Panorama Gem

Rock Hounding in Northeast Washington

Donations Appreciated Towards Scholarship Program

August 19th, 2023

Help us continue High School Scholarship Program to 3 High School Graduates!


Collecting donated rocks to be used towards high school scholarships program.

Loading the truck to be used to support high school scholarships.


Taking a break in the collection.

Taking a break from the hard job of loading rocks


Separating and sorting out to keep similar rocks or material together.

Recent Postings

February 7th, 2023
  • Donations Appreciated Towards Scholarship Program
    Help us continue High School Scholarship Program to 3 High School Graduates! Loading the truck to be used to support high school scholarships. Taking a break from the hard job of loading rocks
  • August Yearly Event is Ready to Rock!
    Barbecue, Picnic, Purchase Rocks and Tailgate Rock Swap Event The month of August is designated as our annual barbecue picnic. At the last meeting we had a good number of members in attendance, but this year we are changing our meeting location to better accommodate the event. If you missed that meeting you need to be updated … Read more
  • Panorama Gem & Mineral Club Announces High School Scholarship Winners
    3 Local High Schools Each graduates will receive a check in the amount of $1,000.00 towards tuition for College Colville High School Kettle Falls High School Jenkins High School
  • Recent Postings
  • Panorama Gem & Mineral Club announces upcoming annual Rock Show
  • 2023 Post Blogs
    We are pleased to announce our clubs upcoming 2023 annual Rock and Mineral Show at Colville Fair Grounds, 317 West Astor, Colville, WA, on March 10th 9:00 am to 6:00 pm & 11th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.Admission is always free and a great day to spend with the family! Come early and stay … Read more
  • Marcus Ciderfest 2022
    October 1st from 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday Panorama Gem & Mineral Club are planning on being at the Marcus Ciderfest in a big way. Club has many rocks & mineral to sell and games to play once again this year. Plus members will have booths along with us and a opportunity to pick … Read more
  • MARCUS CIDERFEST
    IT WAS A WONDERFUL FUN DAY VISITING WITH PEOPLE THAT PASSED BY THE BOOTH. ALL FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THIS EVENT GO TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND GREAT TIME AND LOTS OF FUN AT THE CLUBS BOOTH WITH ALL THE HELP FROM MEMBERS. We had a Raffle to giveaway “one trailer (similar to the one in … Read more
  • Panorama Gem & Mineral Club
    Rockhounding in the Northeast Washington Field Trip to Jim Creek We hiked up to Site #1 to see if we could find any Galena in White Marble Rocks with Jim Peters Sheila at the bottom of Site #1 looking for the best spot to find Galena in the white crystalline marble. Trail to Site #2 … Read more
  • DNR Story Maps
    The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has a new “story map” series online that shows places to rockhound in Washington. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/rockhounding It also spells out the rules you should take into consideration for State, Federal and private land. Click on the Mineral and Fossil map option. The little spots on the map show collecting … Read more
  • Field Trips and Newsletters
    The newsletters for May and June are now online.  Check the 2018 newsletter page for links.  Use the search function to find topics in previous newsletters. There is a field trip scheduled to the LeFarge Quarry for Trilobites on Saturday July 28th.  Meet at the Tiger Store at the intersection of Hwy 20 and Hwy … Read more
  • Act Now to Save Fossil Collecting
    New over-restrictive regulations are threatening the rights of anyone to collect fossils and limiting research which has been mainly driven by discovories by amatures over the past 100 years.  Please comment here: https://www.savefossilcollecting.org/ https://www.savefossilcollecting.org/
  • Field Trip to Horseshoe Mountain
  • Aventurine on Happy Hill
  • Tucson Mineral Show Report
    I just stumbled on this “live” report going on every day from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  If you wonder what it is like down there, check this out: http://www.mindat.org/article.php/2315/Tucson+2016+-+Live+reports+day+3
Aventurine slab

Marcus Ciderfest 2022

September 23rd, 2022

October 1st from 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday

Panorama Gem & Mineral Club are planning on being at the Marcus Ciderfest in a big way. Club has many rocks & mineral to sell and games to play once again this year. Plus members will have booths along with us and a opportunity to pick up some treasurers.

For the details about the Marcus Ciderfest click on this link: https://www.marcusciderfest.com/about.html

Last year we raffled off over a cord of wood to two different winners each. Come by to see what we have this year or just to say howdy!

Visit our page from last year’s event here: Marcus Ciderfest 2021

DNR Story Maps

August 17th, 2018

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has a new “story map” series online that shows places to rockhound in Washington.
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/rockhounding
It also spells out the rules you should take into consideration for State, Federal and private land. Click on the Mineral and Fossil map option. The little spots on the map show collecting sites. You can zoom in to get a better idea of the locations but there are not always driving instructions or exact coordinates. What surprised me was that it shows many more collection sites for things like trilobites, fossils, petrified wood and gemstones than I knew about.

Field Trips and Newsletters

June 21st, 2018

The newsletters for May and June are now online.  Check the 2018 newsletter page for links.  Use the search function to find topics in previous newsletters.

There is a field trip scheduled to the LeFarge Quarry for Trilobites on Saturday July 28th.  Meet at the Tiger Store at the intersection of Hwy 20 and Hwy 31, 10 AM.  (New Place due to events in Ione.) This is one of the most popular trips of the year.  Be prepared for hot weather and splitting layers of rocks safely.

Saturday the 23rd of June There is a trip to the Flagstaff Mine near Northport.  Meet at the gas station at the north end of Northport at 10 AM to collect Barite Crystals.  Bring rock breaking tools.

We are going to the Railway Dike on July 7th to collect Beryl Crystals.  Meet at the Safeway parking lot in Chewelah at 10 AM.  Bring rock breaking tools.

You don’t need to be a member to go on trips with us.  Check out previous trips using the mine names or rock types in the search box on this website.

Field Trip to Horseshoe Mountain

June 16th, 2016

Oppose New National Monuments in California

February 5th, 2016

Reports Indicate that the President May Move to Make Designations in the California Desert

Despite legislation moving in both Houses of Congress, there are rumors that the Administration is considering National Monument designations in the California Desert. Please Take Action now to send an email urging the President NOT to move forward with these designations!

ARRA has previously alerted you that Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Cook (R-CA) each have introduced legislation (S. 414 and H.R. 3668) that would provide for the management of the lands being considered for National Monument designation.  These bills were developed over time and are the result of collaboration and compromise between various groups with often competing interests.   These bills call for a federal advisory committee with a seat to be filled by a Rockhound.  Yes, a named seat reserved for a Rockhound.

It is unlikely the Administration will designate the multiple OHV recreation areas designated as such in the Feinstein and Cook bills.  As for the areas that will be designated as National Monuments – while motorized recreation and other multiple uses are not specifically prohibited in National Monument areas, history has proven that even the most responsible multiple uses are banned or restricted once an area is designated. (No Rockhounding)  There will be no collecting of Biological, Geological, Historical or Minerals within these 3 National Monuments.  There goes the Cady Mountains, Afton Canyon, Lavic Siding, WIley Wells and most other collecting areas remaining in the California Deserts.

Please send an email urging you’re  Administration NOT to move forward with National Monument designations in the California desert!