Why is there a diamond on the Arkansas license plate?

Answer 1

It happens that a volcanic pipe erupted kimberlite containing diamonds near what is now the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

This is the only known occurrence of diamonds in the contiguous 48 United States.

Answer 2

There are diamonds in the earth in Arkansas because there is a volcanic pipe that erupts diamonds to the earth's surface from deep within the earth's mantel, and it happens to be located within the boundaries of the state.

Answer 3

According to the Crater of Diamonds State Park Web site, in the history section:

"The history of diamonds in Arkansas began when the first diamonds were found in Pike County, Arkansas in August 1906 by John Wesley Huddleston."

In 1889, an Arkansas state geologist searched a patch of land known to contain peridotite soil, which was also found in the South African diamond mines.

Whether or not Huddleston knew this fact, he purchased the 160-acre farm for his family. He describes picking up the first stone:

""I was crawling on my hands and knees … when my eyes fell on another glittering pebble … I knew it was different from any I had ever seen before. It had a fiery eye that blazed up at me every way I turned it. I hurried to the house with the pebble, saddled my mule and started for Murfreesboro … riding through the lane, my eye caught another glitter, and I dismounted and picked it up out of the dust."

Answer 4

The diamond represents Arkansas diamond mine in Murfreesboro, the only open-to-the-public diamond mining facility in the United States.