Finding Diamonds in Arkansas

The park is located in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It's a 37-acre plowed field - the eroded surface of an ancient, gem-bearing volcanic pipe. It costs a very small fee to hunt all day. Be sure to tour the visitor center featuring exhibits and an audio/visual program that explains how to do it and offers tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough. The park has a display of diamonds also which will give you more of an idea what a rough diamond crystal looks like. There are several techniques for hunting a diamond, the method you choose will best be determined by how much time you have to spend. Keep in mind, you are looking for something very small, on the order of the size of a paper match head to as large as a green pea. Dirt does not stick to diamond, making a sunny day after a heavy rain an ideal time to go diamond hunting. Ask the park rangers for any help.

You need to use the garden weeder to scratch up the soil to see what comes up. Stay away from large rocks and gravels, but instead scratch them aside to get at the smaller material filling in between the cobbles at the bottom of the plowed furrows. If it has recently rained, be sure and work through the material. Look for anything shiny and hard. Remember, a diamond is a 10 on the moh scale (or hardness). In otherwords, it is the hardest of the minerals. I have tried to break the piece to see if it will break or not. If it breaks it's probably something else. If you're not sure, save and take to ranger to check out for you. They will be able to tell you if you have found a diamond. If you have some time to look, it probably is best to rent a screen from the park and get lessons on how to use it to find the maThis is fun for children as well, in fact, children have found some very rare large diamonds. They also come in many colors. Great day and fun for the whole family.