Gem-O-Rama
For this adventure we will visit the salt flats of Searles Lake near Trona, CA to collect gems (minerals) that have been blasted from 20-40 feet below the earth’s surface. Bring comfortable clothes that can stand to get dirty (possibly filthy!) and tools to dig through the debris for your treasure. Tools include gloves to protect your hands from sharp crystals, a 3-blade cultivator that is especially useful for digging, a brush to scrub the mud minerals you will find, deep well brine to wash your mud minerals (drinking or even brackish water will destroy these minerals) [available to purchase on-site], a carpet square to sit or kneel on or knee pads, and a bucket for the minerals you will collect.
For more than seventy years, countless thousands of visitors have come to Trona during the second weekend in October for the annual Gem-O-Rama. And each year more collectors converge for the 36 hours of frantic, non-stop activity to collect some of the best and most desirable evaporite mineral specimens in the world.
Sponsored by the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society
SLG&MS Lapidary and Show Building
13337 Main St.
Trona, CA 93562
(corner of Main & Trona Rd.)
We’ll be doing the “Blow Hole” adventure, which departs the staging area in Trona on Saturday, October 10 at 2:30pm. Arrive early: 12:00pm. Bring a picnic lunch.
- Crystal Diagrams
- Physical Characteristics of Lake Searles Minerals
- General Gem-O-Rama Field Trip Information
Blow Hole Field Trip details:
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