So I did my research into an area, verified land status, etc. Now what do I look for? For example, I want to find smoky quartz. What kind of indicators should I look for? Or do I just pick an area randomly and start digging?

I have seen pictures of dig sites and it looks like random holes in the ground. Why there? Why not 10 feet over this way? Or down here? How do you choose the site to start digging?

I am mostly looking for smoky quartz and amazonite, but my understanding is that the St Peters Dome area has other gems and minerals as well. What should I be looking for once I reach my researched area? I was reading that a lot of pockets are found in pegmatites, but what are they? I searched google, but didn't really understand what I was looking at.

I noticed on one of my hikes that there are veins of a white rock (I believe its quartz) running through the darker surrounding rock. Should I be digging these out?

Thanks in advance

Expyker

Hello Expyker,

I've never worked the Saint Peters Dome area so I can't help much there. However, in the Wet Mountains east of Westcliffe, smoky quartz is found in veins having Rare Earth Elements, Thorium and Uranium. Evidently, the exposure to radiation turns the white quartz black. Here's a photo of a white quartz specimen that is showing the alteration. If you find this type of quartz, you'll most likely find some deep black crystals in the vein if you look around long enough.

Good Luck!

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Welcome Expyker!

Got your PM; will hook up with you some time to walk around Bear Creek and show you around. Might not be until later in Oct, but hopefully the weather will hold.

One of the easiest ways to find the source of material is to look in the float in scree fields and down hill. Follow it up to hard rock and see if you can locate a vein. I've found some of my nicest little pieces loose in the scree fields... and it is a lot less work than digging them out of rock!

It sounds like you are on the right track Expyker. The vein of white rock you are seeing sounds like quartz and it is a quartz rich pegmatite. Start looking for pieces of the quartz that look clearer and/or have flat crystal faces or geometric shapes. Nearby washes or creeks are a good place to look on the surface. Sometimes crystal pockets can be in or around that white quartz but you may have to do test holes to find them. Sometimes moving 10 feet and digging another test hole can make all the difference.

We've found quite a lot of smokies and amazonite around our area in between Crystola and Cascade. I just tell my 12 year old son to appreciate everything we see on short walks/hikes instead of looking for anything specific, and each time he comes away finding something awesome. Seems like for us, keeping an open mind works. But to find specific and terrific information, we're really looking forward to our first field trip with the club!!!!!

Welcome! Awesome you've got your son interested already!

Welcome to the forums ColoradoKatie!

I also have the best luck when just having a good time and look for anything. Even if I don't make a big find I always learn something. If you are a Club Member then welcome aboard and be sure to keep an eye on the protected forums.

Welcome to the forums CK! Crystola seems to be where the good smoky and amazonite starts showing up. If I had not found it in a riverbank, all of my other Smoky and Amazonites have come from Florissant area.

I don't know if the OP is around but I wanted to mention pegmatite goes by many different names for what we are attempting to describe as prospectors of varying degrees of experience. I like to use the not very used "Runite" because to me, the pegmatite I am looking for looks like quarts rune etchings dispersed on the matrix is a regular fashion to make it look sort of like a tablet. Generally that pegmatite is the change in the rocks from one type to larger crystal grains eventually leading to pockets with fully formed crystals. The runite as I describe is the type that has microcrystalline quartz and mica on one side with gradation through 1mm x 5mm "runes" in matrix delineating to fingernail sized crystals and eventually the larger intact formations.

These are not my pictures but some examples:

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Showing example of small grain crystal delineating to larger formations

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The typical lighter-colored, chunky pegmatite rock of a seam

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Typical of the quartz chunks in the pegmatite

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Runite - or Graphic Granite, that I am looking for

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Finally, the pocket.