Episode 411
Colors of the Earth… Gold and Gemstones

Wildflowers and fall leaves are only part of North Carolina’s color pallet.  “Rock hounds” and gem hunters have long known that vivid shades of yellow, green, red, purple, blue and other colors can also be found in the rocks and soil found throughout the state. 

In fact, when Conrad Reed skipped church one Sunday morning in 1799 to go fishing, he stubbed his toe on a very heavy, yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek (near present day Concord). He carried the stone home where it served as a doorstop for over two years. The heavy rock turned out to be a 17-pound gold nugget. Soon after this discovery, gold mines - some extremely productive - popped up all over Piedmont North Carolina. Some mines predated the California “Gold Rush” of 1849 by more than 30 years.

Over the years, a wide variety of precious and semi-precious gemstones have been found at sites across the state. The gold and gemstones are an exciting part of North Carolina’s rich geologic past, but they are only part of a much bigger story.

The North Carolina we know today was formed in part by volcanoes, collisions of continents, and the sea floor of ancient oceans. Some rock formations in this state are known to date back almost 1.5 billion years.

In this episode, Exploring North Carolina will, with the help of a Museum geologist, examine the geologic processes that helped create the mountains, Piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina and the precious stones thereon.