Many state and national parks advise visitors not to take anything from the parks in order to preserve the experience for others. Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, however, encourages visitors to search for gems and keep these finds.
These stones are not your average, run-of-the-mill standard issue stones; these are diamonds, forged within the crater that was once the epicenter to a volcanic eruption. Since becoming a state park in 1972, park officials say more than 33,100 diamonds have been found by park visitors. The superstar of these finds is the 40-plus carat diamond dubbed the Uncle Sam. It is the largest diamond unearthed in the U.S, according to the park’s official website.
Park Interpreter Waymon Cox recounts a few of the other notable finds. “There are countless stories of diamond finds that attest to the one-of-a-kind nature of this park,” he said. “In 1975, a visitor from Texas named W.W. Johnson discovered a 16.37-carat white diamond on the surface of the diamond search area. It is the largest diamond found since the Crater of Diamonds became a state park. He named his gem the Amarillo Starlight, after his hometown.”
Then, in 2015, park visitor Bobbie Oskarson, from Longmont, Colorado picked up what would become a million-dollar rock.
“She found an 8.52-carat white diamond about 30 minutes after entering the park,” Cox said. “It is the fifth-largest diamond found since 1972. Oskarson named her gem Esperanza, for her niece and the Spanish word for ‘hope.’ Later that year, celebrated diamond cutter Mike Botha cut the Esperanza into a 4.6-carat triolette shape during a public event in North Little Rock. This diamond was later graded colorless and internally flawless by the American Gem Society and valued at $1 million.”
A patch of field in the middle of the continental United States may seem like an odd place to find million dollar gems, but the answer to one of the most asked questions can be found in the prehistoric history of the area, as explained on the park’s history webpage.
The geology found in the park’s diamond story goes back more than 3 billion years, originally a stable form of carbon on the Earth’s mantle. Tremendous pressure and temperatures in the earth transformed the carbon into diamond crystals. The creation of the gems that visitors find within the state park are the result of geologic changes.
A few of the diamond types found at the State Park [Photo Credit: Craters of Diamond]
“Crust formed and was destroyed, continents formed and migrated, and mountain ranges were built and eroded away,” as explained on the history webpage. “About 300 to 250 million years ago, the continent we now call South America collided with the southern portion of present day North America. This collision formed the Ouachita Mountains from sediments that were deposited in a deep ocean environment,” with the present day Crater of Diamonds State Park located within this mountain range, and eventually covered by seas, around 144 to 66 million years ago.
It was at this time that instability in the Earth’s mantle caused a volcanic vent to form. Geologists refer to this as the Prairie Creek diatreme. It is believed to have risen rapidly through the upper mantle and crust, carrying with it fragments of mantle and crustal rocks and minerals. Eventually, the release of gases cased it to explode, creating an 83-acre funnel-shaped crater with sides sloping inward at about 45 degrees.
The material that spewed upwards fell back down into the vent. In that material were the diamonds that had crystalized multi-millennium before. According to scientists, only about 160 feet of the original vent has eroded away, leaving the heaviest minerals, including diamonds behind.
Cox said the park records 1 to 2 diamond finds per day.
There are two methods used to find diamonds in the area that was once a commercially run diamond mine in the 1950s until it was acquired by the state.
“Surface searching is a method in which visitors walk the plowed diamond search area and scan the surface for the bright, metallic luster of a diamond,” Cox explained. “Some visitors use a small hand tool to carefully rake back loose soil on the surface and watch for the diamond’s luster.
“In dry sifting, visitors use a small-mesh screen to sift dry, loose soil and check the remaining gravel for a diamond,” he continued. “Wet sifting is a method in which visitors dig dirt from the diamond search area and wash it in water through a large-mesh screen on top of a small-mesh screen to sort gravel by size, making diamond searching more productive.”
What equipment a visitor will need depends on the method used. Cox said many visitors bring shovels, buckets, and even screens to help in their search. Others simply rent the tools they need at the park.
The Visitor’s Center offers a tutorial on diamond hunting, providing information on what to look for and the best ways to find a one-of-a-kind gem. But even if a visitor’s hunt for shiny rocks ends up with plain old rocks, a visit here is a unique opportunity, according to Cox.
“Our park offers the chance to find genuine diamonds in their original volcanic source—something you can’t do in most places,” he told The Buzz. “The unique geology and history here make it a one-of-a-kind attraction that draws people from all over the world.”
Guests can partake in three walking trails that traverse the terrain. These trails include the Little Missouri River Trail, a level one-hour hike. Half of this trail is paved and barrier free, making it the longest wheelchair-accessible trail in Southwest Arkansas.
“The Prospector Trail offers a first-hand view of the park's unique geological features along the northwest half of the volcanic pipe that comprises the diamond search area,” Cox relayed. “Rock outcroppings along the gravel trail are uncommon for this geographical area.”
Finally, guests can also enjoy catching a glimpse of the wildlife found here on the Wildlife Observation Blind Trail. Cox describes this as “an easily-traversed gravel trail that leads visitors to a wildlife observation blind. Whitetail deer, gray squirrels, armadillos, numerous bird species, and other wildlife may be observed from the blind.”
Open all year, the park welcomes about 180,000 guests annually. Summer is the busiest time, with Spring Break in second place. But, the gem hunting and Crater of Diamonds experience is available in any season, even winter.
“Winters are typically mild and wet in Arkansas,” Cox informed The Buzz. “Daytime temperatures at the park average about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime lows reach the mid-30s, and temperatures drop below freezing about one-third of the days in winter. We don’t get a lot of snow, but it does rain quite a bit during that time.
The park is open year-round, closing only on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve afternoon, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
The Crater Of Diamonds State Park has 59 camp sites, including 47 Class AAA campsites with 50 amp, water and sewer, and five tent sites with water only.
Free public wireless internet access is provided at park facilities.
Other in the park amenities include the Diamond Springs Water Park; an enclosed, climate-controlled pavilion; amphitheater; and wildlife observation station. A gift shop, exhibits, restrooms, and offices are located in the Visitor’s Center. A seasonal restaurant and picnic area are close by, according to Cox. Tool rental, diamond and geology exhibits, a meeting room, and restrooms are located at the Diamond Discovery Center.
While the geology of the park dates back billions of years, the history of the park itself can be traced back to about 1906 when a man named John Wesley Huddleston found the first Arkansas diamonds in Pike County. A farmer, he had purchased 180 acres in 1906 and while working the land found the first of two “glittering pebbles” that would later be verified as diamonds.
Adventure, Arkansas, Destinations, Nature, Outdoors, State Parks