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Where can I find gemstones in West Virginia?

Carnelian

a pink chalcedony, a silica mineral precipitated from water; found in the Mauch Chunk Group in Summers County.

Epidote

a yellowish-green calcium-aluminum-iron silicate mineral, usually of metamorphic origin; occurs in veins of the Weverton Formation near Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County.

Opal

an amorphous (non-crystalline) silica that reflects light in a play of colors; occurs as small stalactites (cone-shaped deposits of minerals) on the underside of large sandstone overhangs, such as large cliffs of the Pottsville Sandstone near Coopers Rock in Monongalia County.

Quartz

a hard, glassy crystalline silica mineral that may occur in a variety of colors including white, pink, and violet; when colorless and transparent, it is called "rock crystal"; found in the Oriskany Sandstone west of U.S. Route 522 north of Berkeley Springs in Morgan County.

Diamond

a single occurrence in Peterstown, Monroe County, found by William "Punch" Jones in 1928; no additional diamonds have been found in West Virginia.

Further reading:

• Common Rocks and Minerals of West Virginia: West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, 1959, Publication ED-7.
• Minerals of West Virginia: J.H.C. Martens, 1964, West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, 1964, Publication ED-8.

Page last revised: December 5, 2005

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            West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey
  Address:  Mont Chateau Research Center
            1 Mont Chateau Road
            Morgantown, WV  26508-8079
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