March 20, 2025 • 25 mins
Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only place in the world where the public can search for natural diamonds at their volcanic source.
The 37 acre eroded volcanic crater sees hopeful prospectors prying through loose soil - hoping to find more than just dirt
Some do … some do not …
Regardless, the history of the park is just as fascinating as the diamonds that litter its ground.
My dog Noodles and I visit the field in the hopes of striking it rich!
Works Cited:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-curious-case-of-the-arkansas-diamonds-43575867/
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/john-wesley-huddleston-4732/
https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/crater-diamonds-state-park/history
https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/articles/discovering-lamproite-crater
https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/crater-diamonds-state-park/digging-for-diamonds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hvjuOKKX_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZhRjh3Vg7w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rdm6VFQArU
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
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https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh noondogs, what do you see?
Back road odyssey.
(00:22):
The earth is awake.
Violent plumes of ash consumethe sunlight, fires torch the
lush landscape.
The ground itself melts, thenquiet.
The land cools.
(00:45):
Life returns.
But within this newly alteredlandscape, there now lies
treasures from deep within theearth Pressure-forged,
heat-sculpted minerals.
Diamonds have come to Arkansas.
(01:05):
Crater of Diamonds State Parkin rural Arkansas is the only
place in the world where thepublic can search for natural
diamonds at their volcanicsource.
The 37-acre eroded volcaniccrater sees hopeful prospectors
(01:28):
prying through the loose soilhoping to find more than just
dirt.
Some do, some do not, but thehistory of the park is just as
fascinating as the diamonds thatlitter its ground.
As fascinating as the diamondsthat litter its ground.
(01:48):
My dog Noodles and I visit thefield to investigate and to dig
down deep in the hopes ofstriking it rich.
We're about 15 minutes awayfrom Crater of Diamonds State
Park in southwest Arkansas.
We're going to look fordiamonds at their ancient
volcanic source.
Before we turn to prospecting,before we dive into the history
(02:11):
of the park, the value of theirdiamonds, I'd like to ask one
simple question why Arkansas?
Of all the places in the US andbeyond?
What makes this 37-plus acrefield special?
The ground is hot enough tocook the Sunday roast.
(02:33):
Volcanologist John Siech justbefore his boots melt near a
volcano.
The word volcano, I'd wager,almost never conjures images of
rural Arkansas, but 1.3 billionyears ago Arkansas was, let's
(02:55):
say, tumultuous.
Volcanoes raged as much ofArkansas strained above the same
mantle hotspot that would go onto create the island of Bermuda
.
And this activity, thispressure, forged paths for magma
deep below the surface to rise.
(03:18):
And this here, this isimportant in understanding why
Arkansas, why Crater of Diamonds, is unique.
Volcanoes in general bring upmagma from different depths.
Some volcanoes channel magmafrom shallower depths, others
reach much, much deeper, deeper,and the minerals brought up
(03:51):
through the diatrine, in ourcase, or pipe by the magma are
different depending on the depthreached by that particular
volcano.
It's these rare,tartarous-reaching,
depth-reaching volcanoes thatreach down to depths with the
conditions necessary to creatediamonds.
Arkansas, specifically Craterof Diamonds State Park, has one
(04:13):
such rare volcano that eruptedoff and on until around 100
million years ago.
These tectonic forces that onceraged beneath Arkansas are no
longer active, but the diamondsbrought forth by the magma in
these uncommonly deep-reachingvolcanoes remain scattered,
(04:36):
waiting to be found.
All right, we've just beenthrough the Visitor center at
Crater of Diamonds State Park.
It's $15 to access the 37-acrefield, which is just a brief
walk behind the visitor's center.
(04:56):
Then there's an additional feeto rent the equipment you have
to use to find the diamonds.
You can bring your own, but Idon't carry mining equipment in
my van, so I got myself twosifting trays and a bucket Back
to old times here.
Probably should have gotten ashovel.
(05:18):
I realize that now, but we'rehere and let's get our hands
dirty.
So the field that I'm lookingat now is plowed pretty
regularly, once a month or soduring the winter and fall to
mix up the soil.
And let me describe what I seelooking out here.
All around me there's rows ofdried plowed dirt, almost like
(05:41):
we're about to plant something.
I see visitors 20 plus peoplethat are digging for diamonds
every which way.
A few more groups of people aresifting in the provided washing
stations towards the back ofthe field.
Some are walking back towardsthe visitor center to get their
(06:01):
finds identified or, if theydidn't find anything, just leave
.
But what I'm curious about nowisn't whether I'll find
something personally, it's howthis land became public land.
With how rare diamonds actuallyare, I would think that this
(06:23):
land would have been just tornup by private diamond companies
and others.
How is this unique,diamond-rich land public land
here in rural Arkansas, arkansas?
Imagine buying acres and acresof land thought by most to have
(06:58):
little value, only to laterstumble upon something that
would prove them all wrong.
This is exactly what happenedto a struggling farmer over a
century ago in Pike County,arkansas.
I was crawling on my hands andknees when my eyes fell on
another glittering pebble.
(07:19):
I knew it was different fromany I'd seen before.
I had a fiery eye that blazedup at me every which way I
turned it.
I hurried to the house with thepebble saddled my mule and
started for a frieze burrow.
Riding through the lane, my eyecaught another glitter and I
(07:40):
dismounted and picked it up outof the dust John Wesley
Huddleston, better known asDiamond John.
Our story starts in the summerof 1905, when John and his wife
Sarah purchased 243 acres ofwooded Arkansas land for $2,000.
(08:03):
Nothing special, but it washome.
One day, john, who fanciedhimself an amateur prospector,
noticed two shining stones alonga public road that ran through
his new property.
John shows these shiny stonesto diamond experts in Little
(08:24):
Rock and later New York City,who confirmed their authenticity
they were real, genuineArkansas diamonds.
As expected with suddenfindings of wealth, word spreads
like wildfire.
Diamond mining interestsquickly close into the property
(08:48):
and rather than accept the taskof laboriously mining for
diamonds by himself which may ormay not be there the struggling
farmer accepts a purchase priceof $36,000 for the 243 acres of
potentially diamond-rich land.
As is so often the case withthose trying to make a living,
(09:10):
money now beats money later.
Perhaps the best contemporarydescription of this unlikely
find can be found in a poempublished in the following
year's issue of the New YorkTimes.
The story of the discovery ofdiamond fields in one of the
poorest counties of the not overrich state of Arkansas reads
(09:32):
like a chapter of Simbab'sadventures, diamond John.
John dies, an old man, in 1941.
But the chain of events set inmotion by his find is dizzy.
After failing to gain fullcontrol of the area in 1910, a
(09:54):
London-based diamond syndicateallegedly sets up a sham
operation to downplay thepotential value of the newly
established Arkansas mine.
Nine years later, two rivalprocessing plants burn to the
ground at the same night,sparking rumors of arson meant
to destroy the mine'sprofitability.
In 1924, the largest diamondever unearthed in the United
(10:18):
States was found in this fieldin Arkansas.
The appropriately named 40.23carat Uncle Sam diamond was sold
for $150,000 in 1971, whichtranslates to approximately
$880,000 after inflation.
It's this find and others thattrigger a brief diamond rush in
(10:41):
the area, with many hopefulprospectors stoking visions of a
South Africa-like diamonddistrict, which ultimately never
materializes.
In 1930, henry Ford makes a bidto control the mine, but De
Beers and Diamond Syndicatequickly bribe the mine's owner,
who then shuts down any talk ofthe mine's sale.
(11:04):
And that is it Just kidding.
In 1950, a particularly dubiousentrepreneur trucks gravel from
the field to his own land aways away later, claiming he had
his own unique Arkansas diamondmine.
He allegedly was found beatenup in a ditch the next morning.
(11:26):
Lawsuits ensue, fires occur,profits against expectations
decline.
Ultimately, what happens is thefound diamonds in the field
offer little justification forcontinued private operation.
(11:47):
The state of Arkansas purchasesDiamond John's former property
in 1972, becoming Crater ofDiamonds State Park
CraterofDiamonds State Park.
I got my little sifter here, mytrusty bucket, and I'm sitting
on a plot of dirt, far away fromany fellow prospectors here at
(12:10):
CraterofDiamonds State Park.
Am I expecting to findsomething?
Not at all, but honestly, it'sfun just to be out here.
Here's what I'll say now.
Sitting here, I always find itfunny or interesting I'll say
that things don't really havevalue to us unless we assign
value to them.
So, in lieu of ignoring itcompletely and I think it's fair
(12:33):
and important to ask, becausewe're here, digging for some
what are diamonds?
Scientifically, geologically,monetarily, whatever?
And are Arkansas diamondsunique?
Are they more or less valuablethan comparable diamonds?
(12:54):
You look around at all thesepeople paying to sift through
dirt.
What are we all digging for?
No pressure, no diamonds.
Thomas Carlyle, the diamondsfound throughout Crater of
Diamonds State Park formed thesame way all natural diamonds do
(13:15):
Under pressure.
What starts as elemental carbonfaces immense pressure at
incredible temperatures in theupper mantle of the earth,
around 100 or so miles below thesurface.
The very same carbon, higher up, under less pressure, only
(13:38):
turns into graphite, thematerial in your number two
pencil Deeper down.
The pressure is intense enoughto bond these elemental carbon
atoms into a rigid, tetrahedral,crystal-like structure Into
diamonds.
No pressure, no diamonds.
(13:59):
In summary, if you rememberanything, remember this the
upper mantle of the Earthcreates diamonds, not volcanoes,
but very rare volcanoes arecapable of transporting the
already forged diamonds.
And because the means totransport them are so rare, the
(14:22):
diamonds themselves are rare, sohumanity assigns value to them
based on that fact.
The value we place on diamondsare twofold really.
First, sentimental value.
Diamonds throughout historyhave held symbolic meaning to us
(14:45):
as symbols of love, prosperity,commitment.
Every kiss begins with K, weknow this.
And the price, the monetaryprice, we assign to diamonds is
determined by what's called thefour C's Carat, which refers to
(15:07):
the diamond's weight.
Generally, the heavier thediamond, the more the carat, the
more expensive it is.
Cut, the shape or angles of thediamond, clarity, the absence
of flaws in the diamond andfinally, color, with the
clearest diamonds generallybeing deemed the most valuable.
(15:30):
This is the standardized systemfor determining a diamond's
value.
So the question becomes how dothe diamonds found at Crater of
Diamonds State Park measure up?
Typically, what's found at thepark is small, ranging from 0.01
to 0.05 carats.
(15:50):
They are generally irregularlyshaped due to the explosive
nature of this particularvolcano, though some are
incredibly smooth, with roundededges.
Predominantly, they'recolorless when found, although
brown and yellow diamonds arepresent.
You can find them, but to me,crater of Diamonds State Park,
(16:15):
more than any other place, canprovide both sentimental and
monetary value when diamonds arefound.
Here are two examples An 8.52carat white Esperanza diamond
found in June of 2015 receivedthe highest color grade a
diamond can achieve and isrumored to be worth around $1
(16:36):
million.
That is straight up monetaryvalue.
In a different vein, a moresentimental vein, in late 2024,
a visitor from France found a7.4 carat diamond and decided to
name his find the Carinediamond after his fiancée.
(16:57):
The monetary value of this findwas not astronomical, but in a
much deeper sense of this findwas not astronomical, but in a
much deeper sense, the find waspriceless.
All of this is to say that, byand large, arkansas diamonds
have no more inherent monetaryvalue than any other diamond,
(17:18):
despite their uniqueness,because each individual diamond
is subject to the four C's ofdiamond evaluation.
Well, what you bring back fromthe crater might not be
monetarily valuable.
The story of its finding, thework that went into it and the
claim that it's an Arkansasdiamond all contribute to its
(17:43):
entire worth, to its value.
It's this balance of monetaryvalue and symbolic value that
determine the worth of a diamond, in my opinion, and at Crater
of Diamonds, the symbolic valueoften outweighs the monetary,
(18:04):
and that's not necessarily a badthing.
In fact, I'd choose sentimentalvalue every time.
Value is what people arewilling to pay for it.
American author, john Nisbitt.
Nothing yet, just dirt and moredirt.
(18:25):
I've been at this for about 30minutes.
Something like 75,000 diamondshave been found since the park
was founded in 72.
Most of them very tiny.
Increasingly, I feel like Iwon't be one of the lucky ones,
but hey, here's the thing IfRome wasn't built in a day, why
(18:47):
should diamonds be found in justa day?
I was talking to a park workeron my way in who said that
people come here regularly.
They come to look for diamondsall the time and, being here
doing this, I don't blame them.
I honestly don't.
It's kind of addicting, havingdone this for just 30 minutes,
(19:09):
knowing that any pile of dirtthat I put into my little
strainer could contain somethingvaluable.
It's fun.
All of this kind of has mewondering, as I'm spending $15
in time to dig up dirt, what isit generally, but with this
(19:29):
specifically, that draws peopleto spend time, to spend money,
doing something like this?
This Many people came.
(19:53):
Few people found Mike Howard ofthe Arkansas Geological Survey.
More often than not, peopleleave Crater of Diamonds State
Park with little to show for it.
So what is it about this placethat makes it such an alluring
destination?
For myself, it's the promise ofpotential, however small, and
(20:16):
the work you yourself put intofinding what you're looking for.
Just as Diamond John boughtlooked-over land containing
diamonds, anyone from anywhereFrance, whatever can possibly
walk away from this experiencewith more than they came into it
(20:37):
with, monetarily or otherwise.
It hits at the core of a veryhuman tendency, an inclination
towards risk-taking,possibilities and innate
optimism, the idea that hardwork and chance can be anyone's
(20:57):
companion.
All of this, in a strange way,is admirable.
All of this, in a strange way,is admirable.
My friends, it's with a heavyheart that I say I'm heading
back with an empty bucket, emptystrainers and precisely zero
(21:18):
diamonds or minerals on myperson, and not for lack of
trying right.
In total, I probably was therefor an hour and 30 minutes.
The park is closing soon, so Ihad to, otherwise I would have
stayed longer.
I'm not upset, though.
More than anything it was kindof meditative.
You know the constant focus.
You have to have to sift throughthe dirt to find these
(21:42):
impossibly small minerals.
It's a nice break fromeverything, from the hectic
nature of just daily life hereon planet Earth.
Could I have done the samething at my campsite?
Yeah, could I have dug dirt upat my campsite?
Yeah, but I'd be missingsomething.
(22:04):
Could I have dug dirt up at mycampsite?
Yeah, but I'd be missingsomething.
And that's this, the history ofthis place, the camaraderie of
working next to people searchingfor the same thing, and the
knowledge that other people havebeen digging where I'm digging
and have had real success, havefound something.
And ultimately, all of this andmore have found something.
And ultimately, all of this andmore is why, in my view,
(22:26):
visiting Crater of DiamondsState Park is a worthwhile
experience, if not all the time.
Like others do, like a lot ofpeople do, I've heard at least
once in your life.
And with that said, I havedirty gear to return, hands to
wash and a long drive ahead.
As I'm walking away, I can'thelp but feel like I'm walking
(22:50):
away from the next Hope Diamondor something.
I can see how this would beaddictive.
The earth sleeps, birds chirpalongside the sounds of shovels
(23:18):
and strainers.
Pressure-forged, heat-sculptedminerals in this long-ago
altered landscape, sit waitingin the volcanic soil.
Diamonds lie waiting inArkansas it's Noah here.
(23:43):
Thank you for listening toBackroad Odyssey.
Let's get into recommendationsright away.
As I said, they till the soilaround once a month.
It's best practice, I've heard,to go right after they do this.
The soil will be mixed up andyou have a better chance of
finding something.
Generally, go earlier in theday if you choose to go.
(24:04):
Look to go on a cloudy day ifyou can.
There's not much shade in thefield.
But all in all, a funexperience and definitely would
recommend checking it out atleast once.
Otherwise, hot Springs NationalPark is an hour drive away, one
of the most unique and maybemisunderstood national parks,
(24:26):
possibly a topic of a futureepisode We'll see.
And finally, little Rock is avery cute and fun town, nice
people.
I stopped at Flyway Brewing inNorth Little Rock.
That's nearby as well.
Finally, finally, if you findvalue in this show, it means the
world to me, to Noodles.
(24:48):
Probably she doesn't mind asmuch To rate and review wherever
you're listening now.
It helps us continue to put theamount of work we'd like to
Into the show and make it betterand better and better.
With that said, you know what'scoming.
Be good to each other.
We're two next.
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh noondogs, what do you see?
Back road odyssey.
(00:22):
The earth is awake.
Violent plumes of ash consumethe sunlight, fires torch the
lush landscape.
The ground itself melts, thenquiet.
The land cools.
(00:45):
Life returns.
But within this newly alteredlandscape, there now lies
treasures from deep within theearth Pressure-forged,
heat-sculpted minerals.
Diamonds have come to Arkansas.
(01:05):
Crater of Diamonds State Parkin rural Arkansas is the only
place in the world where thepublic can search for natural
diamonds at their volcanicsource.
The 37-acre eroded volcaniccrater sees hopeful prospectors
(01:28):
prying through the loose soilhoping to find more than just
dirt.
Some do, some do not, but thehistory of the park is just as
fascinating as the diamonds thatlitter its ground.
As fascinating as the diamondsthat litter its ground.
(01:48):
My dog Noodles and I visit thefield to investigate and to dig
down deep in the hopes ofstriking it rich.
We're about 15 minutes awayfrom Crater of Diamonds State
Park in southwest Arkansas.
We're going to look fordiamonds at their ancient
volcanic source.
Before we turn to prospecting,before we dive into the history
(02:11):
of the park, the value of theirdiamonds, I'd like to ask one
simple question why Arkansas?
Of all the places in the US andbeyond?
What makes this 37-plus acrefield special?
The ground is hot enough tocook the Sunday roast.
(02:33):
Volcanologist John Siech justbefore his boots melt near a
volcano.
The word volcano, I'd wager,almost never conjures images of
rural Arkansas, but 1.3 billionyears ago Arkansas was, let's
(02:55):
say, tumultuous.
Volcanoes raged as much ofArkansas strained above the same
mantle hotspot that would go onto create the island of Bermuda
.
And this activity, thispressure, forged paths for magma
deep below the surface to rise.
(03:18):
And this here, this isimportant in understanding why
Arkansas, why Crater of Diamonds, is unique.
Volcanoes in general bring upmagma from different depths.
Some volcanoes channel magmafrom shallower depths, others
reach much, much deeper, deeper,and the minerals brought up
(03:51):
through the diatrine, in ourcase, or pipe by the magma are
different depending on the depthreached by that particular
volcano.
It's these rare,tartarous-reaching,
depth-reaching volcanoes thatreach down to depths with the
conditions necessary to creatediamonds.
Arkansas, specifically Craterof Diamonds State Park, has one
(04:13):
such rare volcano that eruptedoff and on until around 100
million years ago.
These tectonic forces that onceraged beneath Arkansas are no
longer active, but the diamondsbrought forth by the magma in
these uncommonly deep-reachingvolcanoes remain scattered,
(04:36):
waiting to be found.
All right, we've just beenthrough the Visitor center at
Crater of Diamonds State Park.
It's $15 to access the 37-acrefield, which is just a brief
walk behind the visitor's center.
(04:56):
Then there's an additional feeto rent the equipment you have
to use to find the diamonds.
You can bring your own, but Idon't carry mining equipment in
my van, so I got myself twosifting trays and a bucket Back
to old times here.
Probably should have gotten ashovel.
(05:18):
I realize that now, but we'rehere and let's get our hands
dirty.
So the field that I'm lookingat now is plowed pretty
regularly, once a month or soduring the winter and fall to
mix up the soil.
And let me describe what I seelooking out here.
All around me there's rows ofdried plowed dirt, almost like
(05:41):
we're about to plant something.
I see visitors 20 plus peoplethat are digging for diamonds
every which way.
A few more groups of people aresifting in the provided washing
stations towards the back ofthe field.
Some are walking back towardsthe visitor center to get their
(06:01):
finds identified or, if theydidn't find anything, just leave
.
But what I'm curious about nowisn't whether I'll find
something personally, it's howthis land became public land.
With how rare diamonds actuallyare, I would think that this
(06:23):
land would have been just tornup by private diamond companies
and others.
How is this unique,diamond-rich land public land
here in rural Arkansas, arkansas?
Imagine buying acres and acresof land thought by most to have
(06:58):
little value, only to laterstumble upon something that
would prove them all wrong.
This is exactly what happenedto a struggling farmer over a
century ago in Pike County,arkansas.
I was crawling on my hands andknees when my eyes fell on
another glittering pebble.
(07:19):
I knew it was different fromany I'd seen before.
I had a fiery eye that blazedup at me every which way I
turned it.
I hurried to the house with thepebble saddled my mule and
started for a frieze burrow.
Riding through the lane, my eyecaught another glitter and I
(07:40):
dismounted and picked it up outof the dust John Wesley
Huddleston, better known asDiamond John.
Our story starts in the summerof 1905, when John and his wife
Sarah purchased 243 acres ofwooded Arkansas land for $2,000.
(08:03):
Nothing special, but it washome.
One day, john, who fanciedhimself an amateur prospector,
noticed two shining stones alonga public road that ran through
his new property.
John shows these shiny stonesto diamond experts in Little
(08:24):
Rock and later New York City,who confirmed their authenticity
they were real, genuineArkansas diamonds.
As expected with suddenfindings of wealth, word spreads
like wildfire.
Diamond mining interestsquickly close into the property
(08:48):
and rather than accept the taskof laboriously mining for
diamonds by himself which may ormay not be there the struggling
farmer accepts a purchase priceof $36,000 for the 243 acres of
potentially diamond-rich land.
As is so often the case withthose trying to make a living,
(09:10):
money now beats money later.
Perhaps the best contemporarydescription of this unlikely
find can be found in a poempublished in the following
year's issue of the New YorkTimes.
The story of the discovery ofdiamond fields in one of the
poorest counties of the not overrich state of Arkansas reads
(09:32):
like a chapter of Simbab'sadventures, diamond John.
John dies, an old man, in 1941.
But the chain of events set inmotion by his find is dizzy.
After failing to gain fullcontrol of the area in 1910, a
(09:54):
London-based diamond syndicateallegedly sets up a sham
operation to downplay thepotential value of the newly
established Arkansas mine.
Nine years later, two rivalprocessing plants burn to the
ground at the same night,sparking rumors of arson meant
to destroy the mine'sprofitability.
In 1924, the largest diamondever unearthed in the United
(10:18):
States was found in this fieldin Arkansas.
The appropriately named 40.23carat Uncle Sam diamond was sold
for $150,000 in 1971, whichtranslates to approximately
$880,000 after inflation.
It's this find and others thattrigger a brief diamond rush in
(10:41):
the area, with many hopefulprospectors stoking visions of a
South Africa-like diamonddistrict, which ultimately never
materializes.
In 1930, henry Ford makes a bidto control the mine, but De
Beers and Diamond Syndicatequickly bribe the mine's owner,
who then shuts down any talk ofthe mine's sale.
(11:04):
And that is it Just kidding.
In 1950, a particularly dubiousentrepreneur trucks gravel from
the field to his own land aways away later, claiming he had
his own unique Arkansas diamondmine.
He allegedly was found beatenup in a ditch the next morning.
(11:26):
Lawsuits ensue, fires occur,profits against expectations
decline.
Ultimately, what happens is thefound diamonds in the field
offer little justification forcontinued private operation.
(11:47):
The state of Arkansas purchasesDiamond John's former property
in 1972, becoming Crater ofDiamonds State Park
CraterofDiamonds State Park.
I got my little sifter here, mytrusty bucket, and I'm sitting
on a plot of dirt, far away fromany fellow prospectors here at
(12:10):
CraterofDiamonds State Park.
Am I expecting to findsomething?
Not at all, but honestly, it'sfun just to be out here.
Here's what I'll say now.
Sitting here, I always find itfunny or interesting I'll say
that things don't really havevalue to us unless we assign
value to them.
So, in lieu of ignoring itcompletely and I think it's fair
(12:33):
and important to ask, becausewe're here, digging for some
what are diamonds?
Scientifically, geologically,monetarily, whatever?
And are Arkansas diamondsunique?
Are they more or less valuablethan comparable diamonds?
(12:54):
You look around at all thesepeople paying to sift through
dirt.
What are we all digging for?
No pressure, no diamonds.
Thomas Carlyle, the diamondsfound throughout Crater of
Diamonds State Park formed thesame way all natural diamonds do
(13:15):
Under pressure.
What starts as elemental carbonfaces immense pressure at
incredible temperatures in theupper mantle of the earth,
around 100 or so miles below thesurface.
The very same carbon, higher up, under less pressure, only
(13:38):
turns into graphite, thematerial in your number two
pencil Deeper down.
The pressure is intense enoughto bond these elemental carbon
atoms into a rigid, tetrahedral,crystal-like structure Into
diamonds.
No pressure, no diamonds.
(13:59):
In summary, if you rememberanything, remember this the
upper mantle of the Earthcreates diamonds, not volcanoes,
but very rare volcanoes arecapable of transporting the
already forged diamonds.
And because the means totransport them are so rare, the
(14:22):
diamonds themselves are rare, sohumanity assigns value to them
based on that fact.
The value we place on diamondsare twofold really.
First, sentimental value.
Diamonds throughout historyhave held symbolic meaning to us
(14:45):
as symbols of love, prosperity,commitment.
Every kiss begins with K, weknow this.
And the price, the monetaryprice, we assign to diamonds is
determined by what's called thefour C's Carat, which refers to
(15:07):
the diamond's weight.
Generally, the heavier thediamond, the more the carat, the
more expensive it is.
Cut, the shape or angles of thediamond, clarity, the absence
of flaws in the diamond andfinally, color, with the
clearest diamonds generallybeing deemed the most valuable.
(15:30):
This is the standardized systemfor determining a diamond's
value.
So the question becomes how dothe diamonds found at Crater of
Diamonds State Park measure up?
Typically, what's found at thepark is small, ranging from 0.01
to 0.05 carats.
(15:50):
They are generally irregularlyshaped due to the explosive
nature of this particularvolcano, though some are
incredibly smooth, with roundededges.
Predominantly, they'recolorless when found, although
brown and yellow diamonds arepresent.
You can find them, but to me,crater of Diamonds State Park,
(16:15):
more than any other place, canprovide both sentimental and
monetary value when diamonds arefound.
Here are two examples An 8.52carat white Esperanza diamond
found in June of 2015 receivedthe highest color grade a
diamond can achieve and isrumored to be worth around $1
(16:36):
million.
That is straight up monetaryvalue.
In a different vein, a moresentimental vein, in late 2024,
a visitor from France found a7.4 carat diamond and decided to
name his find the Carinediamond after his fiancée.
(16:57):
The monetary value of this findwas not astronomical, but in a
much deeper sense of this findwas not astronomical, but in a
much deeper sense, the find waspriceless.
All of this is to say that, byand large, arkansas diamonds
have no more inherent monetaryvalue than any other diamond,
(17:18):
despite their uniqueness,because each individual diamond
is subject to the four C's ofdiamond evaluation.
Well, what you bring back fromthe crater might not be
monetarily valuable.
The story of its finding, thework that went into it and the
claim that it's an Arkansasdiamond all contribute to its
(17:43):
entire worth, to its value.
It's this balance of monetaryvalue and symbolic value that
determine the worth of a diamond, in my opinion, and at Crater
of Diamonds, the symbolic valueoften outweighs the monetary,
(18:04):
and that's not necessarily a badthing.
In fact, I'd choose sentimentalvalue every time.
Value is what people arewilling to pay for it.
American author, john Nisbitt.
Nothing yet, just dirt and moredirt.
(18:25):
I've been at this for about 30minutes.
Something like 75,000 diamondshave been found since the park
was founded in 72.
Most of them very tiny.
Increasingly, I feel like Iwon't be one of the lucky ones,
but hey, here's the thing IfRome wasn't built in a day, why
(18:47):
should diamonds be found in justa day?
I was talking to a park workeron my way in who said that
people come here regularly.
They come to look for diamondsall the time and, being here
doing this, I don't blame them.
I honestly don't.
It's kind of addicting, havingdone this for just 30 minutes,
(19:09):
knowing that any pile of dirtthat I put into my little
strainer could contain somethingvaluable.
It's fun.
All of this kind of has mewondering, as I'm spending $15
in time to dig up dirt, what isit generally, but with this
(19:29):
specifically, that draws peopleto spend time, to spend money,
doing something like this?
This Many people came.
(19:53):
Few people found Mike Howard ofthe Arkansas Geological Survey.
More often than not, peopleleave Crater of Diamonds State
Park with little to show for it.
So what is it about this placethat makes it such an alluring
destination?
For myself, it's the promise ofpotential, however small, and
(20:16):
the work you yourself put intofinding what you're looking for.
Just as Diamond John boughtlooked-over land containing
diamonds, anyone from anywhereFrance, whatever can possibly
walk away from this experiencewith more than they came into it
(20:37):
with, monetarily or otherwise.
It hits at the core of a veryhuman tendency, an inclination
towards risk-taking,possibilities and innate
optimism, the idea that hardwork and chance can be anyone's
(20:57):
companion.
All of this, in a strange way,is admirable.
All of this, in a strange way,is admirable.
My friends, it's with a heavyheart that I say I'm heading
back with an empty bucket, emptystrainers and precisely zero
(21:18):
diamonds or minerals on myperson, and not for lack of
trying right.
In total, I probably was therefor an hour and 30 minutes.
The park is closing soon, so Ihad to, otherwise I would have
stayed longer.
I'm not upset, though.
More than anything it was kindof meditative.
You know the constant focus.
You have to have to sift throughthe dirt to find these
(21:42):
impossibly small minerals.
It's a nice break fromeverything, from the hectic
nature of just daily life hereon planet Earth.
Could I have done the samething at my campsite?
Yeah, could I have dug dirt upat my campsite?
Yeah, but I'd be missingsomething.
(22:04):
Could I have dug dirt up at mycampsite?
Yeah, but I'd be missingsomething.
And that's this, the history ofthis place, the camaraderie of
working next to people searchingfor the same thing, and the
knowledge that other people havebeen digging where I'm digging
and have had real success, havefound something.
And ultimately, all of this andmore have found something.
And ultimately, all of this andmore is why, in my view,
(22:26):
visiting Crater of DiamondsState Park is a worthwhile
experience, if not all the time.
Like others do, like a lot ofpeople do, I've heard at least
once in your life.
And with that said, I havedirty gear to return, hands to
wash and a long drive ahead.
As I'm walking away, I can'thelp but feel like I'm walking
(22:50):
away from the next Hope Diamondor something.
I can see how this would beaddictive.
The earth sleeps, birds chirpalongside the sounds of shovels
(23:18):
and strainers.
Pressure-forged, heat-sculptedminerals in this long-ago
altered landscape, sit waitingin the volcanic soil.
Diamonds lie waiting inArkansas it's Noah here.
(23:43):
Thank you for listening toBackroad Odyssey.
Let's get into recommendationsright away.
As I said, they till the soilaround once a month.
It's best practice, I've heard,to go right after they do this.
The soil will be mixed up andyou have a better chance of
finding something.
Generally, go earlier in theday if you choose to go.
(24:04):
Look to go on a cloudy day ifyou can.
There's not much shade in thefield.
But all in all, a funexperience and definitely would
recommend checking it out atleast once.
Otherwise, hot Springs NationalPark is an hour drive away, one
of the most unique and maybemisunderstood national parks,
(24:26):
possibly a topic of a futureepisode We'll see.
And finally, little Rock is avery cute and fun town, nice
people.
I stopped at Flyway Brewing inNorth Little Rock.
That's nearby as well.
Finally, finally, if you findvalue in this show, it means the
world to me, to Noodles.
(24:48):
Probably she doesn't mind asmuch To rate and review wherever
you're listening now.
It helps us continue to put theamount of work we'd like to
Into the show and make it betterand better and better.
With that said, you know what'scoming.
Be good to each other.
We're two next.
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