The Southwest Face of Cedar Mountain

We had finally run into a stream that crossed the road and there was no way that we could cross it. A jeep could have made it but our truck was simply too long, and with such a long wheel base we would have been high centered so it was time to turn around and head back. It didn’t really matter as we were in a new place, high on the southwest face of Cedar Mountain and the view was worth the trip up the rocky four wheel drive road.


A day earlier we woke up to see a dusting of snow on the Uinitas and so it was almost time to head to a lower elevation but we still had a few days left and we still wanted to prospect for diamonds on the southwest face of Cedar Mountain. The book, Gemstones and Other Unique Minerals and Rocks of Wyoming, had told of the discovery of brecciated volcanic pipes on the southwest face and the discovery of diamonds in one of the pipes. It also told of diamonds being found in an alluvium north of the DK spot and so we had to look for it.

The Blm sign greeted us a s we turned off the county road and the four wheel drive track was pretty good for a while. Renita spotted an ant pile and so we looked for indicator minerals, cape rubies and cape emeralds, but didn’t find any. A road turned off to the left and so we had to make a decision and we took the more traveled one.

Quickly our road became rocky as we crossed ridge after ridge but the rocks weren’t large enough to cause any problems. I concentrated on the driving, either missing the large ones or driving over the top of them so I wouldn’t hit one with my sidewall and have to change out a tire.

The road alternated between rocks and dirt and luckily it was dry as it was pretty obvious that this was not a road to be on in the rain. Another fork and this time we went left as we wanted to continue southwest. Smaller ruts promised a way to the top but they weren’t really meant for our truck as most of the roads were from the fifties, having been made by old small jeeps.

A ridge appeared above us and it looked like it was made of conglomerate, a solidified layer of various size rocks, and the book had told of the dikes having intruded thought the Bishop Conglomerate so I had to climb the ridge and look. As I hiked up to the ridge, I picked up several interesting specimens, that didn’t seem to belong, and also several agate fragments. Reaching the outcrop the conglomerate appeared to be cemented and so it appeared I was at the Bishop Formation,(The Bishop Conglomerate is also the rock layer from which jade was mined near Jeffery City).

I didn’t find any indicator minerals and I could see Renita below as she checked out the rocks. Sure enough she had a pile of specimens she wanted me to look over and so we had more agate for the trip to Texas. We are definitely going to be busy with the rock saws!

The brecciated dikes remained hidden from us. Perhaps they were the depressions that we found, as some of the diamond bearing stratum is softer and so weathers into a small marsh or pond. I walked to one and was quickly swarmed by deer flies. The trip down the mountain went by quickly and we talked about another unsuccessful day of prospecting for Wyoming diamonds.

It reminded me of the quote on one of the displays at the Arkansas Diamond State Park, the one that says you have to pay your dues and we are certainly doing that! The thing is that it is just plain fun to be in such beautiful country, much better than being stuck in a windowless classroom with twenty eight teenagers. Clear skies.