heading out to Wyoming if our health is good, sometime this summer. I'm Mike Rhea, and I'm a professional Geologist with a passion for rocks, minerals, and everything related to Geology. Beryl, columbite-tantalite, copper minerals, feldspar minerals, lithium minerals, magnetite, manganese minerals, and mica minerals may be found in Copper Mountain in Fremont County. You can also find other types of agates like moss agate and Sweetwater agate, another variety that is unique to the state of Wyoming. Here, rockhounds can find agates. Obsidian is plentiful in Wyoming, especially abundant in Yellowstone National Park, where the Obsidian Cliff is located in the northwest part of the Park. An official website of the United States government. Sublette County, located in western Wyoming, is noted for its jade findings, while the mineral molybdenite is found in the Wind River Mountains. google_ad_height=240; Obsidian Cliff is located in the northwest region of Yellowstone. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. To get you started on prospecting, the Wyoming State Geological Survey has prepared a //-->, Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. Sign in to your account on ArcGIS Online. "Rockhounding Rules on BLM Public Lands" and google_color_url="FFFFFF"; Check out recommended tools for rockhounding here:Recommended tools and equipment for rockhounding, What Rocks Are Good For Tumbling? Natrona County is located in central Wyoming, and it is another excellent county when it comes to rocks or minerals. Moonshine Arch near Vernal, UT along with a dinosaur track site at Red Fleet: 10.) To gain permits for rockhounding in Wyoming, please check the BLM website here. may be of interest to rockhounds. Sharktooth Ridge teeth and trace fossils near Rawlins, WY: 6.) google_color_bg="1B1B1B"; However, lets talk about the 11 best places to rockhound in Wyoming. 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. Rockhounding is incredible, but its even better when youre a member of a club or society. 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. Agate, calcite-aragonite, copper minerals, and uranium minerals are found in Park County, located in the northwestern part of Wyoming. Natrona County is in central Wyoming. 17. Black Hills, South Dakota: 1. popular museums of interest to rockhounders, places to visit, and rockhounding sites for children and families. Becoming a member of one or more clubs or societies comes with a wealth of benefits. Most of the mining has been less than 20 feet . Despite the otherwise impressive rockhounding in Wyoming, geodes are a fairly rare occurrence in the state. Some people say that they have a lot of success near the reservoir, but this hasnt been too true for my family. In fact, Wyoming is home to a unique variety of agate called Turritella agate that is extremely popular with local collectors. 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. You can find pegmatites in the Haystack Range of Goshen County. Sadly, it is illegal to rockhound in Yellowstone National Park, but you can do it outside the area. And if you have any tips (Ill keep your finds a secret! Everyone enjoys the prospect of finding their very own geodes out in the wild, and its easy to see why. Use caution, be respectful, and play by whatever the rules are now. google_ad_client="pub-2930148589555936"; This is a simple guide to my website. Cancel. Below is a list of rockhounding locations in wyoming with a description of the minerals found there and pictures. . These public lands administered by the BLM are open to everyone to take limited amounts of rock material for noncommercial purposes without charge. A lot of theseWyomingrock collecting sights have mining claims that come and go. Carbon County is also a famous location for rockhounding in Wyoming. Tip: Check out my Complete Rock Tumbling Guide to make your rocks and gemstones really shine! This paper has an alternate location along the logging road. Carbon County is the home to some excellent specimens, including: Suppose youre interested in finding nephrite-type jade specimens. PurpleCamping, international trips; excursions. Fossil Mountain & Darby Wind Cave near Jackson, WY: 8.) Albany County is located in the bottom easter part of Wyoming, having its border with the northern Colorado state line. Public access with nice walk in. Agates, copper minerals, uranium minerals, and calcite-aragonite can be found throughout Park County in northwestern Wyoming. The True Worth of Agates. The famous Triceratops fossils are plentiful in Wyoming; however, the Knightia Fish is the official state fossil of Wyoming. Welcome to the Wyoming State Geological Survey Interpreting the past, providing for the future. Azurite, Barite, Chalcopyrite, Cuprite, Galena, Gold, Limonite, Malachite, Pyrite, Quartz crystals, Sphalerite, etc. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "false"; Western Wyoming is hard to beat if youre a rockhound. In case you wondering, the official state dinosaur of Wyoming is the Triceratops dinosaur, which is primarily uncovered in the Hell Creek Formation in the Black Hills region of South Dakota or eastern Wyoming. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments section below. One of the most common questions rockhounds have is whether or not they are allowed to collect at a certain location. Follow the dirt roads toward and past the water tower on the ridge. Hi, do you have the gps coordinates for the peridot/ant hills? You can follow the formations exposure along a great length of the escarpment. If youre looking for gemstones and crystals, Wyoming is home to quite a few that will make good additions to your collection.