http://www.millardcounty.com/index.htm
Fossil Mountain is one of the better places in the Western US to find a variety of shells and other invertebrate fossils. On this mountain it is easy to find shale rock containing large numbers of fossils. From Delta, drive southwest on US Hwy 6/50 for about 51 miles to the road leading south through Blind Valley. Follow that road southwest and then south for 12.5 miles to a spur which heads southwest to the north side of Fossil Mountain. From the turnoff you can clearly see the mountain. The spur road leads into a wash that defines the north edge of the mountain. Drive to the end of the spur road and then start looking for fossils in the wash and on the mountainside.
The Painter Springs area offers garnets, pyrite, muscovite, quarts and other interesting rocks. It is located just northwest of Notch Peak. Follow US Hwy 6/50 west from Delta for about 54 miles to the Painter Springs Road. Follow it north about 12.89 miles to a spur road that goes east. Follow the spur for one mile to a fork where you stay left. Continue almost another mile to the end of the road. You'll be in the mouth of a canyon, near the springs. Work the canyon bottom and foothills for specimens.
Agate Hill offers excellent agate in many colors. To get to the hill, drive northeast from Delta on US Hwy 6/50 to the Brush Wellman Road (about 11 miles). Follow that road west as if you were going to Topaz Mountain. When you have gone 31 miles you'll come to a road that heads southwest. Follow it for about 3 miles, to where a dirt road forks south. Follow the dirt road for 1.4 miles to its end. Agate is scattered over the top of the large hill to the west.
Coves along the east side of Topaz Mountain contain garnets. From the Weiss Road, drive north along the east side of the mountain for about 2.5 miles and look for the coves.
Apache tears can be found off the south west side of Topaz Mountain.
Obsidian can be found west of Black Rock. Drive Hwy 257 south from Deseret for about 43 miles, until you come to a sign identifying a road that heads east. To Kanosh. Turn east onto the dirt road and travel about 6 miles to the sign for Black Spring. Turn right onto the Black Spring dirt road and park in the open area by the watering trough. Obsidian can be found all around that area. Most pieces are black but some reddish-brown and snowflake obsidian can be found.
Denderite can be found in the Antelope Springs area. Oxide patterns color these rocks to make them look like plant fossils. Find then along a wash about 2 miles south of the U-Dig fossil site. (From Delta go west on US Hwy 6/50 for about 32 miles to the signed road leading to U-Dig. Follow that road 17 miles to the Denderite site.
People work old abandoned mining claims for placer gold, and people actually find small quantities. The effort is mostly centered on old claims in the Amasa Valley, southwest of Marjum Canyon.
Many other spots also offer good rockhounding opportunities. Inquire locally for ideas and directions.
Trilobites
Trilobite fossils are extremely popular with collectors. They are from an extinct group of arthropods that lived from the early Cambrian Period until near the end of the Permian Period. These hard-shelled prehistoric animals lived on the sea floors and reefs for millions of years. They developed into complex and beautiful animals, resulting in a variety of fossil-types.
The Antelope Springs area in Millard County is one of the best places on earth to find trilobite fossils. There are both public and private quarries, so make sure you know where you are. The private quarries are well marked. These private areas charge a fee to dig in their quarries, but can almost guarantee that you will find trilobites.
For more information on the private quarries,
contact information is listed below:
U-Dig Fossils
P.O. Box 1113
350 East 300 South
Delta, Utah 84624
(435) 864-3638
(435) 864-4294 FAX
http://www.u-digfossils.com
E-mail: udig@xmission.com
A New Dig, Inc.
P.O. Box 122
Hinckley UT, 84635
435-864-3691
www.anewdiginc.com
E-mail: anewdiginc@frontiernet.net
Topaz Mountain
Topaz, Utah's state gem, is a semiprecious gemstone that occurs as very hard, transparent crystals in a variety of colors. The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite, a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago (Tertiary Period) from volcanic vents along faults in the area.
How to get there: From Nephi, Utah, travel 33 miles southwest on State Highway 132 to Lynndyl. Turn south on U.S. Highway 6 and drive for approximately five miles. Turn west on the Brush Wellman road and travel 38 miles until you reach the Topaz Mountain sign. Turn north on the dirt road and drive about two miles, then turn west toward Topaz Mountain.
Useful maps: Utah highway map, Lynndyl and Fish Springs 1:100,000-scale topographic maps, Topaz Mountain East 7.5-minute topographic map, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Recreation and Vehicle Guide to the House Range Resource Area map.
Topographic maps can be obtained from:
Natural Resources Map & Bookstore
1594 North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
(801) 537-3320 or 1-888-UTAH MAP
Bureau of Land Management maps are available from:
BLM Utah Office
324 South State
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
(801) 539-4001
Sunstone Knoll
Hunting and collecting sunstones glittering in the sun atop Sunstone Knoll is a great way to spend an afternoon, especially with kids. Some of the sunstones (golden labradorite) are the size of small fingernails. Others are larger and yellow in color.
Golden labradorite is believed to increase inner strength, vitality, courage, mental clarity, endurance and spiritual focus. The sunstones are easy to find on sunny days. Otherwise, dig where others have, and look for rocks holding the crystals within hollow cavities by cracking them open.
Sunstone Knoll is about 11 miles south of Deseret, just east of Hwy. 257. Turn left over the railroad track, then follow the road about one-quarter mile onto the knoll.
The sunstone here is a transparent, yellowish labradorite (a plagioclase feldspar mineral) found as crystals in volcanic rocks and on the flats surrounding the knoll.
Fossil Mountain Location Map
From Delta, drive southwest on US Hwy 6/50 for about 51 miles to the road leading south through Blind Valley. Follow that road southwest and then south for 12.5 miles to a spur which heads west to the north side of Fossil Mountain. From the turnoff you can clearly see the mountain. The spur road leads into a wash that defines the north edge of the mountain. Drive to the end of the spur road and then start looking for fossils in the wash and on the mountainside.
Agate Hill Location Map
Drive northeast from Delta on US Hwy 6/50 to the Brush Wellman Road (about 11 miles). Follow that road west as if you were going to Topaz Mountain.
When you have gone 31 miles you will come to a road that heads southwest. Follow it for about 3 miles, to where a dirt road forks south. Follow the dirt road for 1.4 miles to its end.
Elephant Rock
You can almost imagine a trip to the Middle East as you travel along US Highways 50 & 6 in King's Canyon. The geologic formations in and near the Canyon resemble the Rub al-Khali Desert of Saudi Arabia.
About 60 miles west of Hinckley on the south side of the highway as you ascend King's Canyon is Elephant Rock, which is a natural stone arch. You won't miss it, if you watch for an elm tree on the right. A pullover area is provided, and looking to the south you will see the arch, which marks the entrance to Cat Canyon. The arch looks similar to an Indian elephant with a howdah (an overgrown saddle used to carry one or two people on the back of an elephant or a camel) on its back.
Continue traveling west across the top of King's Pass, and you will see a natural, step-pyramid on the right much like the one built by Pharaoh Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt. It is across the highway from a pull-over area.
Great Stone Face
Many Mormons see an uncanny resemblance of this naturally carved formation to profile pictures of church founder Joseph Smith. To reach this natural wonder, take State Highway 257 past Old Fort Deseret approximately three miles to a marker. Once there, turn west on a gravel road and travel for approximately six miles to the north edge of the black lava beds. The formation is approximately 35 feet tall.
Topaz Relocation Site
The internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during WWII was one of the worst violations of civil rights in the history of the United States. The government and the U.S. Army, citing "military necessity", locked up over 110,000 men, women, and children in 10 remote camps. These Americans were never convicted or even charged with any crime, yet were incarcerated for up to four years in prison camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. One such internment camp was Topaz, located near Abraham, Utah.
The story of these camps has become better known, particularly since President George H. Bush issued a formal apology and token monetary compensation to all former internees in 1990. However, the events and causes of this tragic page in history must never be forgotten. If we can understand what occurred and why, we can insure that a similar denial of civil rights will never happen to any future generation of Americans.
This Topaz Museum website contains information about the Topaz Relocation Site. It also lists other resources (books, organizations, websites) that contain additional information about internment. This site is sponsored by the Topaz Museum, a non-profit, volunteer organization whose purpose is to preserve the history of Topaz.
Take the Sutherland road from Delta and follow the signs to the Topaz Relocation Camp Site about three miles northwest of Abraham.
This news article describes our Pilgrimage to the Topaz site:
-- Hundreds help dedicate Topaz as a history landmark by Tiffany Erickson. Deseret Morning News. July 01, 2007
For more information, contact:
Topaz Museum
P.O. Box 241
Delta, UT 84624
http://www.topazmuseum.org
Wonderstone in the Vernon Hills, Tooele County
|
|
Where to collect: Piles of wonderstone are located near the end of the road. A private mining claim is in this area so do not collect on any marked claims or rock piles showing signs of recent mining activity.
http://geology.utah.gov/
No comments:
Post a Comment