Post by rocpup on Dec 20, 2011 11:47:39 GMT -5
Red Bluff Mountain
Red Bluff Mountain Area extends from the East end of the range to Muggins Wilderness area. It sits about seven to ten miles north of Welton AZ. There seems to be a strip about a quarter mile wide along the South border of the Yuma Proving Grounds. There is a wide variety of lapidary materials to be found there. To name a few: Thundereggs, Black Agate Nodules, Red-Yellow Jasper, Thick-thin seam agate, and Agate and Jasper of many distinct, for the area, unique patterns.
We found a deposit of Orbicular Psilomelane that has a very nice pattern but can’t be cut with a regular rock saw blade because it will remove the diamond from the saw rim.
There is a ridge of agate material that maybe a hundred feet wide and a quarter mile long. There are pieces of about twelve inch thick jasper-agate that weighs up to a ton laying in a wash. There is a mountain of thundereggs with nice black agate centers. (One of my prizes from a thunderegg has a nice fire agate center.)
It is shielded from discovery by one to two miles of non-productive alluvial material and fairly rough terrain. Many years ago gold prospectors established roads up the washes and the ridges into this area but they can be a hazard to all of most unprepared vehicles. Offroad rigs have reestablished many of these roads and marked them for a better transit. The area that has been most productive for us was discovered about six years ago by a lady that found a piece of jasper she found while a group of dune buggy people was having lunch. She showed us where she found it and we have been in rock hound heaven ever sense.
The rock from this area has given us many pleasant surprises because of the beauty of the very unusual material from what we had become accustom to. We thought we had explored most of the surrounding area but last spring and again we had the pleasure of another surprise. Last spring from a little prospecting we came back with a fine black agate geode that we have not pinned down where we picked it up. Now again this winter we have been out to another area discovered last spring for some very a nice jasper-agate type we had not looked at before. Who knows what secrets Red Bluff Mountain will give up next.
Rocpup
Red Bluff Mountain Area extends from the East end of the range to Muggins Wilderness area. It sits about seven to ten miles north of Welton AZ. There seems to be a strip about a quarter mile wide along the South border of the Yuma Proving Grounds. There is a wide variety of lapidary materials to be found there. To name a few: Thundereggs, Black Agate Nodules, Red-Yellow Jasper, Thick-thin seam agate, and Agate and Jasper of many distinct, for the area, unique patterns.
We found a deposit of Orbicular Psilomelane that has a very nice pattern but can’t be cut with a regular rock saw blade because it will remove the diamond from the saw rim.
There is a ridge of agate material that maybe a hundred feet wide and a quarter mile long. There are pieces of about twelve inch thick jasper-agate that weighs up to a ton laying in a wash. There is a mountain of thundereggs with nice black agate centers. (One of my prizes from a thunderegg has a nice fire agate center.)
It is shielded from discovery by one to two miles of non-productive alluvial material and fairly rough terrain. Many years ago gold prospectors established roads up the washes and the ridges into this area but they can be a hazard to all of most unprepared vehicles. Offroad rigs have reestablished many of these roads and marked them for a better transit. The area that has been most productive for us was discovered about six years ago by a lady that found a piece of jasper she found while a group of dune buggy people was having lunch. She showed us where she found it and we have been in rock hound heaven ever sense.
The rock from this area has given us many pleasant surprises because of the beauty of the very unusual material from what we had become accustom to. We thought we had explored most of the surrounding area but last spring and again we had the pleasure of another surprise. Last spring from a little prospecting we came back with a fine black agate geode that we have not pinned down where we picked it up. Now again this winter we have been out to another area discovered last spring for some very a nice jasper-agate type we had not looked at before. Who knows what secrets Red Bluff Mountain will give up next.
Rocpup
