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Nevada Gemstones


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In an effort to convince my wife to move to Nevada, I would like to know more about gemstones and non-metallic fossicking/collecting in the Silver State. If I can show her that the state will be a great place for other rock collecting, it will add greatly to my "gold, gold, no state income tax, gold" argument for a move. We are looking in the Hawthorne/Fernley/Fallon area.

I know about the opal mines up by Virgin Valley, and garnets found in the Ruby mountains. And of course the different gold and silver districts, which sadly, she doesn't care about. She is most into roaming the desert and surface hunting while I swing a detector nearby. My attempts at putting a detector in her hands have not been successful, even when finding gold nuggets. Maybe she is broken.

Anyways I'm mostly interested in personal experience, pictures, and anecdotes of gemstones and other non-metallic surface finds in the state. Please don't post your spots, keep those secrets to yourself!

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Here is a map to 349 locations in Nevada:

https://pubs.nbmg.unr.edu/Rocks-gemstones-minerals-fossil-p/sp029.htm

Title: Rocks, gemstones, minerals, and fossils in Nevada

Author: Stephen B. Castor and Daphne D. LaPointe
Year: 2001
Series: Special Publication 29
Version: supersedes Special Publication 1
Format:
Scale: 1:1,000,000

A 1:1,000,000-scale map of Nevada showing 349 locations of gemstones, fossils, and other minerals and rocks. Includes 11 full-color photos of minerals. The locations are listed on the back of the map along with eight black-and-white photos of minerals and an extensive list of references. Supersedes Special Publication 1.

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4 hours ago, tboykin said:

In an effort to convince my wife to move to Nevada, I would like to know more about gemstones and non-metallic fossicking/collecting in the Silver State. If I can show her that the state will be a great place for other rock collecting, it will add greatly to my "gold, gold, no state income tax, gold" argument for a move. We are looking in the Hawthorne/Fernley/Fallon area.

I envy you -- young guy being able to live in a place that matches his passion for his hobby.  I hope you can convince your wife to move there, and in the process that she enjoys the new location as much as you.

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Bets of luck, Tom! My wife doesn't like detecting either, though she enjoys rock hounding.

Jim

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By the way....Chris and I spent a night in Hawthorne...must have been 10 years ago. They had closed the Army base, and that place was like a ghost town. I mean NOTHING was going on. We were the only customers in the restaurant, and the only people at the motel. It was eerie. I could probably have bought a house really cheap. I haven't been through there since, and have no idea what it's like now.

Jim

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4 hours ago, Jim in Idaho said:

By the way....Chris and I spent a night in Hawthorne...must have been 10 years ago. They had closed the Army base, and that place was like a ghost town. I mean NOTHING was going on. We were the only customers in the restaurant, and the only people at the motel. It was eerie. I could probably have bought a house really cheap. I haven't been through there since, and have no idea what it's like now.

Jim

That sounds perfect. We will check out towns before moving. I had enough of the big city life in LA and prefer tiny towns. I have good memories of growing up in small towns and wish the same for my kids.

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9 hours ago, tboykin said:

That sounds perfect. We will check out towns before moving. I had enough of the big city life in LA and prefer tiny towns. I have good memories of growing up in small towns and wish the same for my kids.

I liked Hawthorne, Tom. Lots of great desert/mountain country, and Walker Lake right there. (the "sink" for the Walker River). Reasonable occasional driving distance to Reno, and even shorter to Minden/Gardnerville. One of my younger brothers lived most of his adult life at Smith Valley, which isn't far.

Jim

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