Some of the finest quality spessartite garnet known come from pegmatites in San Diego County. Other locations for these types of grossularites are the south side of Watts Valley in Fresno County, near Selma in Tulare County, near Big Bar in Butte County and near El Toro in Orange County. Gem- and specimen-quality white to pale green grossularite garnet occurs on Indian Creek in Siskiyou County and along Traverse Creek near Georgetown in Eldorado County. And colorless Natrolite comes from San Benito County. Scheelite comes from deposits in Kern and Inyo Counties. Large light to medium green Fluorite is found in Los Angeles County. San Benito County is the only source of this fine, blue colored gem. Benitoite, the State gemstone, is the collector/specialty stone for which the State is best known. Fine-quality, brown colored stones of Axinite comes from deposits in Calaveras, Madera, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. Pink Apatite was found in San Diego County. But other rocks and minerals that are found in California include Chinese Writing Rock, Lepidolite, Tourmaline, Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, Jade, Kunzite, Garnet, Fire Agate, Benitoite (named the state gemstone in 1985), Serpentine (named the state rock in 1965), Howlite and more. See my page on Rockhounding Rules for general information on the rules of collecting rocks on various lands.Ĭalifornia isn't called the Golden State for nothing. For more information on collecting sites on BLM land click here. Cross country travel is illegal, as is driving in designated Wilderness Areas. Remember to stay on designated open roads. If you must travel alone, be sure to let someone know of your plans. It is always a good idea to travel in a group and to bring plenty of drinking water with you when traveling in the desert. Many rockhounding sites require hiking or driving to remote areas on sandy or rocky roads where there is a possibility of getting stuck. Just about any hill, mountain, or wash can provide some wonderful rock and mineral discoveries. Libraries, bookstores, and 'gem and mineral shows' are also very good sources of published information. Perhaps the best source of information is rock, gem, and mineral groups found in communities throughout southern California. Visitors to the California often ask where they can rockhound. By the 1960's the government saw a need to regulate the collection of rocks and minerals on public lands. This led to substantial amounts of material being removed and an increase in mining claims. With increased popularity of rockhounding, some rockhounds regarded certain areas as their own and feared that other collectors would deplete their rocks and minerals. By the 1930's, interest in rockhounding increased significantly and it was during this period that rockhounding groups were formed and collecting areas in the desert were publicized. Eventually, however, more people were drawn to rockhounding for recreational purposes, mainly for the beauty that rocks and minerals provide. Even today there are active mines, some still producing gold, as well as iron, lead, tungsten, zinc, quick silver, talc, chromite, and borate minerals.Įarly rockhounds were prospectors looking for valuable minerals and gemstones for commercial purposes. In fact practically every known mineral exists in some quantity in California. Most kinds of jasper are common and as such relatively inexpensive, and available in a wide variety of sizes and styles.Rockhounds sought California's rock and minerals before the gold rush.Ĭalifornia's geological forces have created one of the widest varieties of rocks and minerals found in any state. Jasper is found in many locations including Canada, USA, Africa, Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, Sicily, and Venezuela.

It has been written about in Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian and Latin prints, as well as the Bible. Jasper is one of the oldest known gemstones, and was very popular in ancient times. There are over 50 varieties of jasper, often with a blotch like, or vein like pattern. Jasper very rarely has a uniform color, as it often has other materials mixed in with it. Colors of jasper include grayish blue, green, off-white, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, black, and brown. Jasper types are usually named for their pattern. Jasper is found in many colors and patterns, resulting in many names for different varieties.

It sits at a 6.5 – 7 on the Mohs scale. Its name comes from Greek “jaspis”, meaning “spotted stone”.

Jasper is a member of the quartz family, specifically an opaque aggregate of microgranular quartz with various inclusions. Healing The Body, Perseverance Jasper as a Gemstone About the Stone

Types of jasper raw