My second stop during my visit Feb 21, 2008 was to the New Britain area. My daughter Hannah and I went for a ride heading north from Middletown on RT 9 to RT 72 west. So we left the older crystalline metamorphic terrane and entered the Connecticut Valley, which is composed of Triassic/ Jurassic red beds and sediments and basalt flows. When in the Westfield area I saw some major blasting going on in the Basalt flows. I only had access to one construction site where the basalt was blasted and strewn (graded) over a lot. I took a quick look and found the basalt to be bland with not much mineralization except for some small vugs.
Then we headed out to the Berlin Turnpike which follows the Hamden Basalt and north east trending faults. I had some success in the past watching the construction in this area. I had found smoky and amethystine quartz, and barite. But not today. So we continued to Fenn Rd., Newington where there had been a housing development recenty finished. I had seen this using MSN maps.com but I arrived to late. In the past I had found nice quartz xl which were “Herkimer like” biterminated, milky, with amethystine hints about 2 cm, massive barite veins, chalcopyrite and coatings of malachite and azurite. Today I found just one piece of crystallized barite. It was a teaser.
I was speaking to Russ Behnke and Harold Moritz this week who had already been to these areas when they where active. They also told me about the article in the lastest Rock and Mineral magazine, issue Vol. 83, Number 2 / March-April 2008 written by Jeff Scoville. I refer this as the best synopsis of the local geology of the New Brtiain area that I have read. Russ and Harold have been collecting in the New Britain and surrounding areas which expose the Quartz Carbonate Barite veins . They have been able to acquire some of the best specimens from this area. Some of the best collecting was during the blasting during the construction of RT 9/72 near Ellis Street, New Britain. But if the ground is openned up for any construction any where the faults persist there are possibilities.
Hannah and I finished at a new construction quarry on South street, just south of Ellis street off of Route 9 in New Britain. In the short time there I managed to smash my finger between two rocks. This is why you should never climb on a pile of loose rocks unless you want some injuries. I cracked my nail, which didn’t stop me since it was the last day to go rock collecting before the snow again. I figured I paid in blood so the rocks owed me one. I managed to get some samples of the minerals in spite of the finger. I knew I was loosing the nail but the finger wasn’t broken because I could still handle the 3 ½ lb sledge and the inside of my finger didn’t hurt bad.
The next day New England had its biggest snow storm and I was headed back to the real snow in Canada in two days. So it was worth it. And I’m getting a new nail now.
Here are some of the finds. Although they weren’t the best representations of the area I was able to take some nice photos:
This is a plate of calcite xls on dolomite.

A piece of vein material with a vug filled with rhombohedral xls and some chalcopyrite
Specimen of amethyst formed in a vug of Hamden basalt.

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