Crater of Diamonds State Park
Murfreesboro, Pike County, Arkansas, 71958
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Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 911-acre (369 ha) state park, which features a 37.5-acre (15.2 ha) plowed field, the world's only diamond-bearing site accessible to the public. Diamonds have continuously been discovered in the field since 1906.
In August 1906, John Huddleston found two strange crystals on the surface of his 243-acre (98 ha) farm near Murfreesboro, Arkansas, and soon became known as the first person outside South Africa to find diamonds at their original source. Soon after the first diamond was found, a "diamond rush" created a boomtown atmosphere around Murfreesboro.
Because Arkansas was the first place outside of South Africa where diamonds were found at their original volcanic source, the diamond is now the State Gemstone. A large diamond symbol has dominated the state flag since 1912. The Arkansas State Quarter, released in 2003, bears a diamond on its face.
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The Crater of Diamonds volcanic pipe is part of a 95-million-year-old eroded volcano. The deeply sourced lamproite magma, from the upper mantle, brought the diamonds to the surface. Over 29,000 diamonds have been found in the crater since it became a state park.
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The site became a state park in 1972 after the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism purchased the site from the Arkansas Diamond Company and Ozark Diamond Mines Corporation, who had previously operated the site as a tourist attraction.
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