CRYSTAL PARK, Mont. — Molten granite formed the Pioneer Mountain Range in southwest Montana about 72-million years ago. As the granite cooled, water carried quartz and other minerals through the rocks ...

As I turned yet another shovelful of dirt, I thought about a comment made long ago by the millionaire, Andrew Carnegie: “Men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons ...

Moonstones in Montana, amethyst and emeralds in North Carolina, garnet and quartz in upstate New York. At pay-to-dig mines around the United States, visitors can paw through piles of mine tailings to ...

Wear jeans and bring along a small pickax. Expect crowds, but don’t worry — crystal enthusiasts tend to be a genial, family-friendly lot. By Malia Wollan “If you’re looking for crystals, Arkansas is ...

Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more. You can’t see the huge craters in this park while driving by it. Hidden inside the ...

MOUNT IDA, Ark. — On a lonely road near Mount Ida, people from around the globe come to play in the dirt. “It’s something I have wanted to do for many, many years, and finally had the opportunity to ...