At the 77th Annual Gem-O-Rama last October, hundreds of professional and amateur rockhounds descended on the tiny community of Trona, Calif., for a weekend of treasure hunting. Gem dealers, geologists, retirees and school children dived into the mud and brine of Searles Lake to extract specimens of spellbinding molecular order: hanksite, pink halite, borax and other salt crystals.
Crystals, the now ubiquitous wellness accessories sitting on your desk or bedside table, all come from somewhere. Some come from this dry lake bed in the California desert. “A lot of people don’t pay attention to what’s going on under their feet,” said Alexandra Gama, president of the geology club at California State University, Sacramento. But for the weekend at Gem-O-Rama, what’s going on underfoot is the main event.
Since 1873, Searles Lake has been mined for borax and other minerals, which are sold by the ton for everything from fertilizer to cleaning products, glass manufacturing to gunpowder. The mining operation spawned a small company town, Trona, and with it, the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society. The Society has worked with the mining company, now called Searles Valley Minerals, Inc., to host Gem-O-Rama every year since 1941. (Before you grab your pickax, note that Gem-O-Rama 2019 was canceled because of severe damage caused by earthquakes this summer. The epicenters of the July 4 and 5 quakes were just west of Trona.)
Over the course of the festival, there are three field trips, eachheading to different locations and excavation challenges, during which attendees can pursue their quarry. For the “Mud Trip,” Searles Valley Minerals employees have turned over sections of earth 10- to 20-feet deep, revealing clusters of hanksite — a rare, greenish six-sided crystal — in the thick black goo. Later, at the “Blow Hole,” stones buried as far as 50 feet beneath the lake bed are pumped above ground in an impressive geyser. (...)
The rich sediment at Searles Lake has been millions of years in the making. Volcanic activity upstream produced mineral-laden rocks. Glaciers ground up the rocks, leaching their minerals and dissolving them in water. The runoff flowed down from the mountains and into the lake. As the earth warmed, the water largely evaporated, leaving layers of brine that the desert sun bakes into crystals.
Rocks and minerals are standard fourth-grade science curriculum in California, said Moira Talan, a teacher at Topanga Elementary Charter School in Los Angeles County. “Topanga,” Ms. Talan said, “is kind of a crystal place.” For more than 10 years, Ms. Talan has brought students to Gem-O-Rama, where they can become geologists for the weekend, collecting and identifying minerals.
by Josephine Sedgwick, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Brian Guido for The New York Times
Crystals, the now ubiquitous wellness accessories sitting on your desk or bedside table, all come from somewhere. Some come from this dry lake bed in the California desert. “A lot of people don’t pay attention to what’s going on under their feet,” said Alexandra Gama, president of the geology club at California State University, Sacramento. But for the weekend at Gem-O-Rama, what’s going on underfoot is the main event.
Since 1873, Searles Lake has been mined for borax and other minerals, which are sold by the ton for everything from fertilizer to cleaning products, glass manufacturing to gunpowder. The mining operation spawned a small company town, Trona, and with it, the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society. The Society has worked with the mining company, now called Searles Valley Minerals, Inc., to host Gem-O-Rama every year since 1941. (Before you grab your pickax, note that Gem-O-Rama 2019 was canceled because of severe damage caused by earthquakes this summer. The epicenters of the July 4 and 5 quakes were just west of Trona.)Over the course of the festival, there are three field trips, eachheading to different locations and excavation challenges, during which attendees can pursue their quarry. For the “Mud Trip,” Searles Valley Minerals employees have turned over sections of earth 10- to 20-feet deep, revealing clusters of hanksite — a rare, greenish six-sided crystal — in the thick black goo. Later, at the “Blow Hole,” stones buried as far as 50 feet beneath the lake bed are pumped above ground in an impressive geyser. (...)
The rich sediment at Searles Lake has been millions of years in the making. Volcanic activity upstream produced mineral-laden rocks. Glaciers ground up the rocks, leaching their minerals and dissolving them in water. The runoff flowed down from the mountains and into the lake. As the earth warmed, the water largely evaporated, leaving layers of brine that the desert sun bakes into crystals.
Rocks and minerals are standard fourth-grade science curriculum in California, said Moira Talan, a teacher at Topanga Elementary Charter School in Los Angeles County. “Topanga,” Ms. Talan said, “is kind of a crystal place.” For more than 10 years, Ms. Talan has brought students to Gem-O-Rama, where they can become geologists for the weekend, collecting and identifying minerals.
Image: Brian Guido for The New York Times
