Any rockhounds on CPF?

How many rockhounds are out there, and what state are you in? Do you belong to a club?

Arlen

What's a rockhound? Sounds like either somebody that collects rocks, or somebody that climbs on them. Is one of my guess a winner?

I've always had an interst in rocks, geology, fossils and the like (especially with all the gold here in Alaska!). Never really made the time to do a lot of hunting.

Having lived in Arizona for 6 years, dabble a little in the desert "hunting". Fun and interesting (found toooo many rattlesnakes, scorpions, & gila monsters though!!).

I've got "something interesting" that I found on top of the ground in Arizona. I thought it may be a meteorite, coprolite (petrified dino turd), petrified dino gallstone, but I'm not really sure. It looks like a petrified blackberry, but has a dark polished color of iron oxide. It's not magnetic... I found it in an area where a LOT of indian artifacts are found.

The other crystal shaped "polished granite looking" stones were pretty much all found in a small area here in Alaska where some crushed ballast had been spread about. Any idea what they could be?


Size comparison.

Meteorite, coprolite, dino gallstone? Looks like a little brain!?

Note the spot where some has "chipped out".

Crystaline granite what?

I'm a rockhound also!

I have a particular interest in fluorescent rocks & minerals but I'm also interested in rocks inm general. Like Sigman I've spent time in Arizona looking for rocks (mostly fluorescent ones). Using my shortwave UV lamp I've found several interesting rocks there, including a calcite or fluorite that glows a deep burgundy that was simply everywhere, all the way from Tucson to Phoenix and probably beyond.

I'd love to find some fluorescent samples! Now I'm going to have to get out and "hunt"!

I was astonished to find that some of the calcite-looking rocks in front of my old house were actually phosphorescent. They exhibited a bluish-white afterglow following exposure to shortwave UV.

In general the most spectacular results happen with shortwave UV, although there are a smaller number of minerals that glow brightly under longwave UV (ordinary blacklight).

If you're interested in getting started with fluorescent rocks, Edmund Scientific has a nice fluorescent mineral sampler kit . There's about 3 pounds of spectacular specimens in there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

My wife has done that on occasion.

Siggy-

I'd say that your petrified blackberry is a manganese nodule.

Rub it on the back of a piece of hard, white ceramic tile and see what color the streak is. If it is black, or slightly brownish black,rather than reddish brown, or brownish yellow that narrows it down to VERY likely being a manganese oxide mineral... Pyrolusite, psilomelane, cryptomelane, hollandite etc. or a mixture thereof. (need to do a spectrograph, AA or microprobe to tell for sure... and it doesn't really matter for anything but purely scientific purposes).

The triangular shaped things aren't crystals per se; most likely a "ventifact" called a dreikanter.

I'm not a rockhound, but I was a professional mineral / gemstone miner and seller for about 12 years. I've forgotten 90% of the mineralogy, gemology and geology I ever knew, but can sometimes dredge up a few thoughts about it.....

Very interesting find, sigman. I think Silviron nailed the ID! I've only been interested in the hobby for a couple of years, but already have aquired a fair amount of decent cutting material. I also mount many of the cut and polished stones (cabochons) in sterling silver.
(anyone one want to trade a light for jewelery)LOL

If anyone has material for sale or trade, let me know.

Arlen

Well, I have quite a few more of the "Strange Alien Crystaline Objects" (SACOs) for short! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<font color="blue">"dreikanter—A ventifact with three edges and three facets formed by wind abrasion.
Conditions of formation seem to require regions having scanty vegetation, strong winds, and sand and pebbles as a common surface cover. They occur in many parts of the Arctic, particularly in periglacial regions. As such they are used as tentative indicators of past conditions, both climatic and geological."</font>

They were definitely found in a "glacial region" (Portage Glacier specifically - about 40 miles south of Anchorage). But why would I have soooo many with approximately the same size & shape? Some are more of a 3d rhombus/trapezoidal shape, but I found more of the triangular ones.

Gotta try and find some white ceramic tile somewhere around here...

You'd be surprised the consistency that Gaia /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif can produce upon occasion.

It is POSSIBLE that they are in fact "artfacts" and formed by hand grinding by aboriginal residents of the area for some inscrutable reason... (Athabascan Checkers???) ... But I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

If they were MUCH larger (fist sized or larger) , and only a few of them, I'd say they could be "Manos" used for grinding corn etc. in a "Metate". I've seen a few of those that looked very much like your pebbles both material. shape and finish.

And I can 99.97523% promise you they aren't actual crystals. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Isn't "kryptonite" green? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just as green as my envy of all the nice lights you CPF old timers have squirreled away!LOL

One of the oddest things I ever found was a manganese (or similar iron) nodule shaped exactly like a minature &rect p*nis! It's about an inch and a half long and even has a very prominent vein on the underside! No, I'm not lying!! I will try to take a pic of it soon. I about fell over when I brushed the dirt off of it!

After a recent trip to a "mine" (really a tourist attaction) in Gatlinburg TN where our boys enjoyed panning for gems, Mrs. Powernoodle ordered a tumbler/polisher off the internet.

Any good websites or tips for using one of these things?

best regards

Whenever I'm waling around in the woods I'm always keeping my eye out for interesting rocks, especially around the creek beds. It's interesting to look into the edges of the beds and see the strata of rock layers. It speaks volumes of how long it took to make those layers.

[ QUOTE ]
powernoodle said:
After a recent trip to a "mine" (really a tourist attaction) in Gatlinburg TN where our boys enjoyed panning for gems, Mrs. Powernoodle ordered a tumbler/polisher off the internet.

Any good websites or tips for using one of these things?

best regards

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi powernoodle.

There is an excellent site where MRJames, a good friend of mine hangs out. http://www.rocktumblinghobby.com It is a very good site and has a great forum with very helpfull memebrs.

I would be glad to answer any questions as well. Pm me for my e mail

Arlen

I could have been considered a "rockhound" in my younger days. I remember having a pretty large piece of ...o what's the name of that metal now.../ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif...somewhat poisonous...ahh ANTIMONY, plus some cupric oxide and galena, various sizes of quartz crystals, along with several geodes.

What I have now pretty much amounts to a smattering of fluorescent minerals that fluoresce under longwave UV (not under UVC), and a gold-colored quartz crystal...guess I'd better get a photograph of that and post it here...BBS...

Sterling silver. Are you using premade mountings or making your own or using wire?

I used to do quite a bit back when I was in the jewelry business - mainly repairs, but I did make a few things. The only thing I have left is a blood stone that I mounted in a from-scratch ring. Only silver, no gold. When you can solder sterling silver, you can solder anything. My tumbler was set up with steel shot for cleaning silver pieces.

A long time ago I had a sample of Uranium. They used to sell it alongside the other rocks & minerals at the natural history museum. That sample is long gone now (somebody swiped it, I think). Served 'em right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonWrangler said:
A long time ago I had a sample of Uranium...That sample is long gone now (somebody swiped it, I think)...

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe they'll have "involuntary uranation" now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif