Where to find tourmaline in idaho

Most are very small, but some have been large enough to cut into fine stones. Near the opal deposits agates of light blue color abound. Willow Creek has deposits of agatized and opalized wood of high quality as well as massive opal that ranges in color from deep red to salmon pink to white and pale blue. The internationally famous garnet diggings on Emerald Creek afford the collector an opportunity to find gem and star garnets in remarkably large sizes and quantities.

Fossil plant remains can be found in many localities in the siltstone of the interbeds between basalt layers. The area is nationally known for its pink and white plume agate and for its opal, both common and fire, which occurs in vesicles in the volcanic rocks.

Banded, scenic, dendritic and sagenitic agates, as well as polka dot, smokey and moss agates are also found. In some the hollow center is lined with quartz crystals. The most highly prized agates are those that show an iridescence when cut into thin slabs.

Petrified wood from Mann Creek northwest of Weiser is particularly beautiful. The grain of the wood is very prominent and the color is yellow, resembling natural oak. Geographic location. The mines are centered about 0.

The location is accurate. Geologic setting. Geologic description The Idaho, Upgrade, Wildcat, and Trail Mines produced gold from alluvial, residual, and semi-residual placer deposits on the steep northwest slopes of Chicken Mountain at the head of Flat Creek ID The placers were mined from the early 20th Century to World War II but they were most productive before about During mining, it was difficult to distinguish the original overburden Mertie, , p.

Locally the granite was covered by about 6 feet of organic-rich muck lying directly on auriferous bedrock. According to assays reported by Mertie , gold at the Upgrade claim was fine and gold downslope on the Wildcat claims was fine; Mertie attributed the difference to the bedrock sources rather than selective removal of silver during formation of the placers.

The Idaho claims were in operation when visited by Mertie The mine then was on two pay streaks, one of which was inferred to be the upper extension of Flat Creek ID Overburden ranged from 8 to 20 feet thick and was mostly angular to sand-like granitic material, with little true alluvium.

Skarn minerals desirable for collecting include garnet, mica, corundum, quartz, diopside, tremolite, spinel, epidote, wollastonite, flourite, tourmaline and topaz. Pegmatites Pegmatites are very coarse-grained igneous or metamorphic rocks. Igneous pegmatites form from residual volatile-rich fractions of the magma whereas; metamorphic pegmatites are formed by mobile constituents that concentrate during metamorphic differentiation.

Pegmatites have a tubular or dikelike shape or may be lensoid masses. They are generally small with a thickness from several feet to more than feet and may have a length measured in tens or hundreds of feet.

Most pegmatites in Idaho have a silicic to intermediate composition- however, some mafic pegmatites are known. Pegmatites are generally found in and near the roofs of large plutons. Most pegmatites in Idaho have a very simple mineralogy.

Typical minerals include quartz, orthoclase feldspar and mica. Small red garnets and black tourmaline are also common as small disseminated crystals. Many valuable economic minerals as well as crystal specimens are recovered from pegmatites.

These minerals include quartz, feldspar, micas, chalcopyrite, molybdenite, sphalerite, beryl, apatite, tourmaline, monazite, topaz, garnet, spodumene, cassiterite and lepidolite. Rare earth minerals found in pegmatites include tantalum, niobium, beryllium, lithium, cesium, uranium, cerium and thorium. Most pegmatites are characterized by a crude zoning. This happens because a pegmatite crystallizes somewhat like a geode, from the outside towards the center. Pegmatites typically have a quartz core because quartz is generally one of the last minerals to crystallize.

Some pegmatites have a gas cavity at the center of the pegmatite. These cavities range from several inches to more than a foot in length and often contain large crystals with fully developed crystal faces.

Gem minerals such as amazonite green microcline , topaz, beryl aquamarine in Idaho plutons and smoky quartz are common in Idaho pegmatites. Prospecting for Pegmatites One of the best ways to find pegmatites with pockets or cavities in which crystal specimens may be found is to carefully examine the float. Float is a term used to describe fragments of the pegmatite deposit that might be detached and moved downslope.

Look for large pieces of quartz with attached crystals of amazonite and tourmaline. Also large pieces of feldspar and mica indicate a pegmatite. Crystals with faces are especially diagnostic because they indicate a pocket exists in a pegmatite where other crystals may be found. Pegmatites form low areas because they tend to weather relatively quickly, as a result, vegetation may thrive over pegmatites.

However, the quartz core is more resistant that the surrounding minerals and will stand out in high relief. This quartz may be rose, gray, smoky or amethyst capped.

Pegmatites generally do not occur as a single dike but rather as a group of dikes. So if you find one, there 'II most likely be more within 50 to feet.

In the county of Gooding , you can find opal in the fossil beds in the Hagerman area. In Latah County, common and fire opals are typically located in the vesicular basalts and can be found in Emerald Creek. Lincoln County is also great for finding opals, while in Owyhee, they are found in the volcanic rocks, such as those located in Succor Creek. An interesting opal named the Harlequinn was discovered in Spencer, near the Constellation mine, as well as the pinfire opal. Rubies are rare no matter where you are, and when it comes o Idaho, you might find them in Adams County.

You have to go to the New Meadows, in the Rock Flat area. Some rubies have been found in Valley County as well. Apparently, the highest chance of finding rubies in Idaho is in Adams County, after reviewing any sites. Jasper is a great addition to any collection, and you can find various types of it in Idaho.

Go to Owyhee County, as jasper is found in different colors there, such as red, green, yellow, or mossy. Probably the best place to search for them is in the Succor Creek area. You can find jasper in the county of Blaine as well. Just go south of Carey along the Little Wood River. Here many varieties of jasper are present. Another great place to find jasper is in Bear Lake county. Here, go to the Hummingbird Mine area in Paris Canyon near Montpelier, and you might find red jasper, red with a combination of green malachite.

TIP: Idaho is full of beautiful gemstones. You can actually find gemstones in your backyard. To find more tips on how and what gemstones to find in your backyard check out the article below:. Idaho has many places where you can find fossils, petrified wood, opalized wood, and possibly even meteorites. The state fossil of Idaho is no dinosaur, but rather the Hagerman Horse Fossil, since It is the oldest species related to the Equus genus, ever discovered. If you want to find petrified wood in Idaho, then the best place to go would be in Custer County.

Here, go to the Challis area, and you will find a whole forest of petrified wood. The Malm Gulch area is also abundant in petrified wood. If you go to Washington County , you can find some beautiful specimens from Mann Creek just northwest of Weiser. Another great place here is the Beacon area. Another great place is the county of Owyhee, as you can find black petrified wood in the Coal Mine Basin, just south of Marsing, or 9 miles south of Coal Mine Basin.

The Clover Creek area is also filled with petrified wood. In the county of Boundary, you can find opalized wood. The Willow Creek area in Gem County is also filled with it. The famous horse fossil beds near Hagerman, in Gooding, are also abundant in opalized wood, especially in the Clover Creek area. Lincoln County is also a great spot. If you want to find black opalized wood, head for Owyhee County. Here, you can search for it just a few miles southeast of Highway 95 at the Idaho-Oregon state line in the Coal Mine Basin.

TIP: Do you know what is the value of petrified wood? Some pieces can be quite valuable. Check out the crucial factors of the petrified wood value in the article below:. Probably the most famous spot for fossils in Idaho, are the horse fossil beds near Hagerman, in the county of Gooding. Here are the most samples of the state fossil of Idaho, the Hagerman Horse Fossil. In the county of Latah, you can find fossil plant remains in the siltstone of the interbeds between the basalt layers.

The same can be said of Bonner County, particularly in the limy rock just southeast of Pend Oreille Lake.