Well visit forgotten settlements and ghost towns and ill show you the famous mining camps of cobalt, eldorado and gowganda. Book cliffs to colorado springs 5 ways to travel via. Well meet here to carpool and or share information about time and rock hounding location. Salida colorado rockhounding and mineral collecting in the. Best trails in little book cliffs wilderness study area. Emphasis will be focused on crystalized specimens, although noncrystalized specimens will be mentioned. Dana dalessiorockhounding colorado find a spot, make sure its legal, respect the landowner, then pan away for your chance to find some of the precious minerals scattered around colorado.
Lets show you a fun way to research locations from old data sources. Learn more about wild horse gathers and removal actions in colorado. This comprehensive guidebook gives detailed descriptions of more than 300 campgrounds statewide, including campsites managed by national, state, city, and. We would be casual collectors, not hardcore hike 5 miles to get to an. Camping colorado will take you to the ideal spot to pitch your tent or park your rv. Group for anyone, but mostly those interested in, or living in colorado, concerning qa of rocks, gems and rock. Rockhounding is the collection of reasonable amounts of mineral specimens, rocks, semiprecious gems, petrified wood and invertebrate fossils. Rock hounding in the bookcliffs andor photo outing meetup. Learn more about wild horse gathers and removal actions in. Americas best rockhounding website gator girl rocks. For about 200 miles this escarpment extends from where the colorado river descends south through debeque to price canyon near price, utah. No mechanized equipment or explosives is allowed for exposing, collecting, or transporting rocksminerals to a vehicle. Rockhounding is a hobby that anyone can pick up, with very little in the way of costs besides time and transportation.
Visit the places where experienced rock and mineral collectors have found success. Rome2rio makes travelling from book cliffs to colorado springs easy. The collecting area, spread out over the rocky mountainside, is often referred to. Where to find tourmaline in colorado pink tourmaline. Colorado prospector gem and mineral prospecting and mining. Rockhounding and fossil collecting can be a fun and exciting past time provided you follow a few simple rules. Hundreds of miles of worldclass mountain biking trails such as the kokopelli trail. Aweinspiring natural beauty and the dramatic red rock landscape of the colorado national monument. The combined appropriate management level for all hmas in the state is 812 animals. A guide to the states best rockhounding sites rockhounding series kappele, william a. Colorado rockhounding this sites looks interesting for. Im planning on going on a rockhounding trip around colorado in march for my spring break. Best of salida rockhounding and mineral collecting the state of colorado ranks as one of the most strongly mineralized areas in the world. Currently, the most comprehensive and uptodate guidebook to the states minerals is colorado rockhounding, by voynick 1994.
The best known of the valleys gem fields is mount antero where prospectors have found aquamarine crystals, bright blue beryl, smoky quartz and topaz, among others. Comprehensive lists of minerals or fossils for each site and excellent color photos will help you know what to. My thought is to head to the bookcliffs off of cr 25. Schrockingerite in wyoming, denver spring gem and mineral show, and book cliffs barite in colorado. Utah fossils and rocks go to rockhounding utah board for minerals and gemstones, rocks minerals and. Good place to look for petrified wood, crystals, and fossils. From the same vantage, the 2nd frame looks up and sw into the heart of the uncompahgre plateau, where the thin, hard triassic. The collecting area, spread out over the rocky mountainside, is often referred to as wolf creek pass. In colorado, rockhounds may pick agate and petrified wood from the vast great plains, follow dinosaur tracks on hogback ridges, pan gold in mountain streams, hunt gemstones on towering peaks, and search for metal sulfide minerals in historic mining districts. Where to find rocks, minerals and gemstones in utah. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times.
Invertebrate fossils are the remains of animals that didnt have bones such as shellfish, corals, trilobites and crinoids. Rockhounding idaho, by garret romaine a guide to 99 of the states best rockhounding sites, this is a must have book for anyone interested in collecting rocks, minerals, fossils, and gold in the gem state. Recreational rock houndingmineral collecting is not allowed in or near typed waters. Book cliffs to colorado springs 5 ways to travel via train.
A guide to minerals, gemstones, and fossils stephen m. The clubs often have the wherewithal to get into otherwise off limit collecting sites. Im looking to find agates, jasper, and petrified wood. Currently, the most comprehensive and uptodate guidebook to the states minerals is. As we approached the east grand junction entrance to the colorado national monument, we left behind the book cliffs, here seen rising in the distance to the ne in the 1st frame. Explore colorado s herd management areas using the links on the right. Barite from book cliffs, north of grand junction, mesa county, colorado. We weaved our way around and were soon on the dirt road headed toward book cliffs.
This book is a 6 x 9 paperback with 244 pages, descriptions, maps and photos. Good place to look for petrified wood, crystals, and. Arizona, the grand canyon state, is obviously no stranger to rocks and gemstones. Explore colorados herd management areas using the links on the right. Mar, 2017 a friend and i went out to the book cliffs just north of grand junction and fruita, colorado. Roads to the dig sites can be hazardous during rainfall and many rockhounds. A location guide for rock hounds in the united states. Arizona is one of the highest caliber rockhounding states and receives visitors from all corners of the world in search of arizona rocks, gemstones, minerals and fossils which find themselves scattered across this geologic treasure trove. The states diverse terrain is home to numerous varieties of rare rocks, gemstones, and fossils. Colorado rockhounding this sites looks interesting for having.
They are so named because the cliffs of cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the southfacing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. Jan 03, 20 the book cliffs are one of the most recognizable landforms in western colorado and eastern utah. Popular rockhounding books showing 150 of 54 rockhounding oregon. The town is a former mining camp situated in the canyon of the upper eagle river just off u. While im there i hope to hit a few collecting sites. The area that i refer to as whitewater is actually located a few miles outside of the town of whitewater. Of primary interest to collectors are large crystals and sprays of elbaite variety rubellite, which ranges from a dull whiteishyellow color to choice hot pink crystals reminiscent of transbaikal, russia or stewart mine. Red cliff sometimes spelled redcliff is a statutory town in eagle county, colorado, united states. As a kid growing up in colorado, we loved rock and gem hunting.
A guide to the states best rockhounding sites paperback by. Love this book, rockhounding in colorado is a lot more popular than most people realize and having such a high quality, well researched go to is a real bonus. Colorado prospector gem and mineral prospecting and. November 2016 baritebearing concretions near the book cliffs. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. Policies vary slightly from state to state but here in. It seemed that at each fork in the road we had to take the road less traveled by. Incredible whitewater rafting on the colorado river. In this three volume series, rockhound, well explore what it means to collect minerals in the skarns and pegmatites of the canadian shield. A reference and study guide to rocks, minerals, gemstones and prospecting kindle.
Feb 25, 20 colorado rockhounding this sites looks interesting for having locations but i have not been to any of them yet. Maps and brochures for the book cliffs and mcinnis canyons areas are available at the grand junction blm field office, 2815 h road, 9702443000. Utah is an excellent destination for rock hounding. Ive taken a couple trips into the area, going up 25 road until you really cant go any further in a truck. But the fun is still there if you know where there is public access. Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Blm colorado manages four wild horse herd management areas on approximately 400 thousand acres. A nodule where a pocket of barite and calcite crystals may have been found, in the book cliffs area. Nov 14, 2012 near the border of archuleta county in colorado, wolf creek pass and treasure mountain contain a deposit of silicates and zeolites that have made their way into mineral collections around the world. Ancient indian villages revealed in utah technology.
We are planning a trip through colorado to utah in june 2010 we have two daughters and 11. Find all the transport options for your trip from book cliffs to colorado springs right here. However, there is plenty of other rocks and minerals aside. Mineral gallery from colorado in online mineral museum. The book cliffs are one of the most recognizable landforms in western colorado and eastern utah. The book cliffs area is an exceptional trophy elk and mule deer unit. A friend and i went out to the book cliffs just north of grand junction and fruita, colorado. The colorado landscape has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, with public lands becoming private, claims being staked and roads leading to closed gates. Please report broken, changed, inappropriate, or innacurate links and send your suggestions for.
Hi, im traveling to colorado in june for a couple of weeks. The purpose of this web page is to explain what types of minerals can be found in colorado. A field guide to some of the states best rockhounding sites. Agate collecting in colorado wolf creek pass zeolites.
Colorado herd management areas bureau of land management. Digging into the pocket of a nodule in the book cliffs area, working hard trying not to damage any crystals. Soon we hit a spot in the road that looked like where we were. A total of 127 different minerals have been identified in chaffee county. Petrified wood is always fun to find and in many places around colorado, abundant. The vast lands of southern utah are intricately carved into the red and white sandstone limestone layers of the colorado plateau, leaving behind wellknown monuments in locations like canyonlands and zion national parks. Plant fossil material and geodes are commonly found in. Beautiful rock landscaping ideas my best rock landscaping ideas diamonds. If anyone has used this book as a guide, any advice would be helpful. This book provides detailed directions and gps coordinates to the best rockhounding sites in washington, with valuable tips on what to tools to bring and how to conduct your search.
Wyoming rockhounding, colorado rockhounding and a rock show. Home colorado rockhounding northwest mesa co mesa county. Mount garfield and the book cliffs, north of grand junction. Near the border of archuleta county in colorado, wolf creek pass and treasure mountain contain a deposit of silicates and zeolites that have made their way into mineral collections around the world. Petrified wood near colorado springs where to find rocks. Id come south on hwy nineover i70, past the haircut store and that liquor store with its signs and ads hung crooked and upsidedown.
Colorado national monument adjoins mcinnis canyons to the east and provides additional hiking trails. Nov 01, 2019 rockhounding in colorado is fun for just about anyone. I was wondering if anybody here knows of claims in colorado where you can mine for a fee. Colorado rockhounding is your complete guide to the states rich and varied mineral, gemstone, and fossil sources. The great wyoming rockhounding page search this site. Completely up to dat with over 200 gps coordinates, it covers popular and widely know feedig operations as well as fourwheel drive. Feb 01, 1995 colorado rockhounding is your complete guide to the states rich and varied mineral, gemstone, and fossil sources. We tell you where to find geodes like amethyst, lapis lazuli blue sapphire, topaz and turquoise. It would be really fun to do some rock hounding, but i get the impression that a lot of land has claims on it. A location guide for rock hounds in the united states v preface each year i vacation in the field, collecting gem and mineral samples somewhere in the united states or canada, and each year i spend hours looking through reference materials to plot out my trip to include locations which interest me. Listing of links on this page does not constitute an endorsement by the colorado mineral society. The town site is concealed below the highway which passes over the red cliff truss bridge and is accessible by a side. Barite from book cliffs, grand junction, mesa county, colorado.
Colorado herd management areasblm colorado manages four wild horse herd management areas on approximately 400 thousand acres. Welcome to the web page that reflects on some of my rockhounding journeys in the great state of colorado, usa. The statebystate section provides rockhound information about rocks, minerals, gemstones, fossils, and meteorites as well as rockhounding resources, books, museums, neat places to visit, and recreational rockhounding sites for every state in america the resources section provides an extensive collection of useful rockhounding resources, including my best ever guides, a rockhound glossary. Colorado is a wonderland of mountains, forests and rocks.
One of the areas close to me is the book cliffs, outside of grand junction, colorado. Exhilarating outdoor adventures including hiking, camping or skiing on the grand mesa. In the united states, colorado is surpassed only by california in the variety of minerals to be found within its borders. Baryte and calcite found in concretions ranging from a half an inch to over 6 feet with some concretions in a linear configuration, up to the size of a sedansaloon.
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