We headed for Murfreesboro today to Crater of Diamonds State Park. The park was in a lovely setting with lots of shade and we needed it because it was in the high 90s today. We were armed with water, lunch and our rockhounding tools. The park opened at 8 AM and our entrance fee was $7.
Diamond hunting is a doggie-friendly sport and Angie was glad to come along. As long as they are on a leash and are cleaned up after, they are welcome, even in the Visitor’s Center.
The diamond search area is a field that is routinely plowed so that the dirt is churned up and re-distributed so that you always have a chance to find a diamond.
Diamonds came to the surface here when 100 million years ago, an instability in the Earth’s crust caused this volcanic vent to open up. Rocks called Lamproite brought the diamonds up and out into the crust.
The color of the diamonds found here are white, yellow and brown. Examples can be studied at the visitor’s center to help one to learn how to identify them out in the field.
Diamonds aren’t found as often as you would think, only one was found yesterday and about 600 last year.
Not all diamonds are found on the property here. The visitor’s center has bags of dirt, along with tools, that can be purchased and taken home. A digging kit can also be rented for a nominal fee with a $20 refundable deposit. It includes a bucket, sluice screens and a shovel. Wagons and wheel barrows can also be rented to pull your tools around, but you can bring your own too.
So… on we went, tools in hand, out to the field! There are two water washing stations with sluice boxes.
People set up and ran their diamond mining operations all over the place. It was neat to see.
Some of their holes got really, really big!
We set up on a little shaded island and began our diamond search. I would have preferred to use the Barbara Bennett method of walking the field and using the sun to look for sparkles… but, Bill insisted that we dig a bucket full of dirt and head for the sluice station.
They were pretty crowded, and this was a weekday.
But we found a spot and set up our gear and our doggie. This way Angie had shade and stayed nice and cool.
Everyone worked hard to find a gem.
We loaded up our screens and started rinsing. The soil is a sticky clay, not like the gravel we worked with at Gem Mountain and Hiddenite. It took a long time to break up the clumps and get down to the rocks. I told Bill that we should make pottery instead like our friend Gwen! 😉
But we kept at it.
And we got real thirsty.
And then Angie started giving me “the eye” which meant “can we go now?”
So, we packed up and headed back through the fields to the visitor’s center to return our rented tools.
On the way we noticed a marker showing just where one of those real big diamonds was found.
That’s one like this big one that is on display at the visitor’s center.
Other rocks can be found here while looking for diamonds. Jasper, agate and quartz, among others.
Diamond hunting is great fun but can be hot work. There’s a water park right on site to cool off or to give the kids something to do while parents mine their future inheritance.
All in all a day of great fun. We wouldn’t hesitate to come back and hunt some more the next time we’re in the neighborhood.
This is considered America’s only Diamond Mine but apparently diamonds have also been found in Ohio, Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin. Just means there is more to discover in America, all the time.
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