Fanwood Quarry (Fanwood Stone Crushing and Quarry Co. Quarry; Fanwood Crushed Stone Co. Quarry; Scotch Plains Quarry; Weldon Quarry), Watchung, Somerset Co., New Jersey, USA
Latitude: 40°39'39"N
Longitude: 74°24'24"W
A large quarry in the Orange Mountain (First Watchung) basalt, which has been owned and operated by the Weldon family since the 1890's. Mineralization principally occurs in cavities within three amygdaloidal horizons, in fractures, in breccia pockets of the scoria, and in isolated cavities, sometimes large, in the interior of the flows. These latter structures are probably related to cooling of the lava. Locally, structures have been observed in mostly weathered outcrops of the scoriaceous basalt just below the basal part of the third flow unit, that may be pillows or, more likely, pah hoe hoe toes.
On first observation the abundant mineralization in this quarry is very apparent and the immediate impression is that it exudes potential. In fact, good specimens are much harder to find here than in they were in the equivalent horizon in the nearby Summit Quarry. So many of the amygdules are partially filled with a scoria-like material that open spaces tend strongly to be restricted in size and exhibit a geometry that makes specimen extraction difficult.
References
Mineral Industry of New Jersey for 1926: 10.
Manchester, J.G. (1931) The Minerals of New York City & Its Environs. New York Mineralogical Club Bulletin, 3: 91.
Cummings, W. (1987) Mineralization at the Fanwood and Summit Quarries, New Jersey. Rocks & Minerals: 62: 150-59.
Imbriacco III, F.A. (2010) Fanwood Quarry, Somerset County, New Jersey. Mineralogical Record: 41: 161-174.
Mineral List
23 entries listed. 16 valid minerals.
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