-Carl Sagan

One of the great things about living in the desert is that there are always places to go exploring and interesting things to do. Topaz Mountain is a prime example of this. People who have lived in Tooele for any amount of time, have certainly heard of Topaz Mountain. It is located about 60 miles along dusty dirt roads to the southwest in Juab County. The principal reason that you would go to Topaz Mountain is for its namesake, the Topaz crystals that occur there in abundance. By virtue of the route you have to take to get there, which is for a large part along the Pony Express route, a trip to Topaz Mountain can be very interesting from a historical standpoint as well.

Topaz Mountain, at 7,046 feet is one of the highest peaks in the Thomas Range. This range of geologically unique mountains is located completely within Juab County, our thin neighbor to the south. The range measures about 14 miles from Dugway Pass in the north to Topaz Valley in the south. The width of the range varies greatly with its widest point measuring about 10 miles from Pismire Wash to the west slopes of Spor Mountain. For many years I believed the Thomas Range was named for John Thomas who used to operate a ranch and way station on the old Lincoln Highway at Fish Springs.

Old John Thomas was quite a character in his own right, but the range was named long before Mr. Thomas ever laid eyes on Fish Springs. Back in 1859 when Captain James H. Simpson topped out on Dugway Pass while exploring for a new wagon road from Camp Floyd to Carson Valley, he stated the following concerning the range in his official report "My party moved at a quarter to six. Course nearly southwest across desert (altitude above the sea 4,370 feet), thinly covered with short Artemisia or sage, to "Short-Cut Pass" altitude above the sea 5,347 feet, in a mountain range which I call Colonel Thomas's range after Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Thomas, Assistant Adjutant of the Army." Back in the old days, Dugway Pass which separates the Dugway range in the north from the Thomas Range in the south was known as "Short-Cut" pass because it allowed travelers to save the approximately 25 miles that it would take to go around the range to the north or south.

The Thomas range has some really fascinating geology and some very interesting mineral deposits which have been and continue to be exploited commercially. This area is a rockhounder's dream if you know what you are looking at and looking for. Some of the different minerals found here include beryllium, fluorspar, manganese, uranium, garnet, beryl, bixbyite, and of course topaz. Back in the 1980's a book written by Dr. William Lee Stokes entitled "Geology of Utah" was published by the Utah Museum of Natural History, University of Utah. This book makes a wonderful addition to any Utah explorer's library. In it Dr. Stokes describes how the grotesque, tortured, rhyolite mountains in the Thomas Range were created. He stated that when the volcanic eruptions in the Thomas range occurred millions of years ago, the lava behaved very differently than normal basaltic flows. According to Dr. Stokes, rhyolite is composed largely of silica, nearly 75% in fact. This caused the flows to be more viscous and instead of flowing in rivers of molten rock like in Hawaii, this lava spewed out and piled up upon itself which explains the mud cake mountain appearance of Topaz Mountain and many other peaks in the range. The forces of wind, water, sand, and ice have eroded the ancient rhyolites into otherworldly shapes that would make Carl Sagan proud. These rocks are also very sharp and abrasive. They will chew up your shoes in short order and will mangle your hands if you slip and try to catch yourself so good leather boots and gloves are a good idea if you are going to do some climbing in this range.

On one particular visit, I climbed almost straight up the rhyolite to the summit of peak 6,408 which is immediately south east of Topaz Mountain. This peak forms the eastern wall of the Topaz amphitheatre. The funny thing about this trip is that when I reached the summit, I tried to pull myself up on top and I reached completely over the top to the other side. I was stuck clinging to a knife ridge. My older brother didn't appreciate this predicament at all and getting him down was like coaxing a mule that didn't want to go one step further. It is also interesting to note that the world's largest known deposit of Beryllium is located in the Thomas Range at Spor Mountain. Beryllium is a high strength, light weight metal which is used for military, aerospace, and medical applications. The Brush Wellman Company exploits this deposit and if you go to their website at www.brushwellman.com you can find out all kinds of interesting information.

There are several intriguing legends about this range and its riches. The best one is probably nothing more than a fish story but it fires the imagination. It is found in George A. Thompson's book "Some Dreams Die - Utah Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures". In this book, Mr. Thompson relates the story of the lost Crystal Cave. In this story, a professor from California was prospecting in the northern part of the Thomas range on a rainy blustery day nearly 60 years ago. As this man was walking along, he stepped on the rhyolite crust and it broke away and he crashed down into a subterranean chamber. He stated that he had fallen into what he described as a giant "Geode", the walls of which were covered with beautifully colored, perfect topaz crystals. As it seems is the case in all of these stories, he made off with as much as he could carry but he was never able to find the cave again after that time. There are certainly lava tubes and caves in the basalt flows near Fillmore and in the famous El Malpais or badlands of New Mexico so it is at least possible in theory but I am extremely skeptical. Could make a fun outing to go and look for it though as you are sure to find smaller Topaz crystals lying about.

What is Topaz anyway? Topaz is a fairly common gemstone that has been used in jewelry for centuries. The Egyptians said that Topaz was colored with the golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. The Romans associated Topaz with Jupiter, who they also believed was the god of the Sun. It occurs in the Utah desert as crystals approximately 1/8 to ½ inches long. Topaz is a prismatic crystal that tends to have a high luster. It occurs in many different colors including clear, yellow, orange, red, blue, and green. Most of the Topaz crystals found in the Thomas Range are naturally amber but when exposed to sunlight for long periods of time, become colorless or clear.

Topaz is the November birthstone and it is also one of the hardest minerals in nature. Topaz is also the State Gemstone of Utah. The crystals at Topaz Mountain formed within cavities of Rhyolyte, a volcanic rock that erupted in the area approximately 6 million years ago. Gathering specimens at Topaz Mountain is quite easy. I have visited the area several times and each time I have come away with some splendid crystals. They are not very large but the clarity is startling. They make you think to yourself "Hey, I've really found something here" and that's a cool feeling when you go exploring.

Getting to Topaz Mountain is not so easy. If you approach from the Delta area, you can follow the paved "Brush-Wellman" road to within 3 miles of the collecting area which makes the mountain very accessible to that community. To get to the Brush Wellman Road which is actually Utah Highway 174, follow Utah Highway 36 south out of Tooele approximately 50 miles to Tintic Junction. At this point turn right onto U.S. Highway 6 and follow it for 37 miles through the tiny town of Lynndyl (remember that word for your next scrabble game when you're stuck with all the junky letters) and turn right at the junction with Highway 174. From here you simply follow the paved road all the way out to Topaz Mountain and at that point follow the signs to the collecting areas.

An altogether different, more interesting route is to follow the old Pony Express Trail out into the area. To get there, follow the Pony Express trail through Government Creek, Past Simpson Springs, across the Old River Bed, and finally to the vertical pump house and trough of the Topaz Well. Make sure that you visit the Pony Express station monuments and ponder the past along this route. At Topaz Well, turn left or south and follow this road about 15.9 miles to the junction with the Weiss Highway which is an improved dirt road that connects Jehrico to Callao. Turn right or west on this road and follow it for about 2 miles and you will see a sign that says "Topaz Mountain Rock hounding Area". Turn right on this road and follow it to the large white colored mountain before you which is Topaz Mountain.

To find the Topaz Crystals, you can go just about anywhere on the mountain. I have had the best luck in what is called the Topaz Mountain Amphitheatre which is a natural bowl or box canyon that the road goes into if you follow the described route. Near the end of this road, I look for crystals in the sand and gravel of the bottom of the main wash. This is an easy place to find the crystals but it is also the most worked over. You can climb all over the mountain and find crystals eroding out of the Rhyolite.

If you plan on going to Topaz Mountain, take plenty of water, make sure you have a spare tire and the means to change it, food, first aid kit, and a full tank of gas. Cell phones don't work out in the desert so take what ever you will need and be prepared. Respect the gravel roads and don't travel too fast or you will loose control of your vehicle and it could be very ugly. Winter is an excellent time to visit the Thomas Range because these mountains receive very little snow and the temperatures on average are warm enough to do some rock hounding in relative comfort. Lastly, if you are not familiar with the Desert, make sure that you are not caught on the unfamiliar roads after dark because it is very easy to get lost out there. Visiting Topaz Mountain and the Thomas Range can be quite an adventure, but it is worth the effort if rock hounding is an interest that you have.

For more information contact the Salt Lake City BLM District at 801-977-4300 or 801-539-4300. http://www.ut.blm.gov/saltlake_fo/

Copyright © 2008 Jaromy D. Jessop - All Rights Reserved
Reprinted with permission - Jaromy D. Jessop