Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park!  January was a fine start for a new year of diamond finds with 19 gems registered, weighing a total of 5.11 carats.  The largest was a 1.31 ct. brown diamond turned in on the 2^nd by David Anderson, from Michigan.  In fact, more than one quarter of January’s finds were registered to visitors from outside of Arkansas, including Louisiana, Colorado, and Washington!
  Last month fell short of the 42 diamonds registered in January 2009, but visitation was also down this year.  Cold temperatures and rain prevailed for much of the month, and fewer than 1,000 people traveled to the Crater.  About 2,300 visited last January.
  While weather may have deterred new visitors, it had little impact on the ability to find diamonds.  The ratio of diamond finds to visitors this year remained the same as in January ‘09, with about two diamonds for every 100 visitors.
  In other words, the diamonds are still here—we just need you to come find them!  Spring will bring warmer temperatures, more visitors, and hopefully more diamond finds, but why wait until then to visit?  The field was recently plowed for the first time since October, and with rain in the forecast, bundling up and surface hunting is a great way to enjoy the Crater and hopefully find The Big One!