In south-central Arkansas, USA, there is a remarkable geologic location. At Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro (below), an isolated volcanic eruption approximately 100 million years ago carried diamond bearing kimberlite to the surface. Discovery of this kimberlite and its diamonds led to establishment of the only commercial diamond mine in the United States in the early 1900's.

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Most of the diamonds extracted from this deeply weathered intrusion are small, industrial grade stones. However, there are rare discoveries of yellow (known in the diamond trade as "canary" diamonds), white, and blue diamonds of gem quality.

The largest diamond discovered at the diamond field was the Uncle Sam (40 carats); reputed to have sold for $150,000.

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Crater of Diamonds State Park is operated by the Arkansas State Parks Department and is the only site in the world where the public is permitted to dig for diamonds and keep any that are found. On average, one lucky digger finds a diamond each day that the park is open. Crater of Diamonds State Park is visible in the image above near the southern margin along the Little Missouri River.

To obtain additional information about Crater of Diamonds State Park, visit their website.