Find geodes at Dugway Geode Beds near Vernton, Utah.
Not much can match the thrill of finding and taking home your very own gemstones. If you're a novice, pick up a guidebook such as "Gem Identification Made Easy" or "Collecting Rocks, Gems and Minerals: Easy Identification." You might also want to take a class in gemology at your local community college or through an area club. Finding semi-precious stones in Utah, where gemstones abound throughout much of the state, is just a matter of knowing where to look.
Instructions
1. Look for geodes at Dugway Geode Beds, near Vernon, Utah, in Juab County. Visitors have removed most prime specimens from the surface, but if you dig a bit you'll find a wealth of geodes. The beds feature deep pits where visitors hop in and dig for gems. Be careful not to dig too far into the walls of any pit, as dangerous cave-ins can happen.
2. Spend a day at Topaz Mountain, also in Juab County, where you can find a variety of gemstones, including red beryl, garnet, hematite, calcite, chalcedony, amethyst, flourite, cassiterite, durangite, bixbyite, pseudobrookite and topaz, Utah's state gemstone. The topaz here is naturally amber but becomes clear after exposure to light. These gems formed within the cavities of an area volcano that erupted six to seven million years ago. You may have to spend some time searching for topaz crystals that are of excellent shape, size and quality.
3. Visit the world-famous Wheeler Amphitheater in Antelope Springs, 54 miles west of Delta, Utah. Here you can find sunstone (also known as yellow labradorite) and aragonite. You can also find fossils, although visitors are prohibited from removing fossils from the rock face of the quarry.
4. Search for agate, jasper chert---varieties of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz---as well as petrified wood near Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne County, one of the state's prime rock-hounding areas. To get there, drive 8.5 miles west on Utah Highway 24 to where the road crests. Along the north side of the road, you'll find agate, chert, jasper, and petrified wood and enormous ancient black boulders. The chert and agate here are white, green, gray, orange, purple, and red, while the jasper is usually red and the petrified wood is tan.
5. Join a rock hound or gemstone club by visiting the website of the Utah Geological Society and browsing their directory of state and local organizations. Experienced members can teach about native gemstones and methods of finding, removing and polishing them.
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