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You Find it You Keep It – Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park August 26, 2009

Posted by Jill Renee in : Diamonds , trackback

Crater of Diamonds KidsAlmost every day, people find an average of two diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park. When they find them, it really is a case of “finders, keepers” because the park’s policy is and has always been that if you find something there you can keep it for yourself – even if it’s very valuable.

The park is situated over a natural tunnel-like tube called a lamproite volcanic pipe; a geologic formation that is the result of a prehistoric volcanic explosion. That makes for some good diamonds. The lava reacts with the carbon and all the pressure combined with the heat makes the carbon atoms line up in such a way that makes diamonds.

Because of that long-ago volcanic explosion, Crater of Diamonds State Park is chock-full of diamonds. It is also the only chock-full diamond site that is open to the public. Not only will you find diamonds there, but also other gemstones and minerals. It’s a fun place for a day of digging, and you can come up with amethyst, agate, garnet, quartz, and diamonds, of course.

While you might only find a few keepsakes, a couple of people have really done well digging in the treasure-filled dirt at Crater of Diamonds. The first was a farmer who dug at the site before it was ever a state park. His name was John Huddleston, and he was the first person to ever find a diamond at its original source – other than in South Africa. The original source just happened to be on his own farm, which he promptly sold to some investors who tried to mine it commercially.

ark_crater_of_diamonds.16264734_stdThat did not work out so well, though the town did boom because of all of the diamonds and diamond potential. The boom didn’t take either, and most of the boomtown area is now pasture. The crater itself and the surrounding lands became Crater Diamonds State Park, property of the State of Arkansas in the spring of 1972. Since then, some pretty impressive diamonds have been found, though none rival the first few beauties.
A 17.86-carat canary yellow diamond is on display in the National Museum of National History. It was unearthed by Lee J. Wagner in 1917. He worked for the Arkansas Diamond Company, a company owned by the investors that owned the land at that time. In 1924 the Uncle Sam Diamond, which is the largest diamond to ever come out of North America, was uncovered on the land. It was a whopping 40.23 carats. Wesley Oley Basham, a worker at the Arkansas Diamond Company, found it and it went on to belong to a public owner. The Arkansas Diamond Company obviously did not have the same “you find it, you keep it” policy that Crater of Diamonds State Park does.

Some diamonds that have been found on the land in more recent times (since it because a state park) have been quite valuable. Most notable, perhaps, is not the biggest. The 3.09 “Strawn-Wagner Diamond” is the most perfect diamond ever found. Meaning that after it was cut into a 1.09 carat diamond the American Gem Society graded it a “perfect” 0/0/0. It was the first ever diamond to receive that type of rating. Mrs. Strawn must have been pretty generous, because the diamond is on exhibit at the park itself.

Sometimes diamonds are not a girl’s best friend, it would seem.

Comments»

1. Diamond Color - September 21, 2009

Very interesting blog post. Makes me want to take a vacation down there and dig for diamonds. I wonder if people still find valuable diamonds there or if it is just too commercialized.

Regards,

Ja