Caring for CRYSTAL PARK: Preserving this One-of-a-kind Experience for Future Generations

Sometimes after a hard rain, the glint of crystals sparkles as they emerge to the soil surface after spending millions of years deep in the earth. Visitors to Crystal Park in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana stand upon a treasure that amazes rock enthusiasts from around the world.

- AMY GRISAK

 

A BEGINNING LONG, LONG AGO

"It's been a long-known local spot for probably 50 or 60 years," said Paul Senn, a professional prospector and owner of Montana Crystal Miner who grew up in this area. "Crystal Park is really unique, and it will continue to be if it's treated right."

Erik Torgerson, a minerals specialist with the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, commented that the early history of the area is still a mystery. Miners began filtering into the region in the mid1800s. In 1969, the Butte Mineral and Gem Club staked a claim, and a couple of years later, the club and the Forest Service agreed to make it a recreational area. That was its standing until 1993 when an executive order made it an official National Forest recreation area. The order was recently renewed for another 30 years.

The story of Crystal Park began over 72 million years ago with the subduction of the Pacific Ocean floor beneath the continent. "Liquid rock rises up and finds avenues to travel both vertically and laterally," explained Rob Thomas, a geology professor at University of Montana Western in Dillon and coauthor of Roadside Geology of Montana. This is how the magma found its way to Southwest Montana, forming the Pioneer Batholith whose molten granite created the surrounding Pioneer Mountains.

With molten granite between 300 to 600°C, as the rock cooled this super-heated water laden with minerals found its way between fractures in the rock, cooled and crystallized among the widening spaces.

LET THERE BE CRYSTALS