Vancouver Island Varieties of rocks such as porphyries, dallasite and rhodonite can be found on the Island. There are shops that can be visited to find supplies and resources to help you find interesting rocks such as maps, books and tools.
What kind of rocks are on Vancouver Island?
Hard granitic and metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks form the central, mountainous spine of Vancouver Island, whereas sedimentary rocks underlie the more habitable coastal lowlands.
What gemstones can be found on Vancouver Island?
Local beaches such as Columbia (near French Creek) and Saratoga Beach can have a Red Jasper, Dallasite, Flowerstone and even some Quartz and Epidote rocks.
What minerals can be found on Vancouver Island?
Vancouver Island, off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, has considerable deposits of minerals, notably coal and copper. In the late 19th century, the abundance of copper led to a large industry, with many entrepreneurs trying to get a large stake.
Where are the rocks on Vancouver Island?
Just outside Victoria on the way to Swartz Bay is Island View beach, the site of several palaeontological finds and a good area for rocks and fossils. Large pieces of the sedimentary cliffs that overhang the beach often crumble to the ground below, revealing precious fossils and rock specimens.
Can Jade be found on Vancouver Island?
A Vancouver jade miner with a quarry on Vancouver Island has made its first shipment of the green gemstone to China. Electra Stone Ltd.
Can you find gemstones in BC?
From the low beaches to the mountain tops, rock hunters can find a wide range of interesting finds. Once covered by water, Kamloops is a premier rockhounding location with fossils and minerals such as gold, opals, agates, zeolites, geodes and many other precious gemstones strewn throughout the region.
Where can I find obsidian on Vancouver Island?
Mount Edziza
A main source of obsidian in the northwestern part of the Province occurs at Mount Edziza above the Skeena River.
Is there gold on Vancouver Island?
Gold is usually recovered in the form of sandy powder, but you could get lucky and find actual nuggets. A few good areas to try on Vancouver Island are Leechtown west of Sooke along the Galloping Goose Trail, San Juan River Valley near Port Renfrew, Nanaimo River watershed, and Gold River.
Can you find gold nuggets in BC?
Of these, approximately 700 have recorded gold production (400 lode producers and 300 placer). Between 1858 and 2013, about 32 million ounces were produced from lode deposits and 6 million ounces from placers. Remaining in-ground gold resources in the province are estimated at 280 million ounces.
Is there volcanic rock on Vancouver Island?
The oldest rocks of Vancouver Island are Devonian in age (ca. 370 m.y.) and include sea-floor and terrestrial volcanic rocks as well as some limestone of the Sicker and Buttle Lake Groups.
What crystals can you find in Victoria BC?
Rock Crystal, Amethyst, Smoky Quartz and Citrine varieties all occur in Victoria. Many of these were first found in the 1850s and 1860s during the opening of the major alluvial goldfields. Amethyst. Smooth polished amethyst.
Where can I dig for crystals in BC?
Mary Lake north of Cranbrook, the Slocan Valley north of Castlegar, and Midge Cr. west of Kootenay Lake have reported some tourmaline crystals. Pegmatite dykes on Mica Mt. south of Tete Jaune Cache and Mount Begbie south of Revelstoke contain black, green and red tourmaline.
Can you find fossils on Vancouver Island?
Although the distribution of the fossil resource is poorly understood within British Columbia, known site concentrations are found on Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, in the Princeton-Merritt-Kamloops area, in southeastern and northeastern British Columbia and the Central Interior Plateau.
Is there basalt on Vancouver Island?
Approximately 35% of northern and central Vancouver Island consists of Karmutsen basalt (Barker et al. , 1989). Exposures of the Karmutsen are also extensive on the southern Queen Charlotte Islands, although the base of the formation is not exposed.
Where can I find geodes in Victoria?
Since the 1960s smoky quartz ‘geodes’ have been highly sought after from the designated gem collecting site near Mooralla, near the Grampians in western Victoria. The geodes are formed below the surface in weathered greenish-grey rhyolite, known as the Rocklands Rhyolite, which erupted in the Late Devonian period.
Where can I find opals in BC?
North Okanagan
Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Canada’s only producing opal mine is found in the North Okanagan. We are exploring and developing the first precious opal mine in Canada located 25 kms west of Vernon BC. Opal Resources Canada designs, creates and sells the finest of opal products.
Where can I find garnets in BC?
In a mountain lodge in Bugaboo Provincial Park there is a mineral collection with local rocks and mineral specimens. Between them there are some fine almandine garnets in mica schist which are suspiciously similar to the famous Tyrolese garnets.
What gemstones are found in Columbia?
Emeralds are not the only treasure buried in the verdant land of Colombia. Rubies, sapphires and diamonds are also found there, though more rarely. Feast your eyes on the rainbow of colors of gemstone treasures from deep within the land of Colombia—red rubies, blue sapphires and yellow diamond.
Is there opal in BC?
Precious opals recently found at Klinker, approximately 25 kilometres N-W of Vernon, British Columbia. In British Columbia, common opal occurrences are relatively widespread within Tertiary volcanic rocks (Leaming, 1973), but precious or gem-quality opals are rare.
Is there jade in BC?
JADE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
These are located in the Cassiar, Cry and Dease Lake, and Mount Ogden areas, as well as in Southern British Columbia (Simandl, et al. 2001).