Best of Connecticut

And for those Strickland fans, here's some gypsum (FOV is 13mm wide). Formed on schist with abundant jarosite, from the breakdown of pyrite or pyrrhotite (the latter is abundant in the schist around the pegmatite). Specimen was dealer-labeled "pickeringite" but that's soluble and my test fragment is happily sitting in water now for 3 days - besides, pickeringite is fibrous. Gypsum is much more common in Connecticut than folks are aware, things like pickeringite and melanterite that appear in the older literature invariable turn out to be gypsum when I obtain and test a specimen. Anyplace where you have heavy yellow staining from iron sulfide weathering is a likely place for secondary gypsum - it will appear as little drusy crystals on outcrops or on mine openings.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 06:47AM by Rock Currier.

Harold (Fritz, if I may be so bold), that's a great photo of what was so common at Cinque. I have tried to get similar pictures through my microscope, but a micro-adapter just doesn't get the same clarity. I need a new scope, but that will have to wait. So far, the attached photo is typical of the quality (or, lack therof) that I am getting. It is of goethite on and in quartz from the Cinque Quarry which I collected in 1988, on a trip back to Connecticut after my move to Oregon.

Mickey-
Thanks, you're doing fine, too. You dont necessarily need a new scope, you need to download and use CombineZ so you can get much more of the specimen in focus. You've already got everything you need (microscope, camera, computer), all you need to do is take more images at different focus depths and CombineZ will stitch them together and improve on what you've got, including sharpening up the overall image. All my microphotos are done using it. It's FREE and easy to use! [www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk]

Dave:
Thanks. Here's a closeup of just one of the goethite "caterpillars". There's a radial structure to the fibers, and the "tail" of the caterpillar goes into the calcite. FOV 3.8mm.






Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 06:48AM by Rock Currier.

Fritz, that is very neat. Never seen anything like that.

As for gypsum forming near mine openings, I would like to proceed with you to one of these mines post haste. you know how I like mines.

Lots of gypsum under the ledges at the opening of the upper mine shaft at Old Mine Park, Trumbull. I also collected some many years ago at a former small marble quarry in Danbury or Brookfield which I think was obliterated by the new Route 7. Probably this place: [www.mindat.org]

I found this quartz crystal at the long hill quartz locality about 3 years ago.

Adam, I thought long hill quartz locale was buried? Harold, I've seen a lot of gypsom like that at The Linkpot cut (one which I couldn't resist prying out, despite the location8-) It was just to nice to leave behind!) I have some geothite on calcite from cinque (purchased) like that, but it isn't as fibrous. Yours are awesome!

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!

I was very sorry to read that the Cinque Quarry is long gone. I had many very successful collecting experiences there, although I must admit that working down into the quarry floor was tough going. Here are photos of an amethyst "nodule" collected in 1984, showing how it looked before splitting, and then after.
The intact piece measured c. 9 cm x 9cm before splitting.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2011 10:59PM by Mickey Marks.

Your picture of the goethite on calcite I suspect is epitaxial overgrowth on the calcite crystal and present on the three main pyramidal faces of the calcite. Similar to their larger cousins that are sometimes called "skunks" from Uruguay.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

I found this garnet near the swanson quarry on the hill below the dumps.

Rock:
Yes, there is an image of all the caterpillars earlier in the thread. There are skunks from Cinque also, though much smaller than Uruguay's, I still need to photograph the one I have.

Nice pieces I found near Biermann (Bethel) quarries.

Planned many a field trip to Connecticut using this book as a young lad and made it to a majority of the collecting locations mapped out by the author. It's fun to pull it of the shelf here once and a while and re-spark memories of rock collecting as a wide eyed kid in the 1960's.

Nice book Jay.....

Prehnite on quartz from the Route 20 Road Cut in East Granby.

Thats a nice prehnite Geoffrey!!::o Here is a beryl that I collected at Leadmine Brook.

Jay, I cut my collecting teeth with that book also. It was a great help in finding good localities to dig. Sadly, most of them are closed now.

I recently borrowed a ten page article on Copper Mining in Connecticut written by E.M. Hurlbert for the Connecticut Quarterly magazine in 1897. I thought it was a good read and that some of the dyed in the wool Connecticut collectors here would also enjoy reading it. I took photos of each page and posted them in a file on my photobucket space. For those interested here's the link. You can either read it on line or download the pages and print them out.
[s290.photobucket.com]

This article is in the public domain and has no copyright issues.

Although the original topic was for minerals, I like seeing these books and articles too. They are just as important as the specimens.

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!