Crater of Diamonds

The Crater of Diamonds is an Arkansas State Park located in Murfreesboro in Pike County, Arkansas containing the only diamond mine open to the public in the world.

Description

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an 888 acre (3.6 km²) Arkansas State Park situated over an eroded volcanic pipe. The park is open to the public and, for a small fee, rockhounds and tourists can dig for diamonds and other gemstones. Park visitors find more than 600 diamonds each year of all colors and grades. Over 24,000 diamonds have been found in the crater since it became a state park. Visitors may keep any gemstone they find regardless of its value (and some, as listed below, have been quite valuable).

In addition to diamonds, visitors may find semi-precious gems such as amethyst, agate, and jasper or approximately 40 other minerals such as garnet, phlogopite, quartz, barite, and calcite.

The crater itself is a 35 acre (142,000 m²) gravelly open field that is periodically plowed to bring the diamonds and other gemstones to the surface. The remainder of the park consists of a visitor's center, interpretive center, campground, and picnic area. A 1.3 mile (2 km) walking trail along the Little Missouri River is available for hikers.

Murfreesboro is located just south of Hot Springs, Arkansas, the location of Hot Springs National Park. The park is open year round but experienced diamond hunters prefer hunting in the spring when rains wash dirt off of the gemstones and make them easier to spot.

History

The first diamond was found at Murfreesboro in 1906 by John Huddleston who owned the property. Several unsuccessful attempts at commercial exploitation of the site have failed.

Soon after the original diamond was found, a "diamond rush" turned Murfreesboro into a boomtown for a time. Hotels in Murfreesboro are said to have turned away 10,000 people in the space of a year. These refugees formed a tent city near the mine which was named "Kimberly" in hopeful honor of the famous Kimberley Diamond Mine in South Africa.

From 1952 to 1972 the crater was a privately owned tourist attraction. From 1964 to 1968 Roscoe Johnston leased 49 acres of diamond bearing land adjacent to the crater and operated it as a tourist attraction under the name: "Arkansas Diamond Mine". It was during this time that the "Star of Murfreesboro" and the "Phillips 66" diamonds were found.

In 1972 the State of Arkansas purchased the crater and converted it into the unique state park it is today.

Due in part to the uniqueness of the park (and since Arkansas is the first state where diamonds were found "in situ"), the diamond has come to be associated with the State of Arkansas. The diamond shape on the flag of Arkansas represents this association. The Arkansas State Quarter released in 2003 bears a diamond on its face, and the former seal of Arkansas State University incorporated a multi-faceted diamond.

Geology

The Crater of Diamonds is a 95 million-year-old eroded volcano.

In ancient times all of Arkansas was under water except for the Ouachita Mountains, which were created by the continental plate riding up over the oceanic plate. About 100 million years ago, these plates began to stabilize. The last movements of the plates caused cracking in the earth's crust, which allowed molten material to rise to the surface. The deep seated lamproite magma brought diamonds to the surface from their upper mantle origin.

Diamond-hunting techniques

Diamond hunters at the park use a variety of techniques to locate the gemstones. Pavilions with sluice beds are provided within the crater and hunters gather buckets of the gravelly soil and sort through them by hand while washing. Others sift the soil through wire mesh screens that are provided. The park staff weigh and categorize the gemstones and minerals found for park visitors free of charge.

Notable Diamonds found

1924 ~ The Uncle Sam - at 40.23 carats (8.046 g), the largest diamond ever found at the park, and also the largest diamond ever discovered in North America
1956 ~ The Star of Arkansas - 15.33 carats (3.066 g)
1975 ~ The Amarillo Starlight - 16.37 carats (3.274 g)
1981 ~ The Star of Shreveport - 8.82 carats (1.76 g)
1997 ~ The Cooper Diamonds - 6.72 & 6.0 carats (1.34 and 1.2 g)
1998 ~ The Dickinson-Stevens Diamond - 7.28 carats (1.46 g)
1998 ~ The Strawn-Wagner Diamond, a cut white diamond weighing 3.03 carats (606 mg), later cut to 1.09 carats (218 mg), graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) as a "D" Flawless 0/0/0 perfect diamond (the highest grade a diamond can receive)

Reference

Arkansas State Parks, 2005, Crater of Diamonds State Park brochure

External links

Arkansas | Arkansas state parks | Mines in the United States | Diamond mines | Pike County, Arkansas

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