More than 25 carats of diamonds registered at Crater in April
By Waymon Cox
Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Last month marked the second time this year that more than 100 diamonds have been certified in a single month at the Crater. Our Diamond Discovery Center staff registered 114 diamonds in April, adding up to 25.04 carats in weight. Four of April’s finds weighed more than one carat each, the largest a whopping 5.75-carat white gem named the Arabian Knight!
As we continue through May and park visitation increases, it will be interesting to see whether diamond finds will also increase. In May 2008, a trend of increasing visitation/decreasing diamond finds began with 13,776 visitors (not including groups) yielding only 83 diamonds. In June, more than 20,000 people came to search, yet only 58 diamonds were found!
Perhaps with all of the rain we’ve received over the past few days, diamond finds will increase as travelers from all over come to search.
At the very least, I’m betting on many
surface finds in the days to come!
Field Last Plowed: April 23, 2009
Diamond Finds for April 28 - May 9, 2009 (100 points = one carat)
April 28 - Michael Burns, Arab, AL, 5.75 ct. white; Dane Shurtliff, Imperial, MO, 6 pt. white
April 29 - Amy McReynolds, Kewanee, IL, 7 pt. white, 11 pt. brown, 27 pt. yellow
April 30 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 11 pt. white, 15 pt. white, 21 pt. white; Claud Dill, Murfreesboro, AR, 3 pt. brown, 6 pt. brown, 32 pt. brown; Lloyd Nelson, Camas Valley, OR, 8 pt. brown
May 1 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 3 pt. white, 10 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 5 pt. white, 9 pt. white; Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 4 pt. white, 6 pt. yellow, 7 pt. white; Thomas Houser, Bossier City, LA, 4 pt. white, 15 pt. white; Brady West, Hampton, AR, 10 pt. yellow; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 35 pt. white
May 2 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 3 pt. white, 6 pt. white, 9 pt. yellow, 13 pt. brown; Gail Willits, Fayetteville, AR, 16 pt. yellow, 17 pt. brown; Tim Proffer, Plano, TX, 21 pt. white
May 3 - Aaron Coleman, Broken Arrow, OK, 17 pt. yellow; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 1.08 ct. white; Paul DeLeon, Aubrey, TX, 11 pt. white; Dimitri Fergadis, Hot Springs Village, AR, 71 pt. white; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 14 pt. white; Philip Thomas, Independence, MO, 31 pt. brown
May 4 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 3 pt. white, 6 pt. white, 7 pt. yellow; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 2 pt. white, 8 pt. white, 21 pt. white, 30 pt. white; Randy Gabrion, McRae, AR, 20 pt. white
May 6 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 3 pt. white, 3 pt. white, 4 pt. white, 9 pt. white
May 7 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 3 pt. white, 20 pt. yellow; Jacob Allen, Alexander, AR, 1.19 ct. brown; Ronald Allen, Clinton, LA, 40 pt. brown; Steve Lackey, Mulberry, AR, 7 pt. white, 34 pt. white
May 8 - James Colvin, Dafter, MI, 3 pt. white, 7 pt. white, 9 pt. white, 35 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 5 pt. white, 11 pt. white; Lisa Wilson, Shreveport, LA, 17 pt. brown; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 1 pt. brown, 2 pt. white, 16 pt. white
May 9 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 22 pt. yellow; Jamie Hughes, Nashville, AR, 6 pt. white
