Oklahoma teen finds 3.85-carat diamond at Arkansas state park
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 14-year-old Oklahoma City girl unearthed a 3.85-carat diamond during a family visit to Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Tana Clymer discovered the canary gem Saturday at the park, which is the only diamond-producing site in the United States that is open to the public.
Tana told News9.com she noticed something on the surface of the ground after sifting through the search field for about two hours.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought it was a piece of paper or foil from a candy wrapper," Tana said. "Then, when I touched it, I thought it was a marble. I think God pointed me to it. I was about to sprint to join my family, and God told me to slow down and look. Then, I found the diamond!"
The yellow diamond is teardrop-shaped and about the size of a jellybean.
"This canary diamond is very similar to the gem-quality, 4.21-carat canary diamond found at the Crater of Diamonds by Oklahoma State Trooper Marvin Culver of Nowata, Oklahoma, on March 12, 2006, a gem he named the Okie Dokie Diamond," said Bill Henderson, assistant park superintendent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tana named the diamond "God's Jewel," park officials said.
"Tana told me that she was so excited, she couldn't sleep last night," Henderson said Sunday. "She's either going to keep the diamond for a ring, or, if it's worth a lot, she'll want that for college."
Many diamonds have been found close to the surface so far this year, Henderson said, noting that heavy rainfall pushes dirt away, leaving the diamond exposed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In July, a 12-year-old North Carolina boy unearthed a 5.16 carat diamond while on vacation with his family at the park. He named it "God's Glory Diamond."
Her gem is the 396th diamond found so far this year at the park in southern Arkansas. Other gems discovered at the state park include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite, and quartz.
More than 75,000 diamonds have been found at the site since the first discovery in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who owned the land at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed at the site in 1924 and weighed 40.23 carats.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.