Did I Find JADE?! Rockhounding in Wyoming

[@malinda8668]

Oh, Kate! Why didn't you take the dark red jasper with pinkish stripes? Slabbed (if the stripes were also inside) and polished would have been so pretty. So cool to have found that big chunk of purple jade. The petrified wood at the first location was so colorful. It's funny (funny odd not funny ha-ha) to see rocks that haven't been rounded by a river. Great trip.

[@KatyDidRocks]

It really is odd to see jasper, for instance, in its natural state!

[@JoseyWilds]

25 lbs a day 250lbs a year, know the rules

[@janehelbert7551]

Thanks for inviting us along!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks for joining me!

[@tedpreston4155]

Katy, I wish I'd known you were going to Guernsey. I could have given you directions into a whole cave full of Youngite! It's inside the state park, and collecting is not permitted, but it's fascinating to see the youngite in huge pieces and huge quantities! The entire interior of the cave is youngite, on every surface. You're basically crawling into a huge crystal pocket, but the crystals are so small and numerous, they are more like coarse sandpaper! Hitting your head on it is unpleasant! I've been thinking about guiding the Wyoming Stone Ranger on a trip to my jade mine near Jeffrey City, probably in early October. It would be fun if you and Theo Kellison could come along! You'd be welcome if you can get free! My jade "mine" is really just a vein of jade running through a granite cliff. I've been using a huge crowbar and hammers/chisels to pry pieces off the vein for the past thirty years. The jade in the vein is dark olive green, almost black. Sometimes larger pieces have white quartz crystals embedded in the jade. One of the mountainsides below the mine is scattered with thulite, a pink mineral with green "snowflakes" scattered through it. Farther down the mountain is an old abandoned jade mine with some interesting chatoyant areas and some cool "frogskin" like white inclusions in dark green jade. Besides finding jade, hiking in the area is cool by itself. The weathered granite mountains are fascinating!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Ted, what an amazing invite! Send me a message at [e-mail] - I'd definitely like to talk more!

[@saralynn518]

"Brown is brown." -KatyDid "Brown is AWESOME." - me Brown is the color of the non-polluted dirt at our feet. Brown is the bark that protects the trees that filter our air. Brown reminds me of the cool mud-pies I made when I was young. Brown is the color of chocolate chips, and chocolate bars, and most things chocolate, including cocoa with marshmallows. Brown is the sticks and some leaves that break down to feed little critters, whether I like them or not. Brown is the color my hair used to be. I have relented to sharing my head with white/gray. Brown is the color of itty bitty kitties, puppies, and bunnies, and so on. Brown is the color of my dog that is really making me mad because he doesn't know when to stop drinking water. Brown is the color of many people I like. Shades of brown can be found everywhere. When I tell people my favorite color is brown, they say eww or say they forgot it was a color. Poor Brown ☹ More brown for me!

[@KatyDidRocks]

How lovely! Now I will always think of that.

[@saralynn518]

@@KatyDidRocks 🤎🤎🤎

[@patriciabock4299]

It is exciting to see rockhounding in Wyoming! Jade, Jasper, Agate and Petrified Wood with the colors you found are completely awesome! Love it!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Wyoming has some great rocks!

[@kellyharper367]

Old Disabled House Bound Dusty Rusty Rockhound here: What a great outing! Really beautiful finds! I found most of my jade on the western coasts of Oregon, Washington, and B.C. Canada. You made a gorgeous cab! Thank you for allowing me to live vicariously through this video!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Kelly, I'm now in love with jade!

[@Rockin_in_Kentucky]

Great finds! I love all that petrified wood.

[@KatyDidRocks]

It really is beautiful!

[@srf2112]

Thanks for the hike. I love rocks.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Me too!

[@raistlinstreber5905]

I live in Billings Montana! Your videos alone are what’s fueled my rock hounding obsession! I appreciate all of your knowledge you graciously provide for us here on the channel! My new bucket list item is to bump into you in a river bed and learn from you first hand! Thank you for the videos and the knowledge!

[@raistlinstreber5905]

I’ve been going out to Custer and have found some amazing agates so far! Recently took them to a shop here in town and had them cut, well that only made me want to rock hound even more lol!

[@shinykazzadragon]

Two years ago, I found a huge (about 40 pounds) jade rock. Cast-off from glacial till, along our local river (in Canada). Jade is not usually found here, so can you imagine my excitement in getting it home? I stuck it in my backpack, and promptly fell backward - arse over teakettle 0 back down the hill. Broke a couple of ribs, and was really sore for a couple of months. My kid has it now.

[@jforce91]

Nephrite Jade is commerically mined in BC, with smaller deposits near vancouver, associated with the asbestos minerals, and even on the east coast/nova scotia area, in Botyroidal form; these deposits are believed to be parts of Ophiolites that got rifted apart and thrust up during the atlantic ocean's formation. :) (as nephrite is more commonly associated with subduction zones and/or localised metamorphic facies)

[@shinykazzadragon]

@@jforce91 for sure. However, in a prairie province it is rare. We do have an asbestos pit a few hours south of here, but this is a little more rare.

[@KatyDidRocks]

That sounds amazing!

[@KatyDidRocks]

amazing!

[@Mike-br8vb]

Wow that last Jasper was great! Awesome Jade! My favorite had to be the broken glass. Jk, enjoy your week ahead!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, Mike. :)

[@JnVrockhounding]

Nice hunt Kate. I love the Jasper’s!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you! 😁

[@IndusRiverRock]

Beautiful sharing 😊

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you!

[@suerolf3268]

I think the petrified wood you find on the Yellowstone River in Montana looks like wood, whereas the petrified wood you found in this Wyoming video looks more like rocks. Such fun to go with you on your rockhounding adventures. Thanks Kate.😊

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks for watching!

[@kirsiselei8703]

Great day u had and lots of intresting (anf gorgeous) rocks❤

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@largent45]

Wow Kate! You got some real beauties! The ones you thought were jade, I think they were too! It's all neferite jade there, but they have a lot of it and it can sure be pretty! Those were all great finds! Thanks for letting us tag along!❤

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, Lisa!

[@leannaerickson9745]

It's fun to see new types of rocks. You found some beauts! When you find out what the mystery rocks are, please let us know what they are and what you do with them. Thanks for another adventure.

[@KatyDidRocks]

I'll keep you posted!

[@john-nancyewert1055]

The Jade I found over 50+ years ago ago was near Jeffrey Wyoming.

[@KatyDidRocks]

I understand there's still quite a lot of jade in that area... so cool!

[@janettetippetts7942]

Love what you found on this trip! Pretty cool!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@jimellis936]

Great to see you broadening your horizons. Some great finds there.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks! It was fun.

[@janehelbert7551]

I really like the crystal rock!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Isn't it cool?

[@deniseview4253]

Beautiful hunt.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@janehelbert7551]

Love he second rock!

[@KatyDidRocks]

I love them all. :)

[@jennifershipp2599]

Pretty cool finds.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you, Jennifer!

[@saralynn518]

Cute footprints on the sandstone! Ancient gnome shoe imprints haha!

[@KatyDidRocks]

:D

[@gracewashburn8276]

You did find some really beautiful today. Can’t wait to see what’s in your Etsy store❤❤❤

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, Grace!

[@goldcambodia]

good!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@tedpreston4155]

I suspect the piece at 5:50 may be variscite. I have a whole coffee can full of variscite that came from the Guernsey area. I wish I knew the location, because it's very nice, cuttable material!

[@feleciaburrous6821]

Love your videos! I have learned so much! Thank you

[@KatyDidRocks]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@CacklingChick]

Great hunting, as always! Do you slab all of your rocks or tumble? Or leave some as-is? ROCK ON!! 😁👍🏻🪨⛏️

[@KatyDidRocks]

CC, I slab, cab, tumble and sell what I don't. :)

[@goldsilverandiamonds]

Some nice pieces. I hope you do a video cutting some open.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks. I did cut the jade in this one - just not the rest. :)

[@kastah]

Love those colorful Jaspers. I love patterns in some rocks too. That pink-orange quartzite was beautiful. I thought Jade was red or green?? Items from China is in red or green Jade

[@KatyDidRocks]

Jade from Wyoming is nephrite jade, and comes in colors from purple to black.

[@r.awilliams9815]

The chunk at 11:44 looks like aventurine to me.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Could be, but it wasn't very green....

[@r.awilliams9815]

@@KatyDidRocks Not all aventurine is green. It can be yellow, brown, blue and orange in color. However, it may well not be aventurine at all, that's just a guess on my part.😁

[@savagesquirrel9828]

I like your videos so much, I always save them for a few days. It’s nice you found so much near Sheridan. Was the jade hard to slice? Thanks.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, Kristi. The jade was no harder to cut than agate. It’s a really cool material!

[@richarddavies7419]

Guernsey is about 120 miles from the nephrite ares SE of Lander, site of really good nephrite. I saw a fine fist-sized block from there in 1947 that was a very translucent leaf-green color. It had been sliced from a much larger chunk. (My dad had bought it from a miner/prospector on behalf of a co-worke, and promptly sent it to him.) The other fine Wyoming nephrite is "Edwards Ranch" black nephrite, showing no grain at all while taking the best polish, far surpassing Fraser River or Alaskan nephrite. I have some in my collection. I have some worked nephrite from China that mimics tomb jades, translucent yellowish, grayish or pale brown, not green. That is typical of Chinese nephrites. Jadeite from Burma was used much later, colors from near colorless to the vibrant chromium induced green of Colombian emerald. Lavender jadeite is pale, cloudy and translucent. "Moss in Snow" jadeite is mostly whitish with scattered wispy flecks of emerald green. I have found and cut California jadeite similar to moss in snow, but without the moss. Jade Cove beaches in California has some low quality foliated and mottled white and dull green nephrite, and small polish-worthy pieces of a drab olive green tone.

[@KatyDidRocks]

:) Thanks for the info! I looked at jade maps of Wyoming, and while there are no major seams of nephrite in the areas I hunted, there has been "jade float" found in both sites. I've never found or worked with jade before - but it sure is pretty!

[@patriciastanke2264]

Did you determine if that was opal? Thanks for sharing your adventure 😊

[@KatyDidRocks]

Hi, Patricia - no, I didn't. Too many other questions. :D

[@jforce91]

Rock at 3:10 is NOT jade. It's possibly marble, or dolomite. Rock at 9:07 looks far more like Nephrite Jade :) In Wyoming, the jade is Nephrite. Which is Green, Blue, Black, Grey, or White. Thulite, an associated mineral, is often sold as "Pink Wyoming Jade". great content as always tho!! The texture is misleading too- a lot of the rocks in the Wyoming high desert get "ventifacted" where sand wears them down just like sandpaper, and creates artificially smoothed surfaces.

[@KatyDidRocks]

What makes you think the first isn't jade - besides the color? It's crazy tough - doesn't chip or fracture when I hit it with a rock hammer. Ventifaction is a cool word. :)

[@jforce91]

@@KatyDidRocks fracture. Nephrite has a "feathered" fracture, where the stone tends to follow "feathered" or "leafy" patterns, thanks to the fibrous structure of the rock. :)

[@KatyDidRocks]

@@jforce91 Cool info! Hardness test rules out marble or dolomite - it's SUPER hard. It doesn't scratch until the 8 hardness pick, and then not reliably. I'll look at more pictures of nephrite to see if I can spot the "feathered" fractures. Cool thing about the green one - all the fractures are totally healed.

[@mikebloodsworth140]

@@KatyDidRocks Hi Kate. This is Mike in Sheridan. I have not seen any Jade found locally but that is just my experience. Check the specific gravity. Moh's hardness and SG will give you a pretty good idea of whether or not it is Jade. Jade would be unlikely for arrowheads because it doesn't chip easily or predictably.

[@KatyDidRocks]

I checked the jade maps online, and “jade float” does appear in your area. I’ll do an SG tomorrow - did a hardness test tonight on the first one, and it’s at least a 7. Whatever it is, it sure is pretty! 😊

[@janehelbert7551]

I always thought jade was green!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Often!

[@tedpreston4155]

Jade can be nearly every color of the rainbow! But you're right that MOST of it is green or greenish! In Wyoming, black is common, as well as apple green, olive green, emerald green, sage green, pink and purplish. The coolest piece I've seen from Wyoming was blue! Much of the "pink" is thulite, rather than jade, which is not quite as hard, but it's not uncommon to find green jades with pinkish "snowflakes" scattered through it. I've never found purple jade in Wyoming and I suspect the piece Katy found will turn out to be quartzite as she first suspected. I've found quartzites around Guernsey in lots of pinkish and purplish colors, sometimes nearly translucent.

[@joane.landers9151]

Connecticut has None of the jades, agates, jaspers, etc., found in the western states of the U.S. & Canada. But there were over 300 minerals found over many years, beginning in the mid-1600's. Copper was first found in what would become New Haven around 1650-1660, from an article I recently read. What would become the first town in CT was begun by a large group of men walking/hacking their way thru thick woods/brush from Dorchester, MA (East coast of U.S. near present day Boston) to establish a settlement in 1633 that became the first town in CT: when it was incorporated in 1637.

[@meanstreet1545]

@@tedpreston4155No jade was found in this video lol.

[@tedpreston4155]

@@meanstreet1545 I suspect that' true. But I've been hunting the stuff for so long, I can't count the number of people who start picking up rocks 10 feet from the car, wondering if it's jade. They simply don't know, because they have handled so little jade, and it's difficult to identify. I won't blame Katy for being optimistic too! In fact, jade hunting is a long, slow game. I've spent numerous days hunting the stuff when I didn't find a single piece. In thirty years, I've found less than twenty pounds, and I suspect I'm luckier than most!

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

Those JADEROCKS are perfect for arrowheads, bet the miners learned from the INDIANS.......

[@KatyDidRocks]

Most likely!

[@Gregory47342]

What happens if you took over the limit of rocks? Can a mineral claim be made on that land? I have gone to an area around Rawlings, WY and found fossils. I have never looked for Jade though.

[@KatyDidRocks]

In some places, my guess is that they ticket for taking more than your limit. While I don’t think that is likely in Wyoming, it’s always best to follow the rules and leave some finds for others. As far as mineral claims, that is definitely possible, but I don’t know a lot about it. 😊

[@tedpreston4155]

@@KatyDidRocks I've never heard of anybody being ticketed for taking too much rock. I remember a time when the BLM rule was that you could collect 25 pounds plus one piece, and that extra piece could weigh hundreds of pounds. They wanted to allow people to take a huge piece if they found one, no matter how much it weighs. Mostly it was the popular fossilized wood collecting areas where people discussed that rule. I'm a bit surprised to learn that rock collecting is allowed at all on school trust lands in Wyoming. The state land regulations tend to favor grazing, and prohibit most other uses. You can hike and ride various vehicles on the roads, but they didn't allow any camping or fires on state lands when I lived there. That said, the State lands office has very little budget for enforcement. We have a section of school trust lands on our ranch, fenced in with the rest of the pasture that is all private land. In fifty years, I've never once seen anybody go in and do anything on that school section: no hikers, rockhounds, hunters, or state lands employees of any kind. @Gregory47342 you can file mining claims on BLM and national forest land, but not on the school trust lands in Wyoming. You can apply for permits to mine minerals on school trust land (one of my friends has a fossil quarry on a school section) but it's not the same process as a mining claim on the BLM. When you get a permit to mine minerals on school sections, you have to pay a yearly fee, and sometimes you have to pay royalties on the value of the minerals you mine.

[@Gregory47342]

@@KatyDidRocks Thanks for the great advise.

[@laurieowen8696]

I think you Kava gets 25lbs too! 😂

[@KatyDidRocks]

Not sure I could convince officials that she's a person.... :D

[@raystevens687]

So who checks the weight of the rocks pick up.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Nobody, in Wyoming - it's just sticking to the rules. :)

[@cory546]

Isn't jade green?

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

Love to buy an agate Slab & petrified & fossil Slab & jasper mix color slab.....1 side polished 👍 by me......😂😂❤❤ 📹 with KAVA 👀 ONTOP HILL 4 U his MOMMA💞💕💞💕👩‍🦳

[@KatyDidRocks]

She was worried because there was a storm coming.

[@gonebarefoot69]

Sorry, definitely not Wyoming Jade. Do a SG test

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

Those JADEROCKS are perfect for arrowheads, bet the miners learned from the INDIANS.......

[@KatyDidRocks]

I would think so.