Best Of California Minerals

Molybdenite on Epidote and Quartz Matrix. Self Collected from near Garnet Hill, Calaveras County, California.

Two partial Scheelite crystals locked in Quartz from a much larger piece that was broken down with some help from a friend. Self Collected from Garnet Hill, Calaveras County, California. The first picture was taken while using short wave UV light. The sulfide mass found on the side and shown in the second photo is approximately 1.5 x 2.5 cm.

Hello I have a question for Jay: You posted a picture of "Phantom Quartz" Could you explain why it's called that? I have a HUGE amount of quartz crystals that I found in my Dad's backyard in Newcastle Placer County that kinda look like that.... here are a couple I had right next to me at the moment.

This is not a beautiful piece, but this one from Sonoma County has become one of my California favorites. I bought this when Gene & Sharon Cisneros were selling the Ed Oyler collection; it's a combination of indigo needles of glaucophane with crystallized jadeite.

Glaucophane with jadeite

Eventually I need to reshoot this piece to get a better view. (Maybe sooner than later... I just bought my wife a macro lens for her birthday tomorrow. Unselfishly, of course, as I know she'll get lots of use out if it no matter how often minerals happen to end up under the rig.) I just love the color of the glaucophane and the idea of jade crystals!

Signed up for next year's MinDat conference & field trip a few minutes ago. Yee-hah!

D.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2011 05:25AM by Don Windeler.

Dave, thanks for sharing your California specimens. I always wanted to collect at Thompson Peak even though I have a bunch or nice material from there gleaned from old collections.

Jilie, here's a link that will answer your question. [en.wikipedia.org]
What fun to have your own personal crystal dig on family land!

Don, Nice glaucophane with jadeite.

Smithsonite,Smithsonite claim, Cerro Gordo District, Inyo Mts (Inyo Range), Inyo Co., California. Measures 8 x 4 x 4 cm.


Andalusite Var. Chiastolite, Daulton's Ranch, Madera Co., California. Measures 11 x 6.5 x 3.5 cm.


Barkevikite Near Dallas Gem Mine, San Benito Co., California. Measures 10 x 7 x 4.5 cm.

You are welcome Jay. I have enjoyed posting and seeing what else California has to offer. Here are a few more Self Collected thumbnails from Thompson Peak. They are all from the S.P. Pit named after the late Steve Pullman who I believe found it. The first is Schorl with small greenish Fluoroapatite crystals on Quartz matrix. The second is a lustrous bundle of Schorl and the last is Schorl in/on Quartz crystals. In my opinion, the best material was float and there wasn't much of that. The pieces dug out of the pit tended to be very weak.

Here are two views of some Self Collected Quartz (variety Amethyst) from the Kingston Range, San Bernardino County, California. I have other pieces, but prefer this one for its color and slight phantom. I remember my friend and I saw large paw prints (not from a Dog, but maybe a Mountain Lion?) in the snow and boot prints along the same line up the valley. At the time I wondered if the cat was being hunted or if the hiker/collector was being followed....





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2011 04:12AM by David Lowe.

Julie, here are three views of a smoky Quartz phantom inside a clear Quartz crystal. I collected this during a pay dig from Crystal Tips Mine on Petersen Mountain which is technically on the Nevada side of the border with California. Someone marked a large rock on top of the mountain to show where the border crosses. It is very close and I think people have collected on the CA side for decades.

I wish I had crystals in my backyard.....

Two more Self Collected samples from Petersen Mountain. My slightly deflated American Football: a doubly terminated dark smoky Quartz crystal with a flattened contact face on the bottom side which you can't see and one of my better smoky Quartz crystal points. These came out of the same pocket. Thank you Paul and Foster and the guys at the dig! I should have used the wooden chopsticks more. The thin blue Nitrile gloves that I brought worked fairly well. My knees were killing me by the end of the day even after using knee pads.

Wow, I am loving the beautiful specimens everyone! Nice pieces!

Here is glaucophane from Laytonville Quarry, Laytonville, Coastal Range, Mendocino Co., California, USA.



This is Asbestiform Tourmaline Var Indicolite from Blue Lady Mine, Chihuahua Valley, Warner Springs District, San Diego Co., California.



This one is aurichalcite and hemimorphite from Blue Bell claims (Hard Luck claims), Baker, San Bernardino Co., California.
A friend and I were walking through a field of rocks there and she was complaining there were no specimens (she was strolling, not even looking) and I told her that not all crystals land right side up. She then bent over, grabbed this piece and said, 'like this, you mean?'. I threatened- er, I mean I asked her nicely and she gave it up to me!



Thanks again to Jay for starting this thread, and to everyone for the beautiful posts!!

Corie

Self Collected piece of tactite rock with Garnet (species Andradite) crystals from Fresno County, California.

A big thanks to others who choose to post to this thread. I know that there are a lot of California pieces still out there waiting to be photographed and many people that would like to see them.

Three more thumbnail size Self Collected specimens from Fresno County, California: Garnet on Matrix. Terminated Epidote crystal. Garnet with broken Epidote crystal.

Green and purple Tourmaline crystal with white Albite (variety Cleavelandite). It is fractured on top and bottom, but clean around. The purple is replaced with a root beer brown on the bottom side. It barely fits into a Perky box. Sorry, I couldn't manage to take a better photo. I collected this by screening/washing the material in the piles at Lake Henshaw that were brought down from the Himalaya Mine, San Diego County, California. I would have preferred to dig through the original dumps, but that wasn't an option at the time and probably still isn't.

Another Self Collected thumbnail of Pyritohedrons in matrix from the Main Anaconda Dump in Darwin, Inyo County, California. The BAM group had special permission to collect for one day. I remember a few of us continued even when the rain was coming at us sideways. Thankfully this didn't last.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2011 09:35PM by David Lowe.

Self Collected Forsterite (variety Peridot) on volcanic matrix from Dish Hill, near Amboy, San Bernardino County, California. I think I still have much larger pieces of this material and vials filled with individual Peridot crystals (nothing large enough to facet). This is on the original Route 66 Highway and there is a huge shield painted on the road that looks great in a photo. Unfortunately, I can't locate it right now.

Another close-up photo of a thumbnail that I collected from the AO Prospect, San Bernardino County, California. This site was named after the late Al Ordway. There are shiny gray Vanadinite crystals on what I think is pale green botryoidal Mottramite. A normal digital camera was used not a microscope so please forgive the quality.

Green Epidote acicular crystal bundles on pearly white Albite. Self Collected from the M.T. Pit No.1, Thompson Peak, Plumas County, California. This site was named after the late Jeanne Mager and one of my friends Chuck Trantham, "M" and "T".

One last Self Collected specimen from the M.T. Pit No.1, Thompson Peak, Plumas County, California. A dark smoky Quartz crystal with Albite. Two close-up views showing ends: green Epidote crystal bundles and small purple Axinite-(Fe) crystals.

Axinite-(Fe) and Allanite aren't listed for this locality on Mindat, but they are there. The Epidote crystal bundles can sometimes be found in columns more than two fingers thick and hand length. These are very aesthetic in my opinion and appear to be crystalline organic forms.

Thought I'd add my pirssonite to this thread...


Regards
Steve

It's great seeing other peoples California minerals here, Keep the posts coming!!!

Barite, Palos Verdes, Los Angles Co., California. Measures 8 x 4 x 3 cm.


Epidote, Genesee Valley, Plumas Co., California. Measures 5 x 4 x 2.5 cm.


Mountain Leather, Drum Valley, Tulare Co., California. Measures 5.5 x 4 x 1 cm.