Updated 6th edition with new sites & museums!
Learn Where & How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals
NORTHWEST
Alaska - Idaho - Iowa - Minnesota - Montana - Nebraska
North Dakota - Oregon - South Dakota - Washington - Wyoming
Whether you're digging for the first time or are an experienced rockhound or prospector, with a simple rock hammer and a little luck, you too can strike it rich ... or at the very least, have fun trying.
This guide offers you easy-to-use information on the ins and outs of "fee dig" mining, complete with locations, costs, tips on technique, entertaining legends and important information on everything from safety kits to the location of the nearest restrooms.
Included are resources for use in identifying your finds, exploring the lapidary arts, and further pursuing an exciting--and possibly profitable--hobby.
- Equipment and Clothing: What you need and where to find it (or how to make it yourself).
- Mining Techniques: Step-by-step instructions on panning for gold, sluicing for gems and other methods.
- Gem and Mineral Sites: Directions and maps, hours, fees and equipment needed. Also includes info on guide services, local camping facilities and more.
- Museums and Mine Tours: Where to visit commercial and historical mines, as well as museums with exhibits of gems and minerals (for help in learning what to look for).
- Special Events and Tourist Information: Listings of regional events involving gems and minerals, and sources of general travel and tourism information for every state.
- Other Features: Where to find your birthstone, your anniversary stone or your zodiac stone; Index by State; Index by Gem/Mineral; U.S. State Gems & Minerals Chart; and more!
The Treasure Hunter's Gem & Mineral Guides to the U.S.A. in 4 regional volumes:
Northeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-0-1
Northwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-8-2
Southeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-1-8
Southwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-9-9
About the Author: Kathy J. Rygle combins her scientific training with a hobbyist's passion. A lifelong rockhound, she has shared this hobby-begun with their parents-with Stephen F. Pedersen and their children, and has traveled to many "fee dig" sites, museums and mine tours across the United States.