CHICO — When Wyatt Morelock, owner of Geological Treasures, finds a rock during a dig, he isn’t just looking for aesthetics, but a deep history in formation and its modern uses.
At his store in the Garden Walk Mall in downtown Chico, Morelock, 23, has set up mineral collections for sale, handmade jewelry, and community contributions aligned with a fascination that started with his grandparents’ old collections.
“Aesthetics is of course very important,” said Morelock, “Aesthetics combined with locality is what really makes something super valuable in a mineral collector’s eye. Its locality tells its story … that a certain geological phenomenon happened that combined minerals in a special way that’s not seen in other places.”
For about one third of his store, Morelock knows exactly where they are from — he collected them himself, from trips to the Feather River and outings with the Paradise Gem and Mineral Club.
Starting at the age of 6, Morelock said grew up seeing his family collections they’d gathered from outings to the river, wondering exactly how they came to be.
Morelock has since grown a collection, ran trade shows for two years and has now run his shop downtown for about eight months.
He also carries crystals formed in calcite and limestone found locally that show characteristics caused by a saturation of carbon from forest fires.
“I would just go around places I thought might have rocks. A lot of it is trial and error,” Morelock said. “Maybe eventually you’ll find a good rock than you’ll think, ‘huh, why did I find this good rock.’”
Inside his store, arrangements of rocks and crystals are displayed on stands he’d made. He also carries crafts and minerals contributed by members of the Paradise Gem and Mineral Club, including wind chimes and carved stone hearts.
Morelock also appreciates information for all types of rock and mineral enjoyers, for those who seek its mineral properties; for use in other craft; or for metaphysical purposes — and carries resources of knowledge.
“Mineral collectors often overlap; I’m all three myself,” Morelock said.
On a shelf, a massive 120-pound chunk of calcite with stalagmite growth stands as the behemoth in the store.
It was worth the one mile, uphill carry.
“I really wanted it,” Morelock said. “That used to be in a cave somewhere and they blew up the whole side of the mountain at one point … they clearly weren’t mining it for formations.”
Morelock said he loves to teach people about rock formations, and appreciates questions from curious passers-by. In the future, Morelock seeks to expand to teaching classes and others.
“I feel like I just want to make this store as personal of an experience as possible. I love talking to customers, “Morelock said.
And he’s invested in teaching down the road, with the ultimate goal of building his own museum, he said.
“My core fascination with it is all the different rocks we have and minerals and crystals — those are just formations of elements. They’re the building blocks of everything.”
Geological Treasures is located 225 Main Suite J and is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Morelock may be reached at (530) 680-1229.
