The place where the sapphires were formed no longer exists, but the sapphires remain. Massive ancient floods scoured them from their geological place of origin and then deposited them along a dozen-mile stretch of what is now the Missouri River near Helena, Montana (the very region where I built my house). Today, the sapphires are found in alluvial gravel deposits and terraces called bars.
Sapphires
were first discovered by gold miners in 1865, who were confounded by the clear,
mostly blue stones clogging up their bold sluices. Today, several small
sapphire operations glean sapphire gravel from the bars here alongside the
Missouri River. Yesterday, I visited one of the local sapphire mines and
purchased a couple of bags of sapphire gravel. Last night, Desiree and I
processed some of the gravel in an ongoing quest to find our own large stone
for a ring for Desiree.
—Mitchell
Hegman
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