Crater of Diamonds

Dave and I took a little break away from the alpacas to visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park over in Murfreesboro, Arkansas this past weekend. It’s about a 2 1/2 hour drive, heading east, from our alpaca farm. It’s a diamond mine where they actually let you dig for diamonds plus you get to keep whatever you find!

We met with a geologist there at the mine and she explained why the diamonds are there and what to look for. There is an 83 acre funnel shaped crater that they plow every once in a while so people can look and dig for the diamonds. She said it wasn’t a kimberlite as they originally thought. They found out it was a lamproite by the rock types they find there.

No we didn’t find any diamonds but we did find agate, a tiny tiny garnet, and some other funny looking rocks. They let us keep the dirt we were going through so maybe there will be a diamond in there. We did get to see some raw diamonds that were there and they are absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t realize how beautiful a raw diamond is. I definitely prefer the raw diamond left in it’s natural state rather than a cut one. Oh and they come in differently colors too.

Over the years thousands of diamonds have come out of this mine plus there have been some truly amazing finds at the mine… the Strawn-Wagner diamond which is so perfect they say it’s one in a billion. The famous 4.25-carat Kahn Canary diamond which was left in it’s natural state. The Kahn Canary is the diamond that Hillary Clinton wore several times. There are many other famous finds but the biggest one ever found there was a whopping 40.23-carat white diamond… now that’s a diamond!

The Crater of Diamonds is a state park that not only has a diamond mine but they also have camping, hiking, water park, and a wildlife observation blind. You can visit their website at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Well we had fun taking the day off and exploring the diamond mine. I know diamonds and alpacas don’t have anything in common but I have to say they are both awesome treasures!