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Type of material found |
Travertine Jasper Petrified Wood and Palm Banded Limestone |
Description of material |
Travertine. Very fine banded
travertine-onyx in a variety of colors
ranging from red, golden yellow, white, brown, black and green. Excellent
for bookends, spheres, pen bases and cabs. Plentiful. Occurs as float,
however the more desirable material is that which hasn't been exposed to
the weather. Therefore, some digging is required to expose the unweathered
portions of the large boulders. Jasper in red and yellow occurs as float. Petrified Wood and Palm. While not plentiful, this material can be found as float. Watch carefully for the characteristic exterior resembling wood and also the wood grain on chipped surfaces. |
Equipment needed |
Rock pick and shovel to get down to unweathered material. Also a sledge hammer can be used to break up the huge boulders. |
How to get there |
At Mojave, take Highway 58 east toward Boron. For 16.1
miles the road crosses rolling plains sprouting sage brush and joshua
trees. The southern entrance to California City is passed almost unnoticed
on this high speed highway. At 2.3 miles east of the entrance to Edwards Air Force Base, turn left toward North Edwards on Clay Mine Road. Follow this paved road 6.3 miles to the ????? -please ????? cultivated fields. Turn right on well-traveled dirt road, Peerless Blvd., past a pre-planned desert development with street signs and dirt streets. Follow Peerless Blvd. to end where it continues onto telephone cable road (marked by yellow "WARNING" signs along side). At 2.4 miles east of Clay Mine Road are dirt tracks leading to left. Follow these tracks up over a low rise, to the north and then west for a very short distance. Don't go too far as road is sandy farther on. Due west you can see Castle Butte in the distance. The material is lying in float. A claim has been staked on a portion of this area by the Sierra Pelona Rock Club of Newhall as part of a perpetual effort to hold collecting areas open for rockhounds and protect them from encroaching civilization. All they ask is that you record your presence on the register kept at the western claim marker by signing your name, the date and approximate poundage taken, in order that they can report this information and be allowed to maintain the claim for everyone's use. |
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Page content reproduced on High Desert Insider by permission from: Glenn Olson
Original Page Created: 25 Dec 97