Looking for info on minerals in my locality...

I live in Wrightwood, CA and am interested in the minerals and rocks that can be found mostly within a few miles of town (walking distance). I have collected in places that are 5-10 miles away, but those serpentinite veins REALLY peaked my interest [Galena, Serpentine, Chlorite, pure green Talc, blue (azurite?) and green (Brochantite?) copper-related (?) minerals, Epidote-Zoisite, etc.]. Wrightwood is located in the northeast corner of the San Gabriel Mountains here in southern California.

I spent most of yesterday searching mindat.org and the rest of the Internet trying to find rock and mineral references for my area, but to no avail. There's a few useless blurbs about Wrightwood Rhodonite (which I have found already), and only the slimmest mentions of the products of mines in the non-immediate area. I found a reference for a mineral collector (Jean-Pierre Card) who moved to Wrightwood but perished a few years ago when a huge boulder fell on him during a rockhounding trip (that's quite sad). I've tried to search eBay by typing in "Wrightwood," but all I get are links to the "highly metaphysical" actinolite we have here, and people trying to separate folks from their money.

I did find a couple sites that had some info regarding the basement rocks (esp. metamorphics--schists and gneiss/granite) of this area. Might anyone have knowledge of the types of rocks and minerals that others have found in this corner of the San Gabriels?

The local library should have a copy of Minerals of California (H. Earl Pemberton).



Also do a county search at:
[www.consrv.ca.gov]

I agree with David's suggestion about the Pemberton book, but you also may find some answers at the L. A. County Natural History museum. They have a nice display wall of California specimens although I don't remember exactly what specimens from Wrightwood.

Bob

Another good place to look, and not too far from Wrightwood, is the San Bernardino County museum in Redlands. They have a lot of good specimens of local rocks.

I went to the San bernardino County Museum about 1.5 years ago. Too bad I wasn't so into rocks and minerals then--they did have some fantastic specimens!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2007 03:32AM by storm.

Sounds like you are in an area of high potential. Is your collecting area on a fault or fissure line? What colour is the Zoisite?

Well, I work at an outdoor science school that is about 500 feet from the San Andreas Fault, and my tent--where I sleep--is a little closer. The fault runs across the middle of Heath Canyon, which is where I do most of my collecting. It brings up a little bit of white powdery mineral--which deer and big horn sheep come down to lick (Ca and Mg?) and some moisture into the area, which supports some willows, cottonwoods, sedges and grasses...which is nice for an otherwise bone-dry area.

I've gotten back 2-3 spectra plots that have been labeled "Epidote-Zoisite," so I'm not sure if I have encountered any pure/real Zoisite for sure. But here's a photo of some light brown Epidote that I figure might be Zoisite:

[img.photobucket.com]
[img.photobucket.com]

Sorry about the poor photo quality--it's nighttime right now and the pics were taken under indoor lighting...

My crystals look exactly like these from Norway:

[www.geology.neab.net]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2007 05:27AM by storm.

post removed and placed in the Identity section

storm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2007 05:42AM by storm.

i sue to live in writewood ca. and i use to find thes green stones bye the creek and i tremnebr people use to say u could fins it only in 2 places in the wrold what is this stones called

Storm,
The sad truth is that for most collectors there is not of much interest to collect in the San Gabriel or San Bernardino mountains. Local mineral mavens will jump all over me for this heresy but it is the truth. I fear you will have to range a little further afield than your neighborhood to scratch your field-collecting itch. Visit the Los Angeles County Museum of natural history and look at the specimens in the wall case that has the minerals from California and make some notes of what is interesting. Then contact the curator, Tony Kampf and tell him of your interest. Ask him to hit the museum database for specimens from Los Angeles and San Bernardino and Inyo Counties and give you a hit list of possibilities. They have, I am sure the best and most complete collection of specimens from these areas. Pimberton's Minerals of California can direct you to many of the localities. If your interest ever extends to the borates from Boron, California or the Death Valley reagon, rattle my cage and I may be able to help.
Rock Currier

Hello Everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I pass on that Storm passed away earlier this year while visiting in the Olympic National Park.

I had the pleasure to work with Storm at the Olympic Park Institute where I conduct the majority of my educational talks on Minerals and Fossils. Storm was one of OPI's outdoor educators and was especially loved by the children he taught. My wife and I had the pleasure of enjoying his caring, sharing spirit first hand when conducting our Far Out Fossils, Crystals and Minerals family field course a few years ago. Storm was one of my assistants and was constantly surrounded by enthusiastic fascinated children. Recently, Storm wrote an article in Rock & Gem magazine titled, "The Natural Lapidary, Sculpting Soft Stone Using Stone-Age Techniques". This appeared in the August 2007 issue, Vol. 37, No. 8, pages 50 - 56.

Storm will be dearly missed. He was an educator, he collected and shared his passions freely and he was my friend. May he rest in peace.

John Cornish

Wow...

How sad, I was just thinking about sending him an e-mail yesterday.