Saturday, October 24th, 2009. Fifteen rockhounds of varying skills and experience meet for camaraderie and rocks. The twin pillars of rockhounding. Old friends, new friends and a few near-strangers with jasper on their minds and rocks in their heads.

First off, there are eighteen 'Black Buttes' in California. This field trip was to the Black Butte Reservoir just West of the town of Orland. From Interstate 5 go about 11 miles West on Newville Road, follow the signs to Buckhorn Recreation Area and head down to the shore. This is obviously a water hunt and that means sand and easy digging. Bring the kids. They are lower to the ground, have better eyes, and love picking up shiny things. Show them what to look for and they will naturally fill a bucket with tumbling rough while you go for the bigger gems. Tire them out and take pictures; these are good memories. Equipment needed includes shorts, sandals, waders, or SCUBA booties, mosquito repellent, sunglasses, hat, rockpick, buckets, trowel, beach scoop, shovel if you want boulders, spray bottle to wet down dry rocks, and scrub brush to clean moss off the wet ones. In good weather just jump in and go swimming. That's why the lake is there.

The shore has been well picked over through the years. The only reason our group could expect a good hunt is that water levels are now at historic lows, leaving the beach littered with rocks formerly under water. That being said, there are far more rocks than jasper. Yard rocks are plentiful and slightly more interesting than dirt. You know, big boulders, fancifully colored, that you put in your yard to say, "I am a rockhound and I have been somewhere." If you want primo cutting material, it is there but you will have to develop an eye for the elusive keepers.

The solid red jasper tends to be quite fractured and doesn't cut well. There is a lot of jasper with stringers and patches of quartzite but they are dull and make uninspired cabs. 'Meat rocks' we used to call them as kids. Keep your eyes peeled for red and yellow orbs and swirls that rival the stuff at Morgan Hill. But you know you have struck gold when you dig up and scrub off a piece of red & yellow moss with just enough agate to give the stone strength and translucency.

That's what you're looking for; how do you find it? Fortunately for our group, Dave Tirey was on hand to clue us in. He visits this site several times a year and has all the tricks. Here they are as they were told to me. Keep in mind that even with new fields exposed, the surface stuff has already been collected. Mostly by Dave, himself. It was easy to see where he had been. Turned over rejected rock...turned over rejected rock...hole and missing rock. First, ignore all the obvious surface rocks. Target buried rocks with just a bit poking out of the sand. These are the only ones still untouched. Wet it down and have a look. Is it plain or promising? Dig it up if it seems worth it, then clean and examine the entirety of the stone. You know what you're looking for. A piece of solid, cuttable jasper or those elusive windows that will cut translucent cabs with moss, plume, confetti, or inclusions suspended in agate. Expect to wet down twenty rocks to find a suspect. Expect to dig ten suspects to find one keeper. Expect one in five keepers to cut a superior gem. Remember, the whole stone won't be gem material. Maybe just one or two carefully oriented slices. But when you cut a cab that people swear is the best piece of Marfa Red Plume they have ever seen, that makes it all worthwhile. It's a numbers game. Keep going and you will have some success.

GPS Coordinates

On the shore 39.8155254042N, 122.362901528W

By the boat ramp 39.8095632711N, 122.366240607W

I haven't tried this spot yet 39.8128333333N, 122.362166667

You need a kayak to get here, then search the shore for a quarter mile in each direction.

39.8000963768N, 122.380466794

Happy Hunting, -Rocky.

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