Portland author’s new book harnesses fresh energy and ethics around rockhounding

interview by Cathy Carroll

Alison Jean Cole is at the forefront of a new interest in the Northwest that’s no longer your granduncle’s pastime—rockhounding. Her second book on the topic, A Rockhound’s Guide to Oregon & Washington, has just been released amid a growing, youthful enthusiasm for the hobby that promises another way to connect with nature. The book covers rockhounding basics, sustainable collecting, Leave No Trace principles and, for sixty sites, the geologic history along with what types of rocks and fossils you may find.

The region is a treasure trove for rockhounds who can explore ancient seafloors, epic lava flows, glacier-carved landscapes and evidence of 200 million years of tectonic action. This guide helps beginners find agates and jaspers in the volcanic Cascade Range, marine fossils along the Coast, petrified wood in the Owyhee Uplands and more. Cole includes collection limits, clear driving directions with GPS coordinates, road quality and trip safety information, the best season to go and informative maps.

The Portland-based author and artist travels throughout the western U.S. in search of material to use in her lapidary jewelry craft. She runs a geology festival in Utah, is a proud member of the Mount Hood Rock Club and is the author of Beautiful Rocks & How to Find Them. She also publishes THUNDEREGG, a zine that focuses on the changing face of rockhounding culture, and guides weekend-long rockhounding excursions in the Oregon and Nevada deserts.

Why should someone consider going rockhounding?

Rockhounding is an opportunity to commune with the Earth, with the raw material it’s made from. If you’re willing to take a little time to be curious about rocks, learning about their geological histories will lead you down endless fascinating paths. Intellectual interest aside, the activity of rockhounding is a meditative pursuit that takes place in beautiful environments. Rocks show up in abundance in places of erosion, which means the hobby takes us to scenic beaches, misty gravel bars and rugged desert canyons.

What are some of your most memorable rockhounding moments?

I love this question. Perhaps it was finding a candy-pink chunk of rhodonite in the Chetco River last November, or maybe it was that single glendonite crystal I found on the Olympic Peninsula, or perhaps it was stumbling upon an entire petrified forest in a remote corner of Nevada. In all of these moments, none of these discoveries were anticipated. I was moved to tears with delight each time. The Earth feels so trodden sometimes, you know? So moments like these feel like a gift.

Tell us about the changing face of rockhounding culture.

There’s a growing diversity in what was once a largely old-man sport. Lots of young people from all walks of life are jumping into the rockhounding hobby, and year after year, I see it becoming more accessible. Even more importantly, there seems to be a fresher ethos about collecting. People remove a lot less material than the old-timers did, and we’re all better off for it, especially the landscape. I feel hopeful about the direction of the hobby, and I hope my new book really helps hit the ethos message home. You can still go out in search of rocks, and you really don’t need to take that many home.