- Phone: 315-891-3855
- Web site: http://herkimerdiamonds.com
- Length of Vacation: Day or more
- Cost: $10 adult, $5.00 kids under 7; Guided Collection $1,500
- Open: Seasonal (April 1st – October 31st: open daily)
- Type of Prospecting: Quartz Crystals – “Herkimer Diamonds”
- Equipment: Bring your own; rentals available
- Instruction: Web site does not say
- Lodging: Camping on site; hotels in driving distance
- Meals: Bring your own; luncheonette and grocery stores nearby
From their web site:
Come join the fun at The Ace and prospect for HERKIMER DIAMONDS, brilliant, water clear quartz crystals composed of silicon dioxide, hard enough to scratch glass. They are of a hexagonal structure and doubly terminated – (points on both ends).
Dolomite limestone is the rock formation in which they are found. This rock was buried ages ago. Subsequently, surface water containing silicon seeped downward through the earth and was trapped in pockets or cavities in the dolomite rock. Under tremendous heat and pressure these crystals were formed. Weathering and erosion by glaciers and water have exposed the strata in Middleville, New York. the crystals are found mostly in rock cavities (formed approximately four hundred million years ago) but many are found in soil surrounding the weathered rocks.
The name Herkimer Diamond came about because to the untrained eye the sparkling crystals look like real diamonds and since these unique crystals are found in Herkimer County, named after the Revolutionary War General Nicholas Herkimer thus the name Herkimer Diamonds. Additionally, the Mohawk Indians, native to this area, are known as “The People of the Crystals”.
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