Crystal Digging at the Salt Plains

Crystal digging is permitted April 1 through October 15, sunrise to sunset at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. 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 the Salt Flats sign (about six miles), turn N on sand road to Salt Plains (about three miles), and one mile east on a paved road to the gate and follow the orange signs to ‘Dig Area'.

The drive from Enid to the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge is at just about an hour from Enid. Wear old shoes and clothes. You might want to pack extra clothes for after digging in case they become covered in salt and dirt.

The salt flats 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 at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge 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.

Call 580-626-4794 for more information.