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In this episode of Solomon's Vegas Adventures, Solomon, Deanna, Emily, Katherine, Libby, and Ryan went up into the Kingston Range to go rockhounding for some Amethyst. The crew not only found Amethyst, but also found Smoky Quartz, Citrine, and regular Quartz.
The Kingston Range is located in San Bernardino County, California, roughly an hour and a half from Las Vegas. It's only about 40 miles from Las Vegas as the crow flies, but access to the Kingston Range is about 90 miles away without a 4x4 vehicle. The mountain range itself is composed of a middle to late Miocene Granite & Quartz Monzonite Pluton (about 11 million years old), and the Amethyst and other Quartz crystals are found in fractures, faults, planes of weakness, and veins in the granite that formed due to regional tectonics as the pluton was still cooling underground. This has led to gorgeous and large quartz crystal growth. The magma stock was enriched in Iron and to a lesser extent Aluminum, and due to that, much of the Quartz crystals grew as Amethyst and to a lesser extent Smoky Quartz. Amethyst gets its purple color by Iron impurities in the Quartz, and Smoky Quartz its black color by Aluminum impurities.
The entire area is located on BLM land, and rockhounding is perfectly legal, free, and permitted. We found lots of trash out there, which was a travesty, and took it upon ourselves to pick it up. Please respect the land.
I have seen several rockhounding videos that have taken place in the Kingston Range where the makers of the video have attempted to hide the location they were at and be all cloak and dagger about where they went. I've extrapolated their exact locations by cross-referencing frames where they accidentally included a view in their videos with Google Earth (I work on Google Earth, Google Maps, ArcGIS, and other geographic softwares extensively). I'll just say that this method worked, as I found a good amount of Amethyst, Smoky Quartz, Citrine, and Quartz up there. I'd be willing to personally guarantee you that taking a trek into the canyon we did will warrant you at least some success in finding Quartz, though the area is admittedly quite rugged.
I'm giving you guys the exact directions to get to the place because I don't roll like those other rockhound youtubers and I appreciate transparency. As I do this, please do not trash the area and respect the land. If you do find Amethyst, please don't take an excessive amount or anything either.
To get to where we rockhounded from Las Vegas, take I-15 south into California for about 65 miles to Exit 272 (Cima Rd). Take the exit, turn right onto Excelsior Mine Road so that you are heading north, and continue for 29.3 miles. The road will get a little treacherous, as it is paved with several potholes that need repair, but a sedan could make it up there. You will drive into the Kingston Range. Pass a spring with a cabin (Horse Thief Springs), head up the pass (Tecopa Pass) and park in the next valley. Then hike about 2 miles up the wash into the canyon. There are several Quartz, Amethyst, Citrine, and Smoky Quartz bearing veins located throughout the canyon.
All photos property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Sources consulted for use in the video:
pubs.geoscienc...
www.quartzpage....
www.gemsociety...
www.geologyin.c...
mrdata.usgs.go...
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