Collecting at the Canal Dump (Montrose Occurrence) Niagara Falls
By: Michal Adamowicz, rockhound

Hail all. Here is an article regarding a great collecting site that soon will be gone.

The Montrose Occurrence (also known as the canal dump) is an excellent collecting site for people of all ages as it is very easily accessible. This site is also located within an hours drive to multiple major cities in Southern Ontario, Canada: GTA, St. Catherines,& Hamilton. This great site was once much larger but through the years it has been dwindling in size as the city uses the rock for their purposes such as shoreline stabilization, & use as ornamental stones. There are plans to begin construction of a massive shopping complex on what is left of the site, and construction can begin any time. As of right now you can still access the site but that can change day by day. Let me first give you a better description of the site.

The site is composed of a large man made hill between Montrose road, Mcleod road, & Kalar road, where dump material was deposited. The dump material from the excavation of the Hydro Canal that starts at Chippawa Creek and runs right through the city of Niagara Falls to Stanley Ave where it fills a reservoir for the Sir Adam Beck Power station. The rock is mainly limestone which has vugs & cavities full of crystals.

Here is a Google map view of the site: http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.073496,-79.125617&spn=0.011505,0.019119&t=h&z=16

Once you are on Montrose road you have two options where to park. You can park at the McBain Community Centre, just on the right (east) side of Mcleod road, or you can drive further north and turn onto Kinsmen Crescent and park somewhere in that street. Kinsmen Crescent is commonly used by large trucks who park on the road also.

The amount of material currently at the Montrose Occurrence is only about 10% of what it initially was. Collecting is only possible currently on the west side of Montrose road between Mcleod road & Kinsmen Crescent. You will notice a large hill on the west side of the road & a large number of big limestone boulders. The main mass of boulders is located just across from the Kinsmen Crescent turnoff. You should be able to see them from the turnoff.

Minerals

Now to the good stuff. This site has become quite famous for a large assortment of well formed crystals. Before the descent of all Souther Ontario's packs of rockhounds, you could find almost all the mineral listed for the site with relative ease. Now since the initial searches by rockhounds (after early 2009) most mineral are hard to find easily. Early on you could find well formed red & dark red Sphalerite clusters a few cm across, large white & pink dolomite clusters, extensive cluster of white/yellow Calcite clusters, clear Selenite crystals & masses, white Gypsum, white Chert, purple, blue, yellow, & clear Fluorite.

Now you can still find these minerals and more but they require much more effort to remove & locate them.

Fluorite

The main thing that rockhounds seek at this site is the Fluorite cubes. Any intact cube is a great find but the finds that make rockounds mouth salivate is large purple or clear Fluorite cubes a few cm across. Most cubes here are under 1 cm across, and anything over is a great find. Purple & blue cubes are also quite rare, and even rarer to extract them out of the limestone intact. Some cubes also have an interesting property of having a slightly different color under different light. For example some cubes may look clear under sunlight, but you bring them inside and they might look light blue. Fluorite colors noted here are clear, purple, blue, yellow, and even green.

Sphalerite

It occurs here as light red or dark red/brown crystals, single or in cluster. Most crystals are up to 1 cm in size, and anything over is rare and a great find.

Calcite

Calcite is very plentiful here. It is mostly yellow, to whitish. It occurs as small radiating clusters in the limestone or fills large cavities on parts of exposed boulders. It can be as single double terminated crystal up to 2 cm long or it can be as inter grown cluster masses a few cm long. On the exposed surface it is weathered and more whitish, but on freshly broken limestone it is yellow. It has a tendency to fluoresce yellow/white under short wave UV light, and it is phosphorescent. This is the most easily found crystal at the site.

Dolomite

Dolomite occurs usually as small rhombohedral crystals under 1 cm across. It is usually white or pink in color. It is present mostly as nice clusters in cavities. Sometimes you might find single crystals associated with Fluorite or Sphalerit. The Dolomite does not weather much so most crystal still have a well defined look & color.

Galena

Galena is very rare here. Not many samples have been found and most are really micros a few mm in diameter. It can be associated with Sphalerite.

Fossils & Hydrocarbon

Besides crystals, fossils can be found here also. Some fossils also contain micro crystals of various minerals. Hydrocarbon also occurs as black smudges on the limestone. In very rare cases it can form into a micro black bubble.

Most minerals occur in cavities in the limestone, & if the cavity is visible it can be chiseled away to remove crystals. Some of the most aesthetic looking pieces are small crystal cavities that were removed intact. Not easily done, but achievable. Interesting enough the rock in some boulders is full of large vugs that are devoid of crystal, but in small tight vugs they can be loaded with them. Guess the crystals aren't claustrophobic.

Those above are the most common minerals at this site.

Here is a complete mineral list.
Calcite
Celestine
Dolomite
Fluorite
Galena
Gypsum
Selenite
Pyrite
Sphalerite

Collecting

Collecting here is not easy, as most samples are encased in the limestone boulders. Most Fluorite cubes are located in the limestone boulders, requiring you to somehow to break them up. Not an easy feat. The rock is very tough, and requires lots of time to locate fluorite on the boulder before you begin hitting at it so you don’t waste half a day smashing a boulder to bits and finding nothing. Overall locating a fluorite bearing boulder is not difficult, you usually can notice some fluorite fragment on the sides of the boulder, or some purple if purple fluorite can be found there.

Most people collect here by chipping a boulder apart with chisel & mallet, sledge, or other heavy tools. Some have powered portable saws that can greatly help reducing a boulder to rubble. It is also a good idea to work in a team, as you will become quickly tired from hitting pure limestone.

Despite of there only being less then 10% of the original material left, the remaining boulders are very plentiful with minerals, as long as you are really willing to work for them.

Before you begin hitting the boulders, try walking around them & around the small loose rock. You might be able to locate loose crystals without having to hit anything.

There are mainly 3 sites in the Montrose Occurrence. The north boulder field, the south dump remains, & the west dump remains. These sites are all oriented around the big hill west of Montrose road (if you drive by you can’t miss the hill).

The north boulder field is where most of the collecting occurs. Its located just east of the big hill & across from Kinsmen Crescent road. It is here where a vast majority of the minerals can be found.

Close-up to north boulder field. The big hill is in the background.


North boulder field seen from the top of the big hill. Not to bad a view.


The south dump remains, are located just south of the north boulder field & it continues beyond the most southern section of the big hill. It’s a flat area that was some small rock pieces. If you don’t want to chip at a massive boulder this is the place to start first. Most pieces are small and movable, but due to the lack of material collecting can be spotty, you may need to dig.

The South Dump remains, you can see the smaller material here. Located beside Montrose road.


South Dump remains, directly south of the big hill.


South Dump Remains looking toward Mcleod road.


The last site is the west dump remains. Its located just west of the big hill. Most of the stuff there is similar to the south dump remains, except its spread over a larger area and more large boulders are present. Collecting here can also be spotty.

Collecting here during the rain is very messy, as the soil can become very thick mud. Wear rubber boots when wet!

Here are some mineral samples from this site.

Large purple Fluorite in a vug. (main Fluorite cube is 3 x 3.5 x 3 cm.)


Clear & honey color Fluorites. (Cubes ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 cm long)


Clear Fluorite cubes. (main cube is 1.1 x 1 cm)


Yellow Calcite growth on limestone. (8 x 6.5 cm)


Red Sphalerite & clear Fluorite. ( Sphalerite is 1.3 cm long)


Red Sphalerite cluster. (2.1 cm long)


Large clear Selenite. (11.8 x 8.4 cm)


White dolomite with yellow calcite. (8.1 cm long)


A small metallic Galena. (1 cm across)


Summary:

Advantages:
1.) Many mineral to be found.
2.) Site is very easy to locate.
3.) Parking is very close.
4.) Mineral samples reserve is still high.
5.) Well crystallized crystal can be found.

Disadvantages:
1.) Site will soon be inaccessible due to construction of supermarket. Can begin at any time.
2.) Crystals are hard to remove intact.
3.) Hard collecting, most well formed crystals are in the limestone boulders that need to be chipped at.
4.) Very muddy when wet.

This is a great site, worth returning to again and again. Just be aware that in can become inaccessible anytime so be aware of any new signs on the property when you arrive there. Construction can begin anytime. Now just so you know, if you are chipping at boulders on the north boulder field and you seen passer-by’s across the street giving you an odd long look, don’t worry. This is not Bancroft where rockhounds are as common as mosquitoes. Just let them go by knowing that you are seeking great crystals. Also make sure that you collect only on the west side of Montrose road, as the other side is city property and collecting is forbidden. Rockhound safe & with determination.

Reference:
- Andrew Johns, information on Montrose Occurrence.
- Maggie Wilson, information on the occurrence and initial revealing Montrose to the
Mindat community.
- Mindat, Montrose occurrence mineral list
- Mindat members community, for sharing knowledge, pictures, & info on the Montrose occurrence