Where to find semi precious stones in california

Opal Hill, located in eastern California near the border of Arizona, is known for its beautiful opal eggs, quartz crystals, and wonderful fire agates so it is one of the best places for gem hunting in california.

To reach the site from Interstate 10, take Wiley Well Road exit and head south for approx. Turn left on the small gravel road high clearance vehicle recommended at the Opal Hill Mine sign and drive east for another couple of miles to the mine site, which is located on the right. Opal Hill has a long known history of quality fire agate production, having produced many wonderful gemstones over the years.

The old original Opal Hill mining claim used to offers a pay to mine service during the cooler fall, winter and spring months December Note: The mine has a new owner and it is unknown if it is any longer open to the public. Go east on the cut off road and travel for a about 2. Gems of Pala is a locally owned and operated business.

Our owners Blue Sheppard and his wife Shannon are onsite to personally greet you. Blue has over 52 years of experience with gems and minerals. We pride ourselves on quality pricing and superior customer service and especially for being the 1 choice in San Diego County for a true family mining adventure.

Gems of Pala gives you the educational experience and excitement of mining for precious gems from a real mine. You will be provided with all the tools of a gem hunter as well as a demonstration. No reservations required, except for large groups! All Cash Only. A prospector, James Couch, was grubstaked by Roderick Dallas, and in February, , and on his way to investigate some intriguing outcrops, found a small area littered with blue crystals which he thought might be blue sapphires.

He collected several and rushed back to Coalinga. A claim was placed which was named the Dallas Gem mine. George Louderback, a professor of mineralogy at the University of California, Berkeley, was provided some of the stones.

Louderback soon realized that they were not sapphires or spinel as some thought, but a new mineral not known to science. In July he published an article, naming the new mineral benitoite, named after San Benito County. However, he later discovered that this mineral was neptunite which had been discovered in Greenland in When word got out of the new discovery, several people, including Dr.

Eacret, of Shreve and Company in San Francisco won the marketing rights. The mine owner, Mr. What treasures have you found? Share your thoughts in the comments! You can enjoy its majesty all day long by embarking on these incredible hikes in Southern California.

Are there any mines in Southern California? The state of California currently has more than active mines, many of which are in the southern portion of the state. Many more of those mines are abandoned or inactive, but still famous for their histories. For example, the Big Horn Mine, located in the Angeles National Forest, is one of the most famous old mines of the gold rush, and you can hike up to it to this day.

There are even some mines you can still visit to this day, the most famous of which is The Eagle Mining Company, in Julian.

Where can I go for a day trip in Southern California? Southern California is home to some of the most classic attractions there are, like Disneyland, for example.

Santa Barbara is another excellent place to visit, where the beaches are pristine and sandy. If you crave more of a mountainous experience, no need to worry — the small town of Big Bear is a great one, with plenty of natural beauty and great lodging, not to mention excellent local restaurants. Orange County is beautiful, too, with some of the most famous beaches in the country. And, of course, what list of ideas for a Southern California day trip would be complete without mentioning beautiful, sunny San Diego?

Multiple ocean beaches in Crescent City. Prospects near Diamond Creek. Keystone Mine in the Rockland district. Area gravels of the Smith River. Gravels all along the Trinity River. Woods Mine, 12 mi. N of Blocksburg. Area exposures on Horse Mt. W side of Horse Mt in schists. Gravels in the Trinity River near Willow Creek.

Agate Flat area. Area Jade mines N of Happy Camp. Along Jenny Creek. Jones Beach, Fort Jones. Area gravels of Hungry Creek. Coffee Creek area 1 mi. N of Carrville. Area stream beds near Dedrick.

Indian Creek gravels, N of Helena. E of Hwy Deep Creek area SW of Cedarville. Area around Goose Lake. Glass Mountain. Gravels along the Eel River. Area around Leech Lake. Impassable Rock. Boulders in N Fork Eel River.

Road Cut 3 mi. NW of Pieta. Coyote Point, N of yacht harbor. Outcrop 1 mi. NE of Cliff House. Area around Fort Point, in veins in Serpentine. Western Slope of Crystal Springs Reservoir. Jacolitos Canyon, in creek bed. Aurora Mine. Clark Valley in area pegmatites. N end of Clark Valley. S of Hawkins School, Watts Valley. NE of Bagby. Purcell-Griffin Mine. The main tools they ask you to bring are a toothbrush, something to carry your Gemstones, and perhaps something to wrap them in to help protect them.

The Himalaya Mine has been known for its tourmaline variety and quality since These productions began with an Asian Empress raised the demand for pink tourmaline within the Chinese market. When the Chinese market crashed in , the mine began operating sporadically.

Many rockhounds enjoy visiting the mine dump to find their own gems. Plumas County is located in northern California and has been known for gold panning since the s. The majority of these camps have been torn down since then, but there are still several areas where the public is allowed to search for any gold left. You will most likely not see any Gemstones while here. You will most likely only be able to find gold flakes while panning at this location. However, gemstones are usually found in unexpected ways, so you may be able to find some anyways.

Gold panning in these areas is usually free to the public. There are also public areas where inexperienced gold panners prefer to go. The Golden Caribou Mining Association does offer lessons for gold panning and even has equipment available. You would need to visit them while in town or message them on Facebook for more information on these. Due to the free areas, they do not provide most equipment. The Golden Caribou Mining Association does have equipment that they offer to new gold panners.

To ask about these, you would need to contact them directly. If you are able to provide your own equipment, then you should bring it. Also, remember to consider what the weather conditions will be; bringing an extra jacket or a hat is never a bad idea. This was a popular location during the gold rush for people to find gold.

This is largely due to the story of Thomas Stoddard finding a lake with large nuggets of gold sitting in it. He found this lake while lost with a companion while they were wandering around lost. After Stoddard returned with the gold nuggets, many rushed to find the Gold Lake. However, none were able to find this lake. Instead, many set up camps around streams in the area and were successful in these areas.

BTW: Do you want to know more about rocks and minerals identification? The books listed below are the best ones you can find on the internet Amazon links :. OceanView Mine gives you a rare experience of seeing the only active mine in the Pala Gem mining district.

You are allowed to screen through the dump piles they have excavated and searched for Gemstones that the miners may have missed. You will most likely find a wide variety of Gemstones at this location. They are most known for their variety of tourmaline, but they do have others as well:.

They have many other gemstones that have been found as well, but these are among the most common that have been dug up. For this price, you will get to keep any gemstones you find and one 5-gallon bucket of rocks that you have found. Along with the dig, you will be given a jeep tour through Chief Mountain. You will be able to see all of the currently active mines, including the most famous, Tourmaline Queen Mine.

They take care of every tool you will need while digging. Before allowing you to dig, they will give you a brief training session. The tools they include are screens, water, buckets, and shovels. You also will want to consider if you will be in the direct sun or other weather conditions. You are bringing a hat, or an extra jacket is never a bad decision in these situations. The work in this mine began in September and has found several pockets over the years.

The mine is typically run by five miners at a time and has been known to regularly produce quality gemstones. Opal Hill Mine is located in eastern California, near the border of Arizona. This site location is sometimes called Coon Hollow and can be found deep in Mule Mountains. Currently, this location is closed as they get approved by the BLM to resume digging. Once it is reopened, they plan to allow the public to have access to the mine once again.

As the name suggests, this mine is best known for the stunning opal eggs it produces.