Where to Hunt Native Gems in North Carolina?

[Furismo]

I was wondering where I can find native gems/ nice looking rocks near Murphy, NC. Im not really interested in "Pay to dig, or buy a bucket sites". Are gems only found in certain places like Franklin, NC or can gems be found statewide? Some pictures of what I should look for would also be nice!

Some other questions:
Gem quality stones are clear, right?
Are opaque gems like Emeralds, Rubies and what not worth anything or is it only the clear examples that are worth something?

[Eu_citzen]

Gems can have 2 different qualities, some of the opaque materials are used to make so called cabochons - i.e rounded shapes with a sort of dome. Some of them can be worth a lot due to certain effects. Chrysoberyl cats eye for example can be worth a lot.
Or opal with a play of colour can be worth a bunch, but opal with no play of colour is worth next to nothing.

Then we have faceting quality, which has to be clear or it decreases the value of the gem.
Some gems are rare to find really clear and when found as clear gems claim premium prices - Emerald for example.

Basically you can still get some value from i.e. opaque ruby but it will be no where near the prices of a clear piece of ruby.

Kinda hard to explain, some gems are more appreciated (and higher priced) as transparent materials others are not.