Can you find geodes in colorado

Explore More of Colorado:. Great Places to See Colorado Wildflowers. Share this:. Look to the left East. About three quarters of a mile East you will see the base of the mountain.

Start hunting there. Look for a hole dug about halfway up the hill. Stay to the South out of the trees. Hike back and forth along the mountainside. Farmers Creek Geodes: Farmers Creek geodes may be found by following the directions to the calcite outcrop.

Continue East on the trail, after a two mile hike, you will reach Farmers Creek. Go upstream North for about one half mile. The geodes are found eroding from the banks of the creek. These geodes are filled with a gray to blue agate or quartz crystals.

Start at the Ute Creek trailhead, crossing the Rio Grande River, continue up the trail to the geode bed. The Ute Creek geodes are similar to those found on Whited Creek. Legend has it that the Ute Indians mined this area for material to make arrowheads and jewelry.

The geodes may be found about two miles up the trail from the reservoir. The trail crosses the upper end of the bed. You may also find small pieces of opal along this trail. Below the trail, down to the creek, many pieces of broken geodes may be found.

Hunt above the trail also. Stony Pass Area: As you reach the summit of Stony Pass, park at the right of the road in the small flat pullout. Find a location in Colorado known for geodes. Dig down into the earth. Geodes are often buried deep beneath the layers of dirt. Carefully sift through the dirt as you dig, searching for rocks.

You may need to use a pick or hammer and chisel in more solid rock beds. If you are interested in checking out the best book about rockhounding in Colorado you can find it by clicking here Amazon link. Gems and minerals are abundant throughout Colorado. You can dig for gems in Colorado almost every part of Colorado and if you are lucky, you will be rewarded with a beautiful gemstone. The mountains of Colorado were once at the bottom of the ocean. Plate tonics pushed the seafloor up to make the scenic mountains we see today.

Rocks and minerals flowed downstream through the rivers and streams, some eventually landing on the flat plains and mesas found in the deserts of Colorado. The number of gems and minerals you can find here is only rivaled by the number of stones you can find in California. Gems of all types are everywhere. The Bureau of Land Management has established some rules to ensure people respect property boundaries and nature. Here are some highlights from the BLM guidelines :.

Just as a side note, you cannot collect Native American or historical artifacts. Nor can you collect vertebrate fossils from any animal with a skeleton. Leave these to the archaeologists and scientists. Whether you are a serious gem or rock collector and part-time geologist, or you just want to experience the thrill of searching for that treasure of a lifetime, in Colorado, there is something for everyone. Gold was discovered in That was soon followed by the Colorado Silver Boom in Since then, Colorado has been known for its rich gold and silver reserves.

As a result, Colorado calls itself the Silver State. Mining for these metals is still in productions at sites like the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold mine. The state is home to over minerals. Only the state of California has more variety of minerals in the United States. But wait, we are talking about gems, not minerals, right?

The minerals and crystals found in the rocks you collect have the potential to be gems. Once you find the right mineral or rock, it needs to be cut and polished before it can be classified as a gem. That gemstone then becomes jewelry or some sort of decoration. Kimberlite tubes are volcanic pipes that push their way to the surface, taking all sorts of rocks and minerals with them. Diamonds that have hitched a ride are often found around these kimberlite tubes.

Normally, these diamonds found near kimberlites are not all that rare and usually used more for commercial use rather than a jewelry set. However, in a yellow diamond that was Later high-quality diamonds of over 13 carats were found in the area. The Kelsey Mine has since been closed, but you can still find low-grade diamonds around the kimberlite tubes in that area.

Diamonds in Colorado have had an interesting history. In , Philip Arnold and John Slack planted cheap, low-grade diamonds and other gems they had purchased in South Africa in a far corner of the Northwest corner of the Colorado territory.