Categories: Travel

Emerald Creek Garnet Area in Saint Maries, Idaho

Known as the Gem State, Idaho boasts over 240 minerals that have been identified within its borders. The most significant one, though, is its state gem, the star garnet. Star garnets get their name from the four- or six-pointed star that appears to hover upon the surface when they are properly cut and polished. The phenomenon, known as asterism, is caused by rutile (a mineral consisting of titanium dioxide) needle formations within the stone creating a stunning optical display. These gems can only be found in only two places on earth: India and the Idaho Panhandle.

Near the scenic town of Saint Maries, the Emerald Creek Garnet Area offers anyone the chance to dig for star garnets and keep them. The site opens annually on Memorial Day weekend, attracting gem hunters from across the globe.

The first step in sourcing the star garnets from the earth is collecting gravel in buckets. Then, aided by sluice boxes, visitors use running water to sift and separate out the stones. Eventually, the distinct dark purple, sometimes crimson hue of the gems makes them easy to spot against the gray river rocks.

Each organized mining session lasts for three hours. During that total duration, visitors can go through the process as many times as they like. What makes on-site digging such a fun family activity is that finding multiple star garnets is relatively easy. You can take home as many of the gems as you can find up to a five-pound limit.

Source: Atlas Obscura - Latest Articles and Places

WBN

Share
Published by
WBN

Recent Posts

Apple will introduce a number of texting upgrades in iOS 19, here’s whats coming

Yesterday, Apple announced that it will be supporting RCS Universal Profile 3.0 in “future software…

21 hours ago

Amazon to kill Echo’s local voice processing feature in favor of Voice ID

If you own an Echo smart speaker, it will soon lose a key privacy feature…

22 hours ago

The Next Major Star Wars Game Will Be at Star Wars Celebration

Bit Reactor and Respawn's turn-based tactics game will have its grand unveiling at Star Wars…

22 hours ago

TOBIAS FORGE Addresses GHOST’s Phone Ban At Their Gigs: “Am I Wrong? Am I Right? I Don’t Know”

His logic is sound. The post TOBIAS FORGE Addresses GHOST's Phone Ban At Their Gigs:…

22 hours ago

Grand Theft Auto 5’s PC RT enhancements hint at GTA 6 features

Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC has finally received the RT upgrades to achieve feature…

23 hours ago

MASTODON Already Looking for Replacement for BRENT HINDS

That was quick... The post MASTODON Already Looking for Replacement for BRENT HINDS appeared first…

23 hours ago