Ace of Diamonds – Mine and Campground

Come join the fun at The Ace and prospect for HERKIMER DIAMONDS, brilliant,
water clear quartz crystals composed of silicon dioxide, hard enough to
scratch glass. They are of a hexagonal structure and doubly terminated
– (points on both ends).

Dolomite limestone is the rock formation in which they are found. This
rock was buried ages ago. Subsequently, surface water containing silicon
seeped downward through the earth and was trapped in pockets or cavities
in the dolomite rock. Under tremendous heat and pressure these crystals
were formed. Weathering and erosion by glaciers and water have exposed
the strata in Middleville, New York. the crystals are found mostly in rock
cavities (formed approximately four hundred million years ago) but many
are found in soil surrounding the weathered rocks.

The name Herkimer Diamond came about because to the untrained eye the
sparkling crystals look like real diamonds and since these unique crystals
are found in Herkimer County, named after the Revolutionary War General
Nicholas Herkimer thus the name Herkimer Diamonds. Additionally, the Mohawk
Indians, native to this area, are known as ” The People of the Crystals ”