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Rockhounding in Ouachita National Forest @ Jewel Info 4 U
By:Ritika
Rockhounder can carry out the
process of rockhounding in Ouachita
National Forest either as a hobby or
recreational activity. Ouachita
National Forest is located in the
heart of the Ouachita Mountains
through the west central portion of
Arkansas and the southeastern
portion of Oklahoma. The Ouachita
National Forest is the south's
oldest national forest, compromising
more than 1.6 million acres.
Rockhounding sites at Ouachita
National Forest have abundant rock
and quartz veins. Ouachita National
Forest has many excellent mineral
collecting rockhounding sites both
inside the forest lands as well as
in private land areas adjacent to
the forest areas. Ouachita National
Forest is one of the best sites for
recreational rockhounders interested
in quartz rockhounding.
Rules and Regulations
One of the important rules and
regulations which rockhounders must
follow while rockhounding in
Ouachita National Forest is that
they are allowed to carry only
samples occasionally and that too
only in small quantities in their
hand. Also, the taken samples should
be used only for personal purpose
and should not be used for
commercial ends. Only persons who
have got appropriate permission from
authorities and that too for digging
in lands already under mineral
contract are allowed larger amount
of digging. All these rules and
regulations are set by authorities
of Ouachita National Forest which
helps in preserving the natural
environment and makes it the best
site for all rockhounders.
It is vital that rockhounders who
wish to do either a rockhounding
trip alone for recreational purposes
or as a group trip and would like to
collect samples of rocks must give a
written proposal to the district
ranger. Only after the approval from
district ranger, can rockhounders
carry out the process of rock
collecting.
About Rockhounding Sites at
Ouachita National Forest
Rockhounding for quartz crystal
started at Ouachita National Forest
even when Native Americans occupied
the Ouachita Mountains. In recent
days there has been tremendous
increase in rockhounding and mining
activities for quartz crystal on the
Ouachita National Forest. There is
no demarcation made by the
government regarding rockhounding
activities conducted primarily for
recreational and commercial
purposes. However, the rockhounding
sites or mines differ in this
aspect. That is, commercial crystal
mines present inside Ouachita
National Forest make a daily fee
charge on rockhounders for digging
and removal of quartz from these
sites. These rockhounding sites
would prove best worth for serious
rockhounders and an interesting
point related to this is that there
are new sites coming up in this
region which help rockhounders hunt
and collect excellent quality quartz
pieces. The Fisher Mountain mine was
the only underground quartz mine in
the Ouachita Mountains. Rockhounders
can refer to the book titled as
Quartz Crystal Deposits of Western
Arkansas written by A.E.J. Engle
which details quartz rockhounding
and mining throughout the Ouachita
region.
In addition to the above, some of
the important regulations which each
rockhounder must follow while
rockhounding in the Ouachita
National Forest are:
Allowed Quantity for
Rockhounding:Only small quantities of sample
crystals, that is less than 25
pounds are allowed for each
rockhounder at all rockhounding
sites of Ouachita National Forest.
In addition, rockhounders are
allowed to collect this small sample
only in their hand.
Allowed Tools for Rockhounding:Tools are generally not allowed
while rockhounding at Ouachita
National Forest. If a rockhounder
needs tools essentially then the
only allowed tools while
rockhounding at Ouachita National
Forest is a small screwdriver sized
hand prying tool.
No Digging Allowed:Rockhounders are not allowed to
carry out the process of digging at
rockhounding sites of Ouachita
National Forest unless they have
approved written permission given by
contract holder of that relevant
site chosen for rockhounding.
No Commercial Purpose
Rockhounding Allowed:Rockhounders are allowed to carry
out rockhounding only for
recreational or personal use and not
for commercial use.
Important Quartz crystal
collecting areas at Ouachita
National Forest
The two vital quartz crystal
collecting areas at Ouachita
National Forest are
* Crystal Vista and
* Crystal Mountain
Both these above sites are developed
by the authorities of the Ouachita
National Forest. Both the sites are
not active mine sites and so both do
not collect any fee from
rockhounders for collecting quartz
from these sites.
Crystal VistaCrystal Vista
is located on the Womble Ranger
District near Mount Ida at Arkansas.
Rockhounders can contact Womble
Ranger District for more information
about this site.
Crystal MountainCrystal
Mountain is located on the Jessieville-Winona Ranger District,
midway between Jessieville and
Perryville at Arkansas. Rockhounders
can contact Jessieville-Winona
Ranger District for more information
about this site.
Minerals Sources at Ouachita
National Forest:
It is vital to note that Ouachita
National Forest is abundant with
quartz. There are generally no gold
producing locations or sites in
Arkansas or Oklahoma. However,
rockhounders can develop their gold
panning skills by visiting specific
gold producing sites in the country
after knowing the rules and
regulations of the same.
There are various minerals found in
the rockhounding sites at Ouachita
National Forest. Some of them to
mention are:
* Asphaltite
* Barite
* Coal
* Common Variety Mineral Materials
* Copper
* Gas and Oil
* Gold
* Manganese
* Novaculite
* Slate
* Tripoli
* Turquoise
* Vanadium
* Wavellite
Thus, the Quartz crystal, the
Arkansas State mineral, is abundant
in a belt several miles wide,
extending from Jessieville, AR to
Broken Bow, OK. It is vital that
rockhounders must take proper
measures while carrying out their
process of rockhounding at Ouachita
National Forest. Some of the safety
measures to mention are Ouachita
National Forest has many abandoned
underground mines which are gated
for a specific reason. Thus these
places result in dwelling of many
creatures, including bats which
require dark and isolated areas. So
rockhounders must not enter
abandoned mines that are not gated
and must stay safe by staying out of
abandoned mines. All these steps
would helps rockhounders carry out
their process of recreational
rockhounding at the Ouachita
National Forest.
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