Rockhounding Fluorite at the Small Fry Prospect, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
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- čas přidán 22. 01. 2021
- Learn where to go and what to look for at this fun and easy rockhounding location on Forest Service land near El Rito, New Mexico!
The fluorite here is light purple and botryoidal, and the mineralization is associated with a fault zone where hydrothermal fluids intruded and cooled in cracks, cavities and veins in and around the fault. The host rock his altered and faulted/brecciated sedimentary sequences in the Santa Fe Group rock formations.
In general, it is permissible to collect rock and mineral specimens from federal land for personal use, so long as there is no commercial intent or activity. For more information please visit the Forest Service website.
What a beautiful place. Kind of wandered around and found nothing but will return. Your video helped
I went out there today 4/5/24 and had a great time. Thank you so much for the lead…
@@frankyensan Great to hear, thanks for letting me know!
@@GeoRockNerd I wish I could add a photo to this question…
I went left in the arroyo instead of right as you did. I found some absolutely fantastic purple, lavender, green, and orange fluorite in that direction. Absolutely stunning specimens were found. I then went higher up on those bentonite ridges where I found a fairly clear, cubit material, with long striations on the surface. Is that gypsum? I also found a seem of copper green mineral. Do you possibly know what I am referring to?
Thank you for posting this. I'm going to SWAIA in August. I'll make a side trip here and try my luck.
Great, hope you find some good stuff!
Lived in this area of NM for decades and never knew this vein existed. Awesome of you to share!
It’s a really cool spot! Hope you can check it out!
Thanks for posting this video!! Went there twice in the last 2 days and found some cool things.
Awesome to hear! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing the locations of where you go rockhounding. Most people are so secretive of "their" location on public land!
You’re welcome! I just feel like the treasures of the public lands should be enjoyed by everyone interested. The only places I hesitate to share are the ones where the roads are super bad and could strand someone out in the middle of no where. I would feel so bad if someone followed my directions and ran into trouble! Thanks for watching!
@@GeoRockNerd You're welcome. I'm just getting started in rockhounding. I live in Tennessee and would absolutely love to come out West to 'hound!
@@padrefrancisco66 You definitely should! There’s great things to find in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California…you’d need a month!
@@GeoRockNerd I wish I could! Maybe someday...
I followed your directions and I went here. It was a lot of fun. thank you. I live in El Paso so we travel New Mexico a lot. and while I am a beginner I am always looking for places to go to. A lot of rock hounders wont say where the location is so its hard to find them. Thank you
Awesome, glad you found it and had a good time! My feeling about rockhound places is if they are on public lands then they belong to all of us, so that’s why I share!
Thanks for this informative video. Went to small fry yesterday (12/27/22) for the first time and found a few nice pieces. Mostly small and some great iridescent pieces.
Awesome, so good to hear you had some luck out there! It’s a pretty well known location and therefore somewhat picked over, but there’s still a lot of material to be found on the surface!
Love seeing the Fluorite in the seam, in the host. That chunk you found was fantastic. Lovely location to hang out for the day!
Thank you, it is a really beautiful place! And that was in the winter! Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for the awesome directions. We are from Michigan, we found the location and found some fluorite.
Awesome! So glad you found some fluorite! Thank you for watching!
Thank you I was just there and didn’t realize the treasures! Thank you my new friend !!
You are very welcome! 😊
I didnt know fluorite coulld have a botryoidal structure like that! Really awesome pieces you found. thanks for sharing, this is way cool :)
It’s definitely not the most common structure for it! Thanks for your kind words!
@@GeoRockNerd can fluorite be carved?
@@bcrouch2626 Sure it can! It’s soft, only about a 4 on the Mohs scale, and takes a good polish!
Lovely and appreciated. Fantastic work!
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it!
This is such Beautiful stuff, awesome Pieces you collected. That entire area is so Beautiful! Thanks for sharing
Thank you for watching Ed!
Thank you for your directions and all your info also this is a great vid much thanks again from Northern California
Thank you for your kind words, I’m glad you like the video!
Lovely work. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, appreciate you stopping by and watching!
I went to the top of that hill, collected a ton and fell half way back down. Not my best hounding day 😂. Love the video.
Oh no!!! Hope you got some good stuff for your trouble! It is a rather steep hill, isn’t it? Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for watching!
i am so excited i’ve just now found your channel! i can’t wait to check out the spots you’ve shared :D
Thank you and welcome!
Live near by, never knew. thanks
You’re welcome! Hope you find something nice if you go out there.
Nice video.. Ive found some Amazing Fluorite from there over the years
Me too, it’s a great place! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for being so detailed....your videos are awesome - I subscribed. Hope to head out to this location in 2023.
Thanks for your kind words, and thanks for watching and subbing, appreciate it! Good luck hounding if you go out there!
Thank you! Me and kids had a great time!!!
Best channel on CZcams
Thank you! Glad to hear you had a good time!
Thank you so much for sharing, I will defiantly be going!
Excellent, hope you find some good stuff!
Thank you for sharing.
Nice video on New Mexico Fluorite local!
Thank you Glenn, and thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing this info!!! It took us a few tries - this time of year there seems to be a Bush in front of the gate and we initially went a half mile past it to a wrong gate. It was so exciting to find it finally 😂
Glad you found it! Did you get some fluorite?
@@GeoRockNerd yes we found some small pieces that we thought were nice, ran out of time. We are here in NM for a few more weeks so we are most likely going to go back!!
it a little far for to travel, but I did enjoy you video, and do love the finds. nice1
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
That's so awesome! My girlfriend and I are in the process of planning a trip in the long term future to go out west and get all kinds of minerals from some of the dig areas in NM, AR, UT, etc. Maybe we will have to swing by and check this out! By the way, since fluorite and calcite are fluorescent, have you guys tried taking a black light out there to look for some? I bet that would be super cool to see!
New subscriber. You found some really cool stuff.
Thanks for watching and subscribing, I appreciate it!
Thank you for the great video. My daughter and I are beginners and were so thrilled to find fluorite exactly as you described. Is there a method to clean it up that you prefer? We’d love to display a few pieces. Also, we found some beautiful white crystals on the Western side of the wash. What might that be? Thanks again!
Oh yay so glad you found some stuff! Not sure without seeing the white crystals you found, but there are calcite and barite out there too which are both possibilities! Thanks for watching!
As far as cleaning it, warm water and a soft toothbrush will get most of it pretty clean. If you see an iridescent sheen on it, that’s iron oxides so don’t use iron-out if you want to keep that sheen. Otherwise, there’s a lot of videos on CZcams with instructions on cleaning rocks with various acids, but I don’t normally find those necessary
Good...
Like it
Thank you!
New sub great video.
Thank you Susan!
Ooo take one for me i am from Nederland
I will! Thanks for watching!
This looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL ❤️😍. What are the chances a U-haul pulling a full sized van could get in there? Thank You for your Amazing and informative videos!👏
There’s probably room at the parking area for a rig like that! The only issue might be climbing around on the hills, not sure if that would be too difficult with your current situation. But there are other places we could go for some rockhounding success, never worry!
@@GeoRockNerd GOD!! I LOVE YOU!!!❤️😍🤗😎🌟✨. When the day comes that I get to meet you..
Knowing what bits I've shared and all your perfect LOVE and acceptance of me.. I hope I don't ball my eyes out.. You're such a Beautiful Soul 😇✨🌟
BELIEVE IT...OR NOT...
we're STILL in that same hotel, almost 2 MONTHS 😱🤯... Now leaving in the morning.👍
I can't begin 🙄 but... Let's just say my eyes have been opened and much revealing has occurred on EVERY level and that I know what I MUST do upon returning home... if I EVER choose to heal, that is. Almost 3 DECADES of living under certain conditions... I CHOOSE to change my circumstances. Once Free, I can do rock hounding and maybe open a shop in Indiana because the craze for it and hardly anything really cool or powerful there unless it's in shops... Buuuuut I would like to move back here where I'm from, Arizona.. but must consider health and then being on my own.
Looking to start a business!!🌟😇👍✨ Yeah?? Nice!😍😁💎💪
Love and Big HUGS 💖🤗
Have you heard of place that has caves of fluorite and they are cubed? There are a few places in New Mexico that are caves
I’ve been to some old lead mines that had cubic fluorite in the Blanchard Mining District near Bingham, NM! The Sunshine 3 mine, the Desert Rose and the Royal Flush. You can pay the owner of the Desert Rose to collect at her mine. The owners of the other two let groups go in their adits to collect once a year. Really cool going underground to collect minerals!
I will definitely be going! We are heading to roswell to get some pecos diamonds. Great channel!
@@christies4963 Thank you! I have a video about collecting Pecos diamonds too, there are better places to go further south, but there’s some info about how to spot the geology where the diamonds are! Good luck on your hunt!
Very cool! I am new to rock hounding and Caballo Mountains are near by, what should I start out looking for as a beginner you think?
Please check the map on this website, that area has jasper, petrified wood, chalcedony etc and also has old mines you could search for malachite, fluorite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite etc:
rockhoundresource.com/new-mexico-rockhounding-location-guide-map/
There’s also marine fossils in the are as well, so look out for thick layers of limestone beds and check any arroyos or drainages coming off the mountains! And good luck!
@@GeoRockNerd awesome! Thanks so much!
Do you have any tips for cutting these? I just got a bunch of lepidolite from Harding mine and I’m trying to figure out how to polish.
I’ve never cut lepidolite, but Lapidary Dave has cut a bunch from the Harding mine, highly recommend his channel I’m sure he would help you!
So, to reach the fluorite seams, after going thru the gate, do I go to the left, & walk up the big arroyo to the left? Or, do I follow the path to the right, which goes over the hills? Thanks
You go down to the right into the large arroyo. Over the hills is interesting but not where the fluorite is.
Go to the right? I do not remember a large arroyo to the right.
After going thru the gate, how far to the right is the large arroyo?
Thank you for helping me on this.
is this public property you can collect in?
Yes, the collecting area is US Forest Service land. You can collect on Forest Service and BLM lands, which are public lands. (Some areas like National Parks and Wildlife Refuges you cannot collect, but a lot of federal lands are open to collecting).
yo thats just so cool!1, what if you went there with a UV light? doesn't it glow?
have a great day :)
It does fluoresce a little but it’s not as bright as fluorite from other locations! Would be fun to go out at night though. Thanks for watching, have a great one too!
Thx :))) I go with UV light for amber sometimes
@@J_H_Rahbek That sounds so fun! Lucky you, amber would be awesome to find!
Thinking same with you but fluorite xD
but scorpions do! green
My husband and I are stuck in Albuquerque until Tuesday as our van broke down. We're on a rockhound/foraging/Healing trip for me, so far over a month and a half but we can't manage to find places I can go that's not lots of climbing.
Also, we simply have no clue where to go. This video is awesome 👏👏. DO YOU DO IN PERSON GUIDANCE?
We need a guide so badly. We've been here 5 days and done nothing but sit or drive our rental, just looking and don't know if it's legal to just stop.
Would you consider being a guide?
We're in Albuquerque STILL, on San Mateo Blvd.
Thank you for the wonderful video😎💎😏. subbed🎉👍
Awww that would be fun! Unfortunately I work full-time so spontaneous rockhounding adventures aren’t possible at the moment. But you could go to a nearby place tomorrow, there is petrified wood and jasper near Los Lunas, only 15 miles south of Albuquerque! You can google “Los Lunas petrified wood” and people have blogs with collecting instructions! Not too far and easy pickings!
@@GeoRockNerd Thank You! I'll check it out! Much appreciated 😁
@@ExtremeSurvivor_1 let me know if you decide to go! Otherwise you could check out Mama’s Minerals in Albuquerque if you haven’t already, great local rock shop!
@@GeoRockNerd Thank you for the information 😎💎😏. I saw Mama's but I want to collect them from the ground myself 🙂. I'm on a healing journey and been on the road more than 1.5 MONTHS and still haven't been able to do anything fun whatsoever and no rock hunting from Indiana to Florida and back up to Georgia. I finally got to go to The Hogg Mine in Lagrange Georgia but even that was a total debacle for enjoyment, fun, healing or relaxing even though we got good Rose Quartz but, I didn't get to do it.. long story of FOREVER health issues.
I'm trying to heal.
FINALLY got out of Georgia, headed to Az and the ALREADY rebuilt transmission broke down in Albuquerque 😳😬. It's so crazy here in NM about masks, ice, bathrooms, restaurants, stores. ..
This was supposed to be a healing journey but is tearing me down instead. Anyway, I'll check out your suggestions but problem is, Hubby keeps getting lost, turned around and frustrated (putting it nicely 🤣)
GPS is new to us and keeps getting us in wrong places because delayed speaking to the true situation. It's ALREADY been over 8 days in NM, doing nothing but driving or sitting in the hotel. Maddening isn't even the word.
Anyway, I sure do appreciate your information.
Have a Blessed Night 😇🙏
@@ExtremeSurvivor_1 Wow that sounds so trying, especially since you’re supposed to be on a healing journey! So sorry to hear of your troubles! GPS can be really confusing, I agree. I try to give on the road directions in my videos, but when I can I include the coordinates too. I really hope you can spend some time successfully rockhounding before you leave New Mexico! Depending on where you head next there could be some prospects along the way!
Is this accessable by regular car? No 4- wheel needed?
Yes, paved road all the way to the parking spot which is dirt. Then a short walk up the arroyo. Abundant fluorite on the right side/east of the arroyo in the collecting area. Another option for you would be the Roswell Pecos diamonds, I have a video about that too. No 4WD, easy flat picking, lots of crystals!
@@GeoRockNerd Well!! 😮 What the actual heck!!??🤷 We're STILL in that hotel in Albuquerque on San Mateo Blvd and been all over the place ALREADY! With precious little results of the positive Nature and you being the one thing that's kept me sane the last couple of days 😏🎉👍, I think I'll tie my husband down, play him a couple or more of your videos and CHOOSE our next long (if needed) drive to go somewhere tried, true, loved and cared about 😁😎✨💎👏
You've been an absolute Angel 😇
THANK YOU!! 💐🌹🤗😘
@@ExtremeSurvivor_1 Are you still in Albuquerque or did you leave NM?
@@GeoRockNerd No, finally got out yesterday. Not one single fun thing or rock hunting. Now in Az, trying to find another camp site. Hotels and food for 2 MONTHS has wiped us. I can't begin. I've developed panic attacks, after an ENTIRE lifetime of severe illness, trauma, abuse, starvation and homelessness.. NEVER have I gotten panic. I'm beside myself. I'm just beyond lost and no CLUE what to do.
Dragging a trailer of Rose Quartz I can't do anything with except pay 20 a day to drag it around.
God is beating the crap out of me and I have no clue. I've been a loving, kind, giving, sharing, caring, counseling, Nature saving/feeding/loving person my entire life, even as a very sick kid, teen and young adult.
I have no clue except maybe a curse.
A Shaman is my next step.
I'll be seeking for one while I'm here.
God HELP me.. please.
But I've begged and begged...
No clue.
Thank you for writing me. If you pray.. I could use it. 😇🙏
Much Love and Grace to You 💖✨🤗
@@ExtremeSurvivor_1 I’m really sorry to hear of your continued troubles, panic attacks are not good! I hope you find a place to bring you peace in Arizona and have luck finding rocks there! There are books for rockhounding Arizona, and if you can find a gem & mineral club in the area where you are a lot of times those people can recommend places to visit and what to look for. I wish you all the best and hope it gets better for you soon!
It's not about what's easier, it's about how pretty the specimen is. If I went there, I wouldn't bother with the stuff floating on the surface. Digging is the best way to collect.
Sure, but for partly disabled people and small children, details like easiness of collecting is relevant. I have people who watch my videos that can’t dig or climb. This is why I include the easiness info.
I didn't know you could dig on federal land???
You can collect minerals and non-vertebrate fossils on BLM and Forest Service land so long as it is for personal/non-commercial use. This land was once under claim and the trenches and pits were allowed for exploration. They should have been reclaimed afterwards though.
Isnt this somebodies claim? A registered mining claim? The claim owners are digging those holes.
Nope, I double checked the fed website, no claims here. No markers out there of any kind, either.
@@GeoRockNerd Scully's claim is near there. I have pounds of Fl. From there. Becareful in El Rito. If its open you should file on it. He made lots of $. on it.
@@susanhp6690 Good to know, thanks!
@@GeoRockNerd look for hematite spheres on the lake. There is some green fluorite there too. The creek has gold in it too. Petrified wood, dog tooth calcite, down by camp ground on the chama.
@@susanhp6690 Thank you, I’ll check that out!
Next time please don't move your camera so much. Hard to see the up close things.
Thank you ✌
Sorry about that!
Thank you for this video and info!! My boyfriend and I were able to find some amazing pieces that will go great in the projects i have in mind!! Also sending some to a friend out east!! Thanks again so much!! Do you have an Instagram? Id love to send you some pics!!
Sweet, so glad to hear you found some cool stuff! I don’t have an Instagram yet but may do that soon!
@@GeoRockNerd please do!! Id love to see all your finds and show you ours!!