Northeast Washington and North Idaho share some of the most complex geology in North America.  It is a story of colliding and drifting continents, massive volcanism and cataclysmic floods.  Digging into this countryside has made for some good mines, and a lot more bad ones.  Our geologic atlases detail the history, the location and contents of thousands of mines.  Links here lead to articles published as Adobe PDFs about the Geologic History of Ferry County, Stevens County and Pend Oreille County.  More atlases are in the works as well as a book on local rock collecting sites.
   To get the real scoop on rocks, join one of the local rock clubs.  In Stevens County, call the Panorama Gem and Mineral Club.  In Pend Oreille County, contact the Pend Oreille Rock and Gem Club. Here is a list of Washington Clubs, not up-to-date, but useful from the Washington State DNR.
   Check out the Rock Links page for much more information on Rockhounding and Lapidary.
   Also check out the rock site map on the Tours Page of this website.
   The newsletter page has links to all of the Panorama Gem and Mineral Club Newsletters since November 2004.  These will give you an insight both into the places we go as a mineral club and to the many of the members, the heart and soul of the club.