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Deschutes Jasper
Deschutes Jasper is a a great brown, scenic, porcelain jasper from Oregon.
It often has black dendrite inclusions. Jasper is an opaque form of Chalcedony. Deschutes Jasper was formed as mud, derived from mostly volcanic ash, which filled crevices and later solidified.
The Deschutes Jasper deposit is west of the famous Biggs Jasper deposit and Biggs Junction. It is a small open pit, up on a hill above the highway and east of the mouth of the Deschutes river. It is no longer available to dig, due to being included in the property of a park that is a few hundred yards away at the mouth of the Deschutes river.
Though believed to be originally dug by Native Americans, discovery of this picturesque Jasper is attributed to Hoot Elkins sometime in the 1960's. This material comes from just a small 5 acre lot. The area is played out and no new material has been found nearby. It is said that Mr. Elkins first discovered some ancient rock hammers in a fifteen foot pit. When he explored the pit further, he found a huge boulder of Deschutes Jasper that had been chipped at.
Deschutes Jasper is often confused with the well known jasper, Biggs Jasper. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference. The Deschutes Jasper tends to be a little harder. Deschutes also tends to have a tighter pattern, where Biggs Jasper's pattern is more "landscape".
Deschutes Jasper takes a very nice polish. The brown can range from light to dark and sometimes it can have a gray blue tint. The lovely patterns are usually wavy.
OakRocks has been in the rock and mineral business for 30 years. We are a great source for Deschutes Jasper and carry a variety of Deschutes Jasper cabochons, and Deschutes Jasper rough slabs.