CHEROKEE, OK - Crystal digging is permitted April 1 through October 15, sunrise to sunset. No special permit is required. Collectors are permitted to remove up to 10 pounds of crystals plus one large cluster for their personal use per day. Take Hwy 64 west of Jet to Salt Flats sign (about six miles), turn N on sand road to the salt flats (about three miles), and one mile east on a paved road to the gate and follow the orange signs to ‘Dig Area'.
The Story Of Digging Crystals As A Kid
There are some memories that can immediately bring a smile to my face when I think about them. Some of those memories are the day trips we made as kids to the Great Salt Plains area. We'd go over there hunting for selenite crystal formations. I remember the drives over from Enid with my family, thinking it took hours to get there and then wondering if we could really find the road that would get us there safely. Of course it really never took that long to make the 40 miles or so and the road to the plains was always clearly marked with a big sign.
As a kid it was quite a site driving up to the salt flats in the middle of Oklahoma. It was a huge flat desert that was completely covered in white. It boggled my mind how it ever got here. As you would get closer you would start to see the dig holes, or areas where visitors had been searching for their own crystal treasures. Here are some photos of the Salt Flats from a past trip.
A kid legend around Enid always told of unforeseen quicksand that diggers could accidentally walk or drive into. This meant there was always an air of danger as we would drive onto the actual plains. We never did find any quicksand or see anyone disappear in case you're wondering.
We would find what we thought was a lucky spot, park and unload. We always had a trunk full of things to dig with and plastic containers used to wash off the crystals and carry them home. I remember it being windy and sometimes almost cool with the air blowing in from the lake. Even in the beating spring and summer sun, there was no match for the Oklahoma wind.
We'd spend hours digging our own holes looking for those legendary crystal formations. You could always find the single crystals with the familiar hour glass design locked inside but to find a cluster of more than four or five was like finding a four leaf clover in a clover field. I think we ran across a few small clusters from time to time but never hit the mother load of the thousand piece cluster we fantasized about on the drive over.
Most of our crystal digs were family outings on a Saturday or Sunday. A quicker than imagined drive to Jet with mom, grandma and my sister would get us there and we'd spend the day baking in the sun. I remember coming home dirty and salty with cuts under my finger nails from scraping the sand and salt bare handed. We always seemed to have a garage full of crystals and would unload them at our garage sales just in time to go collect more.
There were other fun times at the Great Slat Plains. I remember my best friend and I getting interested in lightweight rocket powered cars. They actually looked like rockets with foam wheels. His parents would drive us over to the plains and we'd shoot the cars off with this rocket powered fuel that would freeze your finger off if it touched your skin. Our rocket cars would blast across the salt plains further than we could ever get them to go within the Enid city limits.
Those were all great memories, even after whining and complaining about having to go in the first place, sitting in the car and getting a big dose of Oklahoma wind. There was usually a stop in Jet for a snack or drink at the convenience store on the way home and every now and then I was allowed to snag a turtle that we'd spot crossing the dirt road.
If you haven't been or it's been a while, grab the kids and head over to the salt flats. Because it can be hot, windy and dry you should take care to protect your skin! Take sunscreen and some type of hat to cover your head. And don't forget to take a camera to record your first big crystal formation score!!
Digging for selenite crystals is dirty work so wear some old clothes you won't mind getting stained or ruined. Also take sunglasses and Chapstick. And probably the most important item to include is water!!! Make sure everyone has something to drink all day.
When you go digging remember that the moist growing crystal formations will be in soggy sand and are fragile. If you're not slow and careful you'll most likely break any large formations that you find. Let the crystals air-dry for several days and it will decrease their fragility once you get them home.
See more photos from Salt Flats.
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INFORMATION ON THE SELENITE CRYSTALS
The salt plains are a unique geological area made up of 11,000-acres that are perfectly flat with a wafer thin salt crust. It is classified as the "largest such saline flat in the central lowlands of North America".
The salt area was formed by repeated flooding by sea water millions of years ago. There are thick layers of salt-saturated sand hidden below the plain. Rains and local ground water travel through the salt-saturated sand and comes to the surface where it evaporates, leaving the crust of salt. Saline solution combines with gypsum to promote selenite crystal growth in that portion of the salt flats.
Because these crystals form in the wet part of the soil, sand and clay particles are included within the crystal. These particles often form an "hourglass" shape inside the crystal. This hourglass shape cannot be found in selenite crystals in other places of the world; it is only found here in NW Oklahoma.
Single crystals, penetration twins, and clusters are the typical crystal shapes most frequently encountered on the refuge. Exceptional individual crystals measuring up to 7 inches long have been found, along with complex combinations weighing as much as 38 pounds.
See more information and details here...
