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milky quartz - gem of the ouachitas

milky veins

ouachitas, arkansas

Significant deposits of milk quartz can be found in the Ouichita (pronounced "Washi'-ta") Mountains of Arkansas. Most of the quartz veins in the Ouachitas are restricted to a belt about 30-40 miles wide that extends a distance of about 170 miles west southwest from Little Rock, Arkansas, to eastern Oklahoma -- an area corresponding to the core region of the Ouachitas.

fall in the ouachita mountains
photo: arkansas dept. of parks and tourism

Milky quartz crystals and associated vein minerals of the Ouachita Mountains were deposited from hot waters during the closing stages of mountain building, ranging from the Late Pennsylvanian (300-286 million years ago into the Permian (286-245 million years ago).
The veins attain a maximum width of 60 feet in Arkansas and nearly 100 feet in Oklahoma. They are most numerous along the central core of the Ouachita Mountain region, where they are present in shale, slate, sandstone, and other rock types.