Where to collect Feldspar Crystals and Tiny Quartz Crystals near Cinco, California

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Cinco-Feldspar Crystals

Type of material found	Feldspar Crystals Tiny Quartz Crystals
Description of material	Feldspar Crystals. Well-formed crystals can be dug out of talus outcroppings. These are mainly Carlsbad twins (two interlocking feldspar crystals) and they make excellent specimens. Quartz Crystals. Tiny, clear crystals, many of them doubly terminated, occur in talus with the feldspar crystals. These are quite small but show good crystal structure.
Equipment needed	Rock pick. A larger pick is handy for breaking up some of the hard spots in the talus outcropping.
How to get there	From Mojave, take Highway 14 northbound over a creosote bush and joshua tree covered alluvial plain. Continuing 16.6 miles from Mojave is the little town of Cinco (consisting of a combination cafe and gas station). (Cinco Station may no longer exist.) At .4 mile north of Cinco, turn left off highway and bear to right onto a well-maintained dirt road. Follow this good dirt road 2.6 miles up into the hills. As you gain altitude, you'll have an excellent view of the vast Mojave Desert to the north, south and east. When you reach the branch in the road turn right and continue on .7 mile. Park to right on wide, gentle slope. Follow trail over ridge approximately 1/4 mile. Hunt feldspar and quartz crystals on right side of trail, opposite huge boulders overhanging canyon. (Look for decomposing granite rock.)

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