The Nevada Traveler: Quest for the elusive Virgin Valley black fire opal

Few realize that the world’s most famous black fire opal – the official Nevada State Gem – was discovered in Nevada’s remote Virgin Valley in 1918.

Col. W.A. Roebling, a civil engineer who helped design and construct New York’s famed Brooklyn Bridge, uncovered the precious stone. He later donated the magnificent 2,610-carat opal, which weighs about one and a half pounds, to the Smithsonian Institution.

Today, it remains on display in the Smithsonian’s famed Gem Hall, along with several other smaller but equally beautiful black opals from Nevada.

Virgin Valley, in fact, is renowned for its opals, which include not only the rare black fire opal but also a wide variety of other opal-type stones.

Geologists trace the origins of the region’s opals back to one of Nevada’s violent volcanic periods, which occurred about 20 million years ago. During that time of great upheaval, a basin was formed in the area.

Over the years, the basin filled with sediments and volcanic ash as well as deposits of silica. Eventually, forests that had cropped up in the basin were buried beneath the layers of sediment.

The valley’s opals essentially are created by the combination of warm underground water, silica deposits and buried wood. Over time, this geological cocktail develops into opalized wood that can also develop into precious opal stones.

In more recent times, geologic forces caused the valley to uplift, which exposed the valley’s clay beds of prehistoric volcanic ash. It is in these beds that you can find precious opals.

Since the early 20th century, people have been working the Virgin Valley ground for opals. Two of the oldest mines in the region, both open to the public, are the Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine (where the Roebling opal was discovered) and the Royal Peacock Opal Mine.

Rainbow Ridge, owned by the Hodson family, is where, several years ago, my daughter and I were able to do a bit of opal digging. The opal hunting process, at least at Rainbow Ridge, is that you basically sit down next to a pile of rocks and begin sifting through them to find anything that looks interesting.

Opal hunters have two options for their piles — they can either pick through tailings, which are mounds of rocks that other people have already gone through, or, for a bit more money, have a backhoe dump a pile of fresh “virgin” dirt on the ground, which they can pick through.

The picking is where the fun occurs. At first, you haven’t the faintest clue what you’re looking for. However, the Rainbow Ridge folks are extremely helpful in providing pointers.

Tools are pretty simple and are usually available from the mine. They can include small picks, hammers, shovels, and hand trowels. It’s also essential to have a small bucket of water in which to store your potential opal finds.

The reason for the bucket of water is that the ground in Virgin Valley is extremely moist, meaning the opals are accustomed to a wet environment. Opals removed from the moist dirt can begin to crack as they dry out (ask the mine how best to preserve any stones you might find).

Once you literally begin to dig in you find that the tailings or virgin mounds are filled with interesting stuff. It’s not uncommon to find opalized wood (it looks like white bone) or hunks of petrified wood.

Occasionally, as you sift through the dirt, you’ll also spot glassy-looking rocks. Veteran opal hunters encourage you to save anything glassy-looking in your water bucket because it may yield an opal once it’s been cleaned up.

And if you’re real lucky you might even find one of the elusive black fire opals. These magnificent gems are dark-colored stones that, when exposed to direct sunlight, sparkle with the hues of a rainbow.

So, did we find anything valuable during our journey to the Virgin Valley? As a matter of fact, my daughter uncovered a pair of beautiful, rainbow-hued opals, each measuring about a half-inch in length.

We were able to have them cleaned up and placed inside of a small, glass globe filled with water in order to keep them preserved. Even years later, my daughter still likes to hold the globe up to a light to see the rainbow colors reflect off the stones.

I don’t know if they are actually worth much, but they remain priceless to her.

The Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine, which also features a gift shop, is located about 35 miles west of the Denio Junction via State Route 140. The road, which is marked, is paved until the last 7.5 miles, which are graded dirt and gravel.

The mine is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from May to the end of September. Cost is $100 per person per day for tailings and $700 for virgin ground loads. For more information, go to www.nevadaopal.com.

The Royal Peacock Mine (www.royalpeacock.com), also open from May to September, is a similar mine-your-own opals operation. The Royal Peacock, where some of the largest opals every uncovered in Nevada have been unearthed, has been featured on the Travel Channel.

Owned by the Wilson family, it also offers an RV park and gift shop, which features a wide variety of opal jewelry.

Rich Moreno writes about the places and people that make Nevada special.