By editor
Hauser Lake, Lewis and Clark County
The Missouri River is a conveyor belt for heavy minerals. At Spokane Bar, near Helena, the river slows and drops its heaviest cargo. This gravel bar is rich in alluvial sapphires, rounded and stripped of their original crystalline shape by their journey down the river.
Visitor Access
This is a family-owned, commercial fee-dig operation open seven days a week, year-round. For sixty dollars, visitors receive a bucket of concentrated gravel from the pit and access to the washing tubs and shaker screens. You pack out your buckets, wash them on-site, and keep the blue, green, and pink sapphires you find.