From the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, from the Upper Peninsula to Illinois, Wisconsin’s diverse landscape holds hidden treasures.

However, tourmaline hunters often struggle to find reliable spots in Wisconsin, wasting time and energy on fruitless searches.

Frustrated by conflicting information and disappointing expeditions? Look no further. This article reveals the best places to find tourmaline in the Badger State.

We’ve done the legwork, consulting local experts and experienced rockhounds to bring you a curated list of prime locations. Save time, avoid disappointment, and maximize your chances of success.

How Tourmaline Forms Here

Tourmaline forms deep underground through intense heat and pressure. It originates from hot, mineral-rich fluids that move through fractures in rocks like granite and pegmatite. As these fluids cool, the minerals within them start to crystallize, forming tourmaline.

The color of tourmaline depends on the specific minerals involved, leading to a wide range of hues including pink, red, green, and blue.

Over millions of years, these crystals grow and become the beautiful, multifaceted stones we see today. Tourmaline is prized for its variety of colors and is often used in jewelry and decorative items.

The Types Of Tourmaline

Several incredible types of Tourmaline can be found in the US as well as in our state. Each is uniquely beautiful and interesting including:

Elbaite

Elbaite is found in pink, red, green, blue, yellow, and even colorless forms. What makes elbaite special is its ability to show multiple colors in a single crystal, like the famous “watermelon” tourmaline with pink and green hues.

This gem stands out due to its complex chemical makeup, which includes lithium, sodium, and aluminum. This composition gives Elbaite its diverse color range and dichroism, allowing it to display different colors when viewed from different angles.

Elbaite has a unique place in history as the first tourmaline variety in which lithium was discovered back in 1818. Some rare types, like the neon blue Paraiba elbaite, are highly sought after by collectors and jewelers.

Schorl

Schorl is known for its deep, rich color. It typically forms long, prismatic crystals with a shiny, glass-like surface when polished. Unlike other tourmalines, schorl gets its distinctive black color from high iron concentrations.

One of Schorl’s most fascinating features is its ability to become electrically charged through heating or rubbing. When charged, it can attract or repel small particles.

This unique electrical property makes Schorl valuable in various industries. It’s used in electronics and manufacturing to control static electricity and electromagnetic interference.

Despite being less colorful than other tourmalines, schorl’s practical applications make it an important and interesting variety.

Rubellite

Rubellite stands out with its vibrant pink to red colors. The most prized ones show a pure, saturated red without any brown or orange hints. This beautiful color comes from manganese in its makeup.

One cool thing about rubellite is its double refraction. It can look like it has two different colors when you view it from different angles.

Dravite

Dravite, or Brown Tourmaline, comes in shades from dark brown to light brown-yellow. It can look a bit like Smoky Quartz, with a semi-see-through quality.

Its crystals are often needle-like or prismatic, with points at both ends. This sets it apart from other tourmalines like the darker schorl or the colorful elbaite.

What makes dravite special is its rich sodium and magnesium content. This sets it apart from other tourmalines. It was first discovered in 1883 and named after the Drava River in Slovenia.

Indicolite

Indicolite is a rare and captivating blue to blue-green stone. It’s prized for its pure, bright blue color, which is considered the rarest within the tourmaline family. The hues can range from light blue-green to deep, rich blue, often with high clarity.

What sets Indicolite apart is its unique optical effects. It shows pleochroism, appearing to change color when viewed from different angles. Some specimens also display chatoyancy, creating a “cat’s eye” effect when cut in a certain way.

Indicolite is sometimes called “Brazilian sapphire” due to its resemblance to the precious gem. However, they’re different minerals.

The increasing demand for blue tourmalines has made indicolite highly sought-after in the gemstone market, appreciated for its beauty and rarity.

Watermelon Tourmaline

Watermelon tourmaline is truly one-of-a-kind. It looks just like a slice of watermelon, with a pink or red center and a green outer layer. This unique look happens because different elements join the crystal at different times as it grows.

These crystals often form in a rounded triangle shape. They’re see-through to somewhat clear and have a glass-like shine. When cut into slices, they really do look like little watermelons!

Cat’s Eye Tourmaline

Cat’s eye tourmaline is known for its mesmerizing chatoyancy effect. This creates a bright band across the stone’s surface, resembling a cat’s eye.

This stone comes in various colors, from green to pink to brown, and is usually semi-translucent to opaque.

What makes this stone special is the perfect alignment of tiny, needle-like inclusions inside it. These scatter light in a unique way, creating that eye-catching effect. It’s quite different from other tourmalines that don’t have this feature.

Unlike other cat’s eye stones, Tourmaline offers a wider range of colors and is often more affordable.

Achroite

Achroite is a rare, colorless variety of tourmaline that looks like a drop of clear water turned to stone. It’s completely transparent, making it unique among tourmalines which usually have color. The name comes from Greek, meaning “without color.”

What’s special about achroite is that it doesn’t change color when viewed from different angles. It means the stone can be cut in many ways without losing its clarity.

Verdelite

Verdelite is known for its beautiful green color. It can range from light green to deep emerald.

One thing that makes verdelite special is that you can find big, clear crystals of it. This isn’t always easy with other gemstones.

People love using verdelite in jewelry because its rich color and interesting light effects make it a popular choice for all kinds of accessories. Each piece of verdelite is like a little piece of nature you can wear.

Paraíba Tourmaline

Paraíba Tourmaline is a rare gemstone that catches the eye with its vibrant neon blue or green color. It’s like no other tourmaline you’ve seen before. The intense glow comes from copper in the stone, making it stand out from its cousins.

This stone is one of the rarest. For every 10,000 diamonds mined, only one Paraíba tourmaline is found.

It was only discovered in the late 1980s, making it a newcomer in the gem world. But Paraíba tourmaline’s unique color and rarity quickly made it a favorite among gem lovers.

Its discovery caused quite a stir in the gem community. Even small stones can be valuable because of how rare and beautiful they are.

What Rough Tourmaline Looks Like

When you’re out looking for rough Tourmaline on your own it’s important to know what you’re looking for.  Here are some tips to help you recognize rough tourmaline.

Look for Color Variations

Tourmaline comes in many colors, like pink, green, blue, and even black. Some pieces have multiple colors, like watermelon tourmaline, which is pink and green.

If you see these color mixes, it’s likely tourmaline. Keep an eye out for vibrant shades.

Assess the Density and Weight

Rough tourmaline is relatively heavy for its size. If you pick up a piece and it feels denser than expected, it could be tourmaline. This weight can help you confirm your find.

Examine the Crystal Structure

Tourmaline features distinctive crystal shapes, ranging from slender and elongated to chunky forms. Look for triangular cross-sections and striations on the surface, which indicate its unique growth patterns.

Check for Transparency

Some rough tourmaline can be slightly transparent. If you hold it up to the light, you might see through it a bit. This transparency can be a good sign that you have tourmaline.

A Quick Request About Collecting

Tips on where to look

Once you get to the places we have listed below there are some things you should keep in mind when you’re searching:

Look for Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are great places to find tourmaline. These rocks form from layers of sand, mud, and minerals. Over time, minerals like tourmaline can get trapped.

Look in riverbeds or areas where sediment has built up. You might find small pieces or even larger crystals. 

Explore Mines

Mines are great spots to find tourmaline. Many mines across the U.S. extract various gemstones, including tourmaline.

Some mines even allow visitors to search for gems themselves. Always check if they have guided tours or special digging days.

Search in Gravel Pits

Gravel pits are often overlooked, but they can be treasure troves. These pits dig deep into the earth, exposing layers of rock.

Tourmaline can be found in the gravel. Just sift through the material carefully.

The types of Tourmaline can you find around the state

Wisconsin is home to various types of tourmaline, primarily black tourmaline, known as schorl, and achroite, which is a colorless variety.

Schorl is the most common form found in the state, typically occurring in granitic pegmatites and metamorphic rocks, while achroite can be found in more complex pegmatitic environments, often associated with other minerals like beryl and spodumene.

In addition to these, other varieties such as elbaite, which comes in colors like pink and green, have also been documented.

The diverse geological settings of Wisconsin provide a rich environment for these minerals to form, making it a notable area for tourmaline enthusiasts and collectors.

Some Great Places To Start

Here are some of the top locations in Wisconsin where you can begin your search for tourmaline. These sites are among the best in the state for finding this precious gemstone.

Michels Materials Waterloo Quarry

Nestled in southeastern Wisconsin, the Michels Materials Waterloo Quarry is a rockhound’s paradise. This large quarry, east of Portland, boasts a fascinating geological history.

Its Proterozoic quartzite, interbedded with meta-conglomerates and shale layers, has metamorphosed into andalusite schist over time. This unique setting creates an ideal environment for mineral formation, including tourmaline.

Within the quarry, tourmaline can be found embedded in the quartzite and schist layers. The metamorphic processes that have affected these rocks create pockets where tourmaline crystals can form.

Rockhounds often search in areas where the quartzite is most exposed, as these locations are more likely to reveal tourmaline specimens.

Hoskins Lake Granite

The Hoskins Lake Granite area is part of the ancient Precambrian Shield, dating back over a billion years. The granite here is known for its distinctive pink hue, caused by the presence of potassium feldspar.

Tourmaline crystals in this area are often found embedded in pegmatite veins that cut through the granite.

These veins formed as the last stage of magma crystallization, concentrating rare elements like boron, which is essential for tourmaline formation.

Look for areas where the granite shows large, interlocking crystals – these are promising spots for tourmaline discoveries.

River Falls

River Falls is about 30 miles east of Minneapolis-St. Paul, carved by the Kinnickinnic River and its South Fork. The area’s limestone cliffs and riverbanks create a perfect setting for finding tourmaline and other minerals.

The Kinnickinnic, a class one trout stream, has shaped the landscape over millennia, exposing various geological treasures.

Enthusiasts can explore the river’s edge, where the water’s erosive action has uncovered an array of stones. The white pines lining the banks add to the scenic beauty while you search.

Tourmaline seekers should focus on the riverbanks and the base of limestone cliffs. These areas often yield the best finds due to natural erosion processes.

The river valley’s unique geology also supports the presence of quartz and agates, making each expedition a potential multi-gem discovery.

Payant-Chrissman Prospect

The Payant-Chrissman prospect is about 4 miles south of Aurora and features a series of small pits dug before 1957. It’s known for its fascinating geology, particularly the pegmatites dating back a whopping 1.85 billion years.

These pegmatites are a treasure trove for mineral enthusiasts, with tourmaline being a prized find. The site’s granitic pegmatites and quartz veins often yield well-formed crystals of various minerals.

Tourmaline specimens can be discovered in these veins, exposed in the scattered pits throughout the area.

What makes this spot special is its connection to the Hoskins Lake granite, a geological formation that’s key to understanding Wisconsin’s rich mineral history.

Tigerton Dells

Located along the Embarrass River in Shawano County, Tigerton Dells offers a unique rockhounding experience. This hidden gem, located just 1.5 miles east of Tigerton village, is a haven for tourmaline seekers.

The rapids create a dynamic environment, constantly reshaping the riverbed and exposing new mineral deposits.

The area’s geological makeup is a treasure trove for gemstone enthusiasts. Fast-flowing waters have carved intricate patterns into the rock formations, creating numerous nooks and crannies where tourmaline crystals often hide.

The best spots to search are along the riverbanks and in shallow areas of the rapids.

Remember to pack water shoes and a bucket – you’ll want to wade into the shallows to sift through the riverbed material for those elusive tourmaline specimens.

Places Tourmaline has been found by county

After discussing our top picks, we wanted to discuss the other places on our list. Below is a list of the additional locations where we have succeeded, along with a breakdown of each place by county.