The World's Largest Gemstone EarthCache
The World's Largest Gemstone
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Jasper Knob is commonly known as the “World’s Largest Gemstone”.
The formation is a 1.874 billion-year-old rock outcrop in the city
of Ishpeming, Michigan, and is accessible by a foot trail. Please
park on the north side of the road near the intersection of Hill
and Jasper streets. Enter the trail using the steps through the
wall of stone. A common misconception of the area is that a local
mining company owns it. In fact, the property is owned by the city
of Ishpeming.
The world’s largest gemstone is a banded iron formation (BIF) that
is comprised of jaspilite, which consists of alternating bands of
jasper (a cryptocrystalline quartz), red hematite, and silvery-gray
specular hematite. This type of iron ore is not profitable for
mining because the iron content is only about 40%. Thus, this
beautiful example of natural occurring gemstone is preserved for
all to visit and admire.
Enjoy your visit to Jasper Knob!
Logging Requirements to be emailed to the
cache owner:
First, give us the size of the entire exposed BIF at the top of
the hill, in paces. That is, count the number of steps it takes to
go from one side to the other. Give both the N/S and E/W
dimensions.
Next, give us the elevation reading from your GPSr at the top of
the formation.
Finally, upload a photo of yourself and your GPSr with the
jaspilite formation in the background.
In order to keep with the spirit of Earth Caches, these
requirements must be met in order to claim a find, just as signing
a logbook is a requirement to claim a find on a traditional cache.
Thanks for understanding!
Additional Hints
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