You’re standing in a 37-acre plowed field in Murfreesboro. It’s hot. The dirt is a weird, dark greenish color—corroborated by geologists as lamproite soil—and you’re staring at the ground until your eyes blur. You’re looking for a sparkle, right? Actually, that’s the first mistake. Most people hunting for a win at finding diamonds in Arkansas expect a polished Tiffany’s ring to be sitting on top of a dirt clod.
It doesn't work like that.
Real diamonds in the rough look like oily glass pebbles. They don't glitter from across the field. They pop.
The Lamproite Pipe: Why This Field Even Exists
Arkansas is the only place in North America where the public can hunt for diamonds at the actual volcanic source. We aren't talking about a riverbed where stones washed down from Canada. This is a volcanic pipe. About 95 million years ago, a vent blew through the earth's crust, bringing gems from the mantle to the surface. It’s basically a geological fluke.
The soil here is heavy. It's dense. When it rains, the light stuff washes away, leaving the heavy minerals behind. That is your window of opportunity.
Surface Hunting vs. Sifting: Choose Your Struggle
Most casual visitors just walk. They wander around with a bucket, looking for a flash of light. This is "surface hunting." It’s basically the lottery within a lottery. If it rained yesterday and the sun is out today, you might get lucky. The water washes the dust off the stones, and because diamonds are adamantine—meaning they have a super high refractive index—they catch the light differently than quartz or jasper.
But if you’re serious? You’re going to get muddy.
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Serious hunters use the "saruca" method. You take two screens: a coarse one on top and a fine one on the bottom. You shovel dirt into the top, submerge them in a water trough, and shake. You aren't just washing dirt; you’re using gravity. Diamonds are heavy for their size. By jigging the screens up and down in the water, the heavy stuff—diamonds, garnets, chromite—settles into the very center of the bottom screen.
When you flip that screen over onto a table, the "pay center" is right there in the middle. It’s a heart-pounding moment every single time.
What You’re Actually Looking For
Forget the "cut" diamond shape. You are looking for a rounded, dodecahedral, or octahedral crystal. They usually look like a drop of soda spilled on the ground and dried into a hard, clear-ish lump.
Colors vary wildly.
- White: These are the most common.
- Brown: Often called "chocolate" diamonds, these are actually quite beautiful in the sunlight.
- Yellow: These can range from a pale straw color to a vivid canary yellow.
The famous "Strawn-Wagner Diamond," found here in 1990 by Shirley Strawn, started as a 3.03-carat crystal. It ended up being graded a "Perfect" 0/0/0 by the American Gem Society—the first time that had ever happened. It’s a one-in-a-billion find, but it proves the quality of the stones in this Arkansas dirt is world-class.
The Tools of the Trade
Don't bring a plastic beach shovel. You’ll snap it in five minutes. The lamproite is tough.
If you're going to do this right, you need a full-sized shovel, a couple of five-gallon buckets, and a set of screens. The park—Crater of Diamonds State Park—rents them, but the lines get long. Honestly, if you're driving in, stop at a hardware store and buy a sturdy trowel and a knee pad. Your back will thank you by noon.
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Why Most People Leave Empty-Handed
People give up. They spend two hours walking around, get hot, and head to the gift shop. Finding diamonds in Arkansas requires a level of persistence that borderlines on obsession.
The veterans—the regulars who are there every week—know the "low spots." They look for where the water drains after a thunderstorm. Because diamonds are dense (specific gravity of 3.52), they settle in the "pockets" of the trenches. If you find a spot where the gravel is concentrated and the silt has washed away, dig there.
Don't just look for "clear." Look for "metallic." Diamonds have a weird, greasy luster. Water beads off them because they are hydrophobic. If you find a stone and it stays bone-dry while everything else around it is wet? Put it in your vial.
The Realities of the "Find"
Let's be real: most of what you find is "leaverite." As in, "leave 'er right there." You'll find tons of jasper, agate, and quartz. Some of the amethyst is actually quite pretty, but it’s not a diamond.
When you find something suspicious, take it to the Diamond Discovery Center. They have experts—real people like Waymon Cox who have seen thousands of stones—who will look at your find under a microscope. They don't care if it's tiny. They'll weigh it, certify it, and if it’s a big one, they’ll help you register it.
The park's policy is "finders keepers." No matter how much it’s worth, it belongs to you the second you pick it up.
Advanced Tactics: The "Grease Table" Logic
In industrial diamond mining, they use grease belts because diamonds stick to grease while rocks don't. While you can't set up a grease belt in the state park, you can use that knowledge. If you're sifting, notice how the stones feel. Diamonds feel "soapy" or "slippery."
Also, pay attention to the weather. The best time to go is three days after a heavy rain. The first day is too muddy. The second day the mud is tacky. The third day, the sun has dried the "skin" of the rocks, making the diamonds stand out against the duller dirt.
Logistics for the Trip
Murfreesboro isn't a big metropolis. It's a small town that revolves around this park.
- Stay: There are campgrounds right at the park, or local motels in town.
- Eat: Pack a lunch. Walking back and forth to the car kills your hunting time.
- Hydrate: This isn't a joke. The "crater" is a sun trap. There are no trees in the middle of the field.
Actionable Steps for Your Diamond Hunt
- Check the Rainfall: Monitor the Murfreesboro weather reports. Aim for a visit 48-72 hours after a significant rain event.
- Rent or Bring Sifting Screens: If you want any real chance, you must wet-sift. Surface hunting is for the lucky; sifting is for the successful.
- Target the Trenches: Don't just dig a random hole. Look for natural washouts and low points in the field where heavy minerals naturally accumulate.
- Slow Down: Most people walk too fast. If you are surface hunting, keep the sun at your back and look 5-10 feet in front of you.
- Identify "Indicator Minerals": If you start finding lots of heavy, black minerals (like ilmenite or chromite) or bright green peridot, you are in a "heavy" layer. Diamonds live in those layers.
- Trust the Pros: If you're unsure about a stone, keep it. Don't throw it away until an official park staff member looks at it.
Finding a diamond in the Arkansas soil is a grueling, dirty, and often frustrating experience. But the moment you see that oily, metallic luster sitting in the bottom of your screen, the heat and the mud disappear. It’s just you and a piece of the earth’s core that hasn't seen the sun in nearly a hundred million years.