The largest, hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States, Death Valley provides stunning views of a vast desert that includes incredible geological sites you won’t see anywhere else. It is truly exceptional.

Geologic Forces in Death Valley National Park

“The number of geologic forces at work in Death Valley makes it unique,” says David Blacker, executive director of the Death Valley Natural History Association. “Erosion, faulting, the pull of the basin and range formations — add a double rain shadow (an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region), and you get a unique landscape that has to be seen to believe.”

Death Valley’s features include deep valleys, high mountains and a variety of unusual rock formations that have developed over millennia. To stand in Death Valley is to look through a window into the past.

“The earliest Death Valley rocks were sedimentary, and deposited about 2.5 billion years ago, while the area we know as Death Valley was under a shallow sea,” says Blacker. “Ten million years, ago Death Valley was a Lowland Basin with grasslands. Of course, over that time it has become much more arid, and the double rain shadow has locked it in as the hottest and driest place in North America.”

Exploring Death Valley National Park

While it can take years of backcountry exploration to discover all the geological wonders of Death Valley National Park, a handful of spectacular sites provide vehicle access to visitors who want to get a taste of what this amazing place has to offer.

Artists Palette

One of the easiest to get to and most beautiful spots in Death Valley National Park is the Artists Palette. Made up of hills splashed with the colors of red, green, orange, yellow, purple, pink and blue, the Artists Palette was created from volcanic deposits rich in iron oxides and chlorite. Iron compounds produce red, pink and yellow colors, while the decomposition of tuff-derived mica produces green. Manganese produces purple and blue.

Formed during the Miocene age, the hills are made of cemented gravel, playa deposits and volcanic debris, which is 5,000 feet thick in places. The colors were created by chemical reactions during various forms of weathering.

The hills themselves were formed by water erosion and can be viewed from the ninemile Artists Palette Drive, a winding, paved road that gives visitors a chance to experience this phenomenon up close. The best time to see the hills is at sunrise and sunset when the angled sunlight provides brighter colors on the rocks—although the colors are stunning at any time of day. Nearby salt flats and the striking Black Mountains are also visible from the road.

Zabriskie Point

Most visitors to Death Valley National Park go to Zabriskie Point to take in the views of the surrounding landscape at sunrise and sunset. But those interested in the site’s geological treasures will appreciate this spot at any time of the day.

The badlands visible from Zabriskie Point make up the 7,000-foot thick Furnace Creek Formation, which consists of saline muds, gravels from nearby mountains, and ash from the once-active Black Mountain volcanic field. The formation appears as tan-colored sandstone and clay rocks showing deep erosion, with dark-colored rocks on the ridgelines that were created by volcanic eruptions. Look to the west and you will see Red Cathedral, a geological formation of steep cliffs composed of red-colored oxidized sandstone.

Zabriskie Point is easily accessible to visitors, with a large parking area just off the main park road and a short walk to a vista point. To avoid the crowds, plan to see it in the middle of the day since most people visit Zabriskie Point at dawn and dusk.

Badwater Basin

The lowest point on the North American Continent, Badwater Basin is more than just an anomaly at its depth of 282 feet below sea level. It is also an endorheic basin, which means water that gathers here does not flow to any external bodies of water. Over tens of thousands of years, water that collected here only left the basin through evaporation. The result is a 200-square-mile basin floor made up of mostly sodium chloride—table salt—with calcite, gypsum and borax thrown in. This accumulated sediment and salt is more than 11,000 feet deep.

You can view the expanse of this snow white salt from a platform just off Badwater Road, or venture onto it by walking on a boardwalk that stretches one mile across the basin floor. The cliffs of the Black Mountains are just behind you to the east, and you’ll see a marker on a cliff showing how far you are standing below sea level. To your west, the towering 11,039-foot Telescope Peak rises out of the valley floor, giving you a dramatic perspective you won’t see anywhere else in North America.

Be sure to look into the tiny and highly salinized spring located near the beginning of the boardwalk. It is home to the Badwater snail, an endangered fish that lives nowhere else on Earth.

Ubehebe Crater

Located in the northern section of Death Valley National Park, the Ubehebe Crater is a 600-foot-deep hole in the ground. Caused by a volcanic eruption that took place about 2,000 years ago, the half-mile diameter crater is the product of a maar (explosion pit) volcano. The Ubehebe Crater resulted when molten lava came into contact with groundwater at about 200 feet below the surface. The heat from the lava caused the water to flash into steam, creating incredible pressure that built up and exploded outward, leaving the massive crater in its wake.

As you drive from North Highway up to the Ubehebe Crater parking area, you’ll see cinders from other similar volcanic explosions covering much of the surrounding area. Just north of Ubehebe and other surrounding craters, you can see cinders on the dry bed of ancient Lake Rogers, located on the valley floor. The cinders covering most of the area came from the Ubehebe Crater, and are 50 feet thick at the crater rim.

Colorful layers in the crater’s eastern wall are the result of the explosion. The alluvial fan inside the crater includes fanglomorate, as well as sandstone and older conglomerate deposits, loosely cemented together by calcite. Most of the rock inside the crater is either volcanic or metamorphic.

The moderate, 1.5-mile Ubehebe Rim Trail loops the rim of the crater and provides views of the sedimentary layers left behind by the explosion. If you want to get closer to the interior of the crater, a more rugged trail descends to the bottom.

Racetrack Playa

Since Death Valley National Park’s creation in 1933, both visitors and scientists have wondered over the phenomenon of the Racetrack Playa. This level, dry lakebed is home to rocks made from dolomite and syenite—the same minerals found in the surrounding mountains. The rocks weigh from a few ounces to several hundred pounds and are called the Sailing Stones because they show evidence of movement across the dry lake bed. While observers have not seen the rocks actually moving, trails in the mud-cracked sediment and changes in the rocks’ location indicate they are anything but stationary.

In 2014, scientists conducted research that seems to explain what makes the rocks move. Water coming down off the adjacent mountains settles in the lakebed, and then freezes, creating a thin layer of ice. When slight winds blow while the ice is present, the rocks slide, leaving a trail in the mud.

Although this may have solved the mystery, the Racetrack Playa is still a sight to behold. Head there from Ubehebe Crater, which is several miles to the north. You’ll need a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance to drive the road that leads to the Racetrack from Furnace Creek, and is only recommended in the wintertime.

Death Valley National Park – A Rockhound Destination

When it comes to geological wonders, few places on Earth can compete with the splendor of Death Valley National Park. Not only it is a spectacular destination for rock hounds, it’s also a goldmine for researchers who want to learn about the geological history of the planet.

“The climatic conditions make it an ideal geologic laboratory because the lack of vegetation makes it so there is little to obscure rock characteristics,” says geologist Gregg Wilkerson, co-author of Roadside Geology and Mining History of Death Valley. “Over the next million years, the pull-apart basin will continue to grow, the valley will get broader and the mountains will get higher.”

Death Valley has been around since long before humans walked the Earth, and will likely still be there after we are gone. Spending some time in this amazing place will leave you with a sense of awe that will last a lifetime.

This story about the geology of Death Valley previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story and photos by Audrey Pavia.

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What’s in a Firework?

Fireworks have an outside shell that’s called a mortar. It can be made of many things including cardboard, papier-mache or plastic.

Inside the mortar are compartments. The bottom compartment is filled with black powder (potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur) that will be the fuel for the firework.

The top compartment contains the pyrotechnic stars that make the colors and shapes we love to see. The stars are made of a fuel that burns and minerals and metals pressed together provide the color. The way the stars are arranged in the mortar provides the shape of the firework, like ovals, stars or rectangles.

Lighting the Fuse

While today’s fireworks have gotten more technical, a basic firework still contains just two fuses. There’s a fuse hanging from the firework.

That’s what is lit first. The firework flies into the sky and as the burning fuse reaches the bottom compartment, it ignites an internal fuse that makes the mortar explode.

Firework Colors

These colors come from single minerals and metals:

Blue is provided by copper (Cu) from chalcopyrite.

Green is provided by barium (Ba) from barite.

Red is provided by strontium (Sr) from celestite.

Yellow is provided by sodium (Na) from halite (rock salt).

These colors are made by mixing minerals and metals:

Orange = strontium (Sr) + halite (Na)

Lavender = strontium (Sr) + copper (Cu)

Silver = titanium (Ti) + zirconium (Zr) + magnesium (Mg)

Firework Effects

Firework colors, sizes and shapes are dazzling, but the special effects step up the game. Here are a few favorite effects and the minerals that make them.

Iron Filings (magnetite and hematite) + Charcoal = Gold Sparks Aluminum Flakes = Flashes Showering Down Aluminum Powder (bauxite) = Loud Bangs & Bright Flashes

Fireworks Road Trip

You can visit the world’s largest geode on Put-in-Bay Island in Ohio. There you descend 40 feet into a beautiful geode made of celestite, a strontium sulfate mineral and the source of the red color in fireworks. The geode is located at Heineman’s Winery and was discovered in 1897 while digging a well for the winery. It saved the winery during prohibition as the winery couldn’t sell wine, but could sell tours of the geode. The blueish-white celestite crystals vary in size from mere inches up to three feet wide. The interior of the original cave was much smaller, but some crystals were mined over the years.

Fireworks in History

Fireworks were made out of paper or bamboo in China 2000 years ago. They weren’t the beauties we have today. They produced only a flash and smoke when ignited.

The shape of modern fireworks mortars is similar to an ice cream cone. This mortar shape was started by the Italians in the 1830s. Credit also goes to the Italians for the invention of colored fireworks.

Be Careful!

Fireworks are beautiful, but they are also dangerous. If you are a kid, never handle fireworks alone!

Each year injuries to kids and adults are reported from accidents with fireworks. Be sure to leave fireworks to the grown-ups to handle. Best yet, go with your friends and family to enjoy a fireworks display and leave the danger to those trained for it.

This story about how do fireworks get their color previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Pam Freeman.

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An Offer to Visit a Chrysoprase Mine

It happened that my friend Randy Polk, a top jewelry artist, was at a show looking for gem material with “gumdrop colors.” He found a dealer selling fine chrysoprase stone. The dealer also owned the chrysoprase mine and was looking for someone to help with publicity.

Randy told him about the articles I was doing for Rock and Gem. The owner, Ellie Christianos, got in touch with me and offered to bring Carol and me to Australia to visit the mine and write about it.

It took me a few seconds to say “Yes!”

Two months later we were at the mine.

Australian Chrysoprase

It may have been used by the ancients but the first productive deposit was opened in the Middle Ages in what is now Poland. This is the world’s largest deposit of chrysoprase which occurred in the ultramafic rocks which were the source of the nickel that gives chrysoprase its lovely green color.

The chrysoprase you see today is mainly from Queensland. That’s because the better chrysoprase deposits are in Australia in Queensland in the east and Kookynie near Kalgoorlie in the west.

The deposit near Kookynie was working full bore when I was there but the last I heard it is involved in legal matters and not producing. The mine is in the far Outback about 100 kilometers east of Perth.

Arriving in Australia

Carol and I were met at the Perth airport by Ellie’s lawyer who checked us into an elegant hotel before he took us to Ellie’s penthouse overlooking the Swan River.

After a day in Perth, we were flown to Kalgoorlie, a big gold camp with gorgeous Victorian-style buildings. The gold mine, an open pit and underground workings, was still operating. There our guide rented a car for the two-hour drive out to the mine, dodging kangaroos and emus on the way!

The road was dirt and crossed the outback desert. Many vehicles in the outback have what is called a “roo bar,” a heavy large steel fence-like bumper on the front to protect it from impact with kangaroos or cattle.

Chrysoprase, which is chalcedony with an assortment of nickel salts in it to give it a green color, formed in the thick veins of rock that make up the entire hill. Most of the rock is iron oxide goethite that’s not hard, so mining was relatively simple. They did not use explosives only a D-8 Caterpillar bulldozer with a huge ripping hook or finger on the back.

The ‘cat’ would traverse the hill up one side and down the other ripping up rocks veined with green chalcedony chrysoprase.

Following the ‘Cat’

The rocks were loaded with veins of green chalcedony that were broken into chunks by the dozer. The miners just followed behind the dozer with a hammer and buckets to gather the loose chunks of the green gem. In this way, they had mined tons of chrysoprase and the hill showed no signs of running out of gem material.

To collect, Carol and I followed the ‘cat’ picking and choosing the better dark green specimens and chipping off chunks of the better gem specimens. The only problem I had was choosing which pieces to pick up keeping in mind we were flying back to the U.S.

Once collected by miners, the gem-filled buckets of material were hauled off to another area of the camp and spread out for ease of sorting according to color and quality. The very best gem pieces were set aside for later pricing. The pieces of only good to average color were left in the open and priced lower.

I was told that area held no less than 10 tons of rough waiting for sorting and sale.

Choosing Specimens

When Carol and I had filled our collecting buckets, we took them back to camp and washed the specimens so we could sort through them. I set aside only the better pieces and returned the rest to the company stash. Later I returned to the hill and did more collecting in the untouched areas to get a better idea of the deposit and the material.

Ellie had already told us we could help ourselves. When I finally had what I thought was a fair amount of the best gem rough, I thanked Ellie. He expressed surprise at the small amount of gem chrysoprase I had.

When I mentioned my luggage problem, he offered to ship everything to me in Arizona so we added a bit more and he shipped it all.

I did spend some time walking around the area and noted several prospect holes where earlier prospectors had checked the deposit. It was pretty obvious the area was rich in potential as there were veins of chrysoprase exposed.

Visiting an Australian Pub

One evening, the miners asked if we wanted to go to a local pub. They piled us into a big 4×4 with a roobar and off we went at breakneck speed across the desert.

If there was a road I could not see it. We pulled up in front of a shack with a rusty corrugated metal roof and a single gas pump in front. This shack was the pub.

The building had two rooms separated by a liquor bar between them that faced into both rooms. Each side of the bar had four stools occupied by the dirtiest-looking miners I’ve ever seen. They worked in the local gold mine where the dirt and rocks are a rich brick red color. Water was scarce so washing was a sometimes thing. They were great guys, very friendly. They couldn’t stop telling stories and tales. One of them had just married off his daughter so he had to tell us all about the parade and wedding which was interesting in such a desolate area. A couple of dart boards hung on the wall and one wall had a heavy black line painted on it which was the high water mark when they had a rare rain storm. We had quite an evening there!

Chrysoprase Buyers

Another day a buyer from China showed up and spent a lot of time walking over the material in the sorting area. He was looking to make a big purchase. I learned they had two factories in China with about 7,000 women at lapidary machines carving objects of green chrysoprase, which I suspect was passed off as “jade.” I was amazed when he placed an order for 55 tons of the low-to-medium-grade chrysoprase.

When we left Western Australia we stayed in Sidney as Ellie’s guests. We checked out the zoo and the famous opera house then flew on to Hawaii for three days. When Carol and I got home, we immediately shared the chrysoprase with folks in our mineral club and gave the best pieces to Randy Polk who had gotten us the invitation. All in all, it was quite a rock hound trip!

This story about chrysoprase stone previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Bob Jones.

The post Finding Chrysoprase Stone in Australia first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Peter Rose is a geologist with Minerals Management for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He noted the state owns approximately six million acres of mineral rights. “We’re responsible for providing access to those areas for leasing and development and monitoring those activities,” he said.

Removing anything from a national park is illegal, but most Michigan State Parks allow rockhounding and beachcombing. “There is a state law that limits the collection of common variety rocks, stones, minerals and invertebrate fossils to 25 pounds per person per year,” said Rose.

Here are eight beach finds common to Michigan’s varied beaches.

1. Beach Glass

Beach glass comes from discarded glass fragments and is highly collectible.

Mother Nature’s hand smoothes it and often creates a frosted look. Although glass can be found on most beaches, glass found in freshwater is called beach glass whereas the term sea glass is applied to glass shaped by salt water.

“From my experience, beach glass from Lake Michigan has more frost, due to the large in size rocks and massive amounts of them that naturally tumble (the glass) around, making it frosty and smooth,” said Elisa Garfinkel, who makes color-changing mood stones from this variety of glass.

Beach glass is beautiful and can be decades old or more recent in vintage.

“A lot of people dispose of their trash on the beaches and a lot of it accumulates that way,” said Rose. This refuse includes bottles, jars, household items and even glass from shipwrecks. Colors will vary based on the types of glass that entered the water at any given place and time.

“Clear, green and brown are the most common colors. Reds, oranges and blues are more rare,” said Garfinkel. “Clear beach glass is VERY abundant, hence why I started painting it to really make those colors pop.”

2. Leland Blue Stone

Not a stone but actually a slag, Leland blue stone is a byproduct of stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore. Rose said slag is found throughout Michigan where iron smelters were in use in the past, especially in the northern part of the state. Its namesake Leland is an unincorporated town about 25 miles northwest of Traverse City. But, Rose points out, Leland Blue Stone can be found farther south through transportation via lake currents.

“It comes in a variety of different colors including purple, gray and shades of green. It’s essentially glass mixed with chemicals and other materials,” he said. “To some people, it looks like obsidian. People can be fooled into thinking it’s a naturally occurring volcanic glass, but it’s manmade.

It’s also a rare stone because the heyday of the ironworks industry was in the late 1800s. In addition, most blue slag was disposed of in deep bodies of water away from the general population.

3. Petoskey Stone

Both a rock and a fossil, Petoskey stone is Michigan’s state stone. Made from fossilized rugose coral, it is found only in the Alpena limestone strata which is part of the Traverse Group of the Devonian age. The stone is made up of tightly packed, six-sided corallites — the skeletons of the once-living coral polyps that resided in warm shallow waters that covered Michigan 350 million years ago.

The stone was named in honor of Ottawa chief Pet-O-Sega.

“It crops up very close to the surface in the northeast Michigan area of Alpena, as well as in Petoskey and Charlevoix, along that stretch of shore,” Rose noted. “You can find them across the Lower Peninsula. They can also be found in the interior of the state in gravel pits or places where glaciers have helped deposit them.”

Water waves can wear down the fossils and give them a polish. You can only see the pattern on an unpolished Petoskey stone when it is wet. When they’re dry, the rocks look more like a basic grey limestone.

The peak of Petoskey stone hunting is during the spring season once the winter ice sheets begin to disappear.

4. Horn Coral

Michigan possesses a variety of highly sought-after coral fossils. In the scientific world, horn corals are known as rugosa, but collectors renamed the coral to better reflect its appearance. These corals have a unique horn-shaped chamber with a wrinkled (rugose) wall. These extinct creatures were micro-carnivores because they feasted on tiny prey. The corals ranged in size from smaller than an inch to three feet in length.

Paleontologists use horn corals as index fossils to help determine the age of rock strata.

“They look like cornucopias. You can find them — pieces generally — quite easily,” Rose said. “For a good portion of the Paleozoic Era (541-252 million years ago), Michigan was covered by shallow seas. There are thick sequences of limestone. A lot of them are fossiliferous beneath the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and part of the Eastern Upper Peninsula.”

5. Lake Superior Agates

This popular variety of agate, a billion years in the making, has iron-rich bands of color that give it red, orange and yellow hues. These agates can be found weighing more than 20 pounds to as small as a pea.

Rose explained these agates formed when air bubbles were trapped in the lava flow in what is now Lake Superior. When the lava cooled, water made its way into the holes formed by the bubbles, layering in quartz, iron and other minerals in the process. You can identify these agates by their irregular sphere shape.

“People compare (the design) to geodes. You get concentric rings of mineralization,” Rose said. These circles can resemble the rings on the cross-section of a tree.

Agates are dense and smooth and will feel waxy to the touch when rubbed. They may also have a pitted appearance. A completely smooth natural surface is rare.

“You can find agates across an expanse of the Lake Superior shoreline even though they originated toward the west,” he noted. “The lakes play a significant role in erosion and transportation of the sediment.”

Popular locales for finding Lake Superior agates include Little Girl’s Point near Ironwood, Grand Marais, the beaches east and west of Copper Harbor and Misery Bay.

6. Fluorescent Rocks

Commonly found on Lake Superior beaches, collectors often enjoy searching for fluorescent rocks, which glow under ultraviolet light. Rose said a popular variety is the Yooperlite, which was discovered in 2017 by Erik Rintamaki. The stone was carried southward from Canada by glaciers during the last ice age. The presence of sodalite gives it its mystical glow. Rose said the name Yooperlites came because people of this region are often called “Yoopers” which is a take on the “U.P.” initials for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“A lot of loose rocks in Michigan came from glacial drift from further north,” he noted. Syenite pebbles, containing fluorescent sodalite, came from Canada to Michigan by glaciers.

7. Greenstones

Greenstones (Chlorastrolite) are classified as Michigan’s official state gemstone. A type of pumpellyite mineral, it formed in the cavities of basaltic lava from the cooling of gas. It is found in Michigan because of the Midcontinent Rift System, a split in the Earth’s crust that started 1.1 billion years ago. Once the stone is polished it becomes a sparkling green-blue shade sporting turtle shell markings.

Large pieces of greenstone are hard to find. It is generally found as small, rounded pebbles. Beachcombers will encounter it along the Keweenaw Peninsula and throughout the Isle Royale archipelago where it’s regarded as Isle Royale Greenstone.

Since Isle Royale is a national park, rocks there cannot be removed and should instead be admired.

8. Pudding Stones

Pudding stones are a sedimentary conglomerate. These conglomerates have formed into a metamorphic rock known as quartzite. Legend has it, the stone got its name because it resembles raisin or plum pudding — a popular dish with European settlers.

Its base rock is white quartzite, with pebbles of jasper and other dark-hued inclusions. With origins in Canada, the stone was created approximately 2.3 billion years ago and then transported to Michigan in the till of the Laurentide glacier which covered the state roughly 24,000 years ago.

According to Michigan State University, “Because pudding stones are so prevalent to Michigan, the state has developed a small industry of making novelties and knick-knacks out of the rock. Puddingstone jewelry, ornaments, garden decorations and even nightlights made from pudding stones are becoming more and more popular.”

Pudding stones can be found in the east end of the Upper Peninsula particularly on Drummond Island – the second largest freshwater island in the United States. In addition, they can be found between Mackinaw City and Cheboygan.

Tips For Beachcombers

• The best time to search for beach glass is right after a storm when new stones are washed on shore.

• Rocks and fossils are less likely to be found in sandy areas.

• Almost any place with exposed gravel and rocks offers the chance to find Lake Superior agates.

• Many people find it easier to identify agates when the rocks are wet.

• Greenstone can be found in the spoil piles from copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

• Check rules and regulations to ensure you are not illegally removing beach glass, rocks or fossils from a park.

This story about Lake Michigan beaches previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Sara Jordan-Heintz.

The post 8 Rocks Found on Lake Michigan Beaches first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Discovering the Ringing Rocks

While the Ringing Rocks have been around longer than humans, according to a 1933 article in The Montana Standard, the earliest recollection of this area being “found” was when Butte local, R.T. “Kid” Ogle, heard a rock making a melodious tune as his boot hit one of them. Surprised, he tested other rocks with a pick, quickly realizing he stumbled upon a remarkable curiosity. Soon after his discovery, following in the footsteps of many pioneers of early tourism, Ogle led tours to what he dubbed “Ogle’s Volcano.”

Over the years, the land changed hands until the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acquired the area in the mid-1960s, allowing public access, as well as ensuring that the unique rocks wouldn’t be mined for commercial use. Yet, even decades later, it’s one of those backroad secrets mostly only locals know.

Getting to the Ringing Rocks

The challenge, which is typical for Montana, is the area is not easily accessible. Although it’s only four miles from Interstate-90, the single-lane road is rocky, rutted and not where you want to be in the family car.

Visitors quickly notice that this is a popular area for motorbikes and ATVs, which are well-suited for the terrain. And while you can theoretically drive to the base of the boulders with a truck or high-clearance 4WD, thankfully, there are several places to pull out along the way for those who would rather walk than be jostled the entire way.

What’s equally interesting is the rocks themselves look like so many others in the Montana landscape. It’s not until you use your hammer or one of the hand-made versions hanging at the site, that your mind is blown. Ranging from a deep resonance to higher-pitched notes, few other rocks on earth sing like these.

Why do Ringing Rocks Ring?

Realizing that even ancient people sought out these rocks for their acoustic qualities raises the question, once again, about what causes this fascinating characteristic.

“It’s not so simple that there is one specific thing that makes them ring. There are several different factors. There’s still a lot to be figured out,” says Stuart Parker, PhD., a geologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. “It’s still pretty much an open question.”

Ancient Rocks

It’s no wonder rocks with these characteristics have been used for eons by ancient cultures. There is ample evidence of lithophones, where primitive cultures used these rocks to form an instrument dating back over 6000 years. There is even speculation that some of the stones of Stonehenge originated in the Preseli Hills area of South Wales, which is known for its ringing rocks, and were hauled 135 miles to this site specifically because of this characteristic.

Geology of the Area

Parker said the rocks developed because of magmatic intrusion. Called the Ringing Rocks Pluton, at one point magma rose from the depths, then cooled under the surface. One way to picture it is to think of them forming as an item from a forge, then cooling as one.

This entire area is part of the Boulder Batholith, formed in the late Cretaceous era.

Parker noted, “The Boulder Batholith is like the molten core of an old mountain belt.”

The signature representation of the Boulder Batholith is the rounded rock formations caused by the granite below the surface being pushed upwards during geological processes. Erosion wore them down into a smoother, almost egg-shaped appearance.

As for the Ringing Rocks, they were not uplifted like the Boulder Batholith. “These rocks were in the same space since they were made,” explained Parker. “One cool thing, if you are observant, there are very faint layerings to the rock. It was once a cohesive body of rock.”

This means that although the Ringing Rocks were put in place between 145 to 65 million years ago, it was the freezing and thawing action during the Pleistocene period, what we call the Ice Age, that brought to the surface what we see today.

Unlike the Boulder Batholith, they tend to be more angular and even flat at times.

And even though both the Boulder Batholith and Ringing Rocks were created around the same period, the Ringing Rocks is what’s called gabbro, an igneous mafic intrusive rock. Known for its hardness, gabbro is sought after for commercial purposes as black granite for countertops, along with its use in the mining industry.

The Ringing Rocks were considered for the construction of the Fort Peck Dam during the push for projects during Roosevelt’s New Deal program. In the early 1960s, a mining company sought to purchase them to grind up for use in sandblasting.

What’s equally fascinating is when the area is viewed on a geological map, the fairly circular 160 acres look like a bullseye with concentric circles of different rock types. Granite and granite porphyry is found in the center, while the next layer is quartz monzonite. Beyond that, layers include amphibole biotite monzonite, olivine pyroxene monzonite and amphibole monzonite. While these outer types are all mafic rock, their chemical composition makes them unique from one another, affecting how they weather over time.

Theories for Why Do Ringing Rocks Ring

All of this still doesn’t explain why the rocks ring. Some thought they were hollow, which they aren’t. Others claim it’s due to magnetic qualities. This is not the case, either. Some speculate that it’s because of iron within the makeup of the stones, but in reality, most only have roughly seven percent of this element. Plus, there are other rocks with far higher concentrations, which do not have this melodious characteristic.

Another hypothesis is the rocks create their sound due to how they are stacked upon each other. This leads to the belief that the rocks won’t ring if removed from the pile.

“I think it’s accurate, but it’s a bit misleading,” said Parker. “The key is to have the rocks suspended to resonate. They need to vibrate like a gong.”

Yet, as lithophones have been around for thousands of years they can be moved.

It might just be a matter of the proper suspension to allow the natural resonance to occur. (Of course, never remove these rocks from public lands to test this theory.)

Other Ringing Rocks

To add to the overall mystery, other ringing rock fields are found in Australia and Great Britain. Closer to home, rocks in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey share the same acoustical characteristics, yet have different compositions and environments.

Formed similarly, these are also mafic rock types akin to Montana’s pluton formation created as a magma intrusion, although the Pennsylvania formation is diabase, a volcanic basalt that is similar, but still different, to the gabbro of the Ringing Rocks.

Ron Sloto, a professor at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania, has studied the ringing rocks in his region for decades. He described their creation as, “Molten lava moving up and oozing between layers of rock, then cooling over years and years. When the diabase cooled, it cracked.”

These cracks, as well as general exposure to the elements further, enhanced spheroidal weathering. “It left a lot of boulders,” he said.

Pennsylvania Ringing Rocks

While this enormous diabase sill extends along the length of the Appalachian Mountains, and most of these rocks do not ring, several specific boulder fields have this melodious feature. Two of the most popular places to find them are Ringing Rocks County Park in Bucks County, which encompasses 7.8 acres, and Ringing Rocks Park near Pottstown. Developed in 1895, besides the amazing geology, the park is a favorite for families to picnic and enjoy their indoor roller rink.

There is also Stony Garden, located on State Game Lands #157, which is the largest boulder field extending roughly one-half mile long. The trail to this last option is less than a half-mile long on relatively flat and easy ground, although part of it walks through a marshy area and you need to maneuver over a few rocks to reach the ringing part of the boulder field. Sloto also noted that there are other fields scattered throughout the region with many of these on private land.

Although iron and aluminum make up part of this diabase, these elements still are not the reason for their voice. One thought concerning the reason the Eastern rocks ring is because of the extreme internal pressure created during their formation.

Sloto said he lives very close to a quarry where occasionally one of these rocks explodes when cut because of the release of this pressure. In an informal study by a professor at Rutger University, he discovered that “live” ringing rocks (ones that made a sound) measurably expanded, or relaxed, within 24 hours of being cut into slices.

This leads some experts to surmise that the sound is caused by these extreme internal stresses, but they still don’t know for sure.

Beyond the questions on why the rocks ring, some visitors seek out a paranormal aspect, particularly in the Eastern boulder fields. People note that even though forests surround the rocks, there is minimal to no bird activity and animals don’t travel across the rocks. And no vegetation grows among the stones. The mystery deepens.

Even though, or maybe because, we have no solid answers on the magic that allows these stones to sing, the ringing rocks throughout the United States and the world will always mesmerize us with their music.

This story about ringing rocks previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story and photos by Amy Grisak. 

The post Why Do Ringing Rocks Ring? first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

His creation even caught the attention of Walt Disney who wanted to construct a replica of the grotto for Disneyland but was told by his engineering consultants that the structure was a “once in a lifetime” piece that couldn’t be matched.

Size & Materials

Approximately the size of a metropolitan city block, the site — which consists of nine grottos — is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City, and is located 130 miles northwest of Des Moines. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

It’s crafted out of metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks with marble statues, replete with the following: polished agate, azurite, fluorite, malachite, druzy quartz, petrified wood, fossils, corals, shells, pink quartz, jasper, topaz, amethyst, calcite, pudding stone, marble, and geodes. You can even spot mudball formations taken from the Cannonball River in North Dakota. Twenty-three karat gold leaf peppers the premises.

The grotto, located entirely outdoors, is open 24 hours a day and no admission fee is charged. It was designed, constructed, and is maintained today solely through donations.

Andy Milam, the grotto’s curator, explained the site was not completed upon Father Dobberstein’s death, but rather, the existing structures are preserved and maintained.

The grotto illustrates the story of Christ’s Redemption of man, from the Fall to the Resurrection. It has 26 religious stations with 65 statues of Carrara marble carved by Italian sculptors.

Dobberstein’s Vision

Dobberstein, who was born in Rosenfeld, Germany, on September 21, 1872, came to America when he was 20 years old and entered the Seminary of St. Francis near Milwaukee. He was ordained on June 30, 1897. The following year, he became the pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in West Bend, Iowa, served there until his death on July 24, 1954.

It was during his time studying for the priesthood that he fell critically ill with pneumonia. “He prayed to the Blessed Virgin and said, ‘If I’m healed, I’m going to build you a shrine,’” Milam said. “He got better, and remembered what the natural grottos and niche caves were like in Germany, so he built one here for her, starting in 1912.”

Building the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption

The grotto was built on swampland with a team of two horses used to dig out a pond. From there, the pond was drained, revealing a layer of clay about 15 feet below ground. The foundation was built from Fieldstone and does slope a bit.

The priest began his efforts by searching for Iowa-sourced rocks before branching out globally. Geodes, the state rock of Iowa, are prominent throughout.

Wishing wells on the grounds were set up to collect monetary contributions to fund Dobberstein’s travel expenses to secure the materials. Milam added that at one time, the priest’s garage was filled with donated coins. Some of the more rare specimens include a 300-pound amethyst, Belgian agates, and a rock Dobberstein invented during the Great Depression.

“He would go to the school, collect the used crayons and melt them down using a smelting machine,” Milam said. “We call it Dobberstein rock.”

In the foreword of the booklet “An Explanation of the Grotto of the Redemption,” Dobberstein wrote: “Spoken words are ephemeral; written words remain, but their durability depends upon the material on which they are written. If carved in stone or sculpted in bronze, words are well nigh imperishable. This imperishableness is an outstanding feature of the Grotto. Thus the Grotto of the Redemption will continue to tell its story long after the builder has laid down his trowel, and will be a silent sermon expressing in permanently enduring precious stones, the fundamental truths of Christianity.” Parishioner Matthew Szerensce who continued work on the grotto after Dobberstein’s death aided him in his efforts. Construction was done by hand, using horses, buckets, and wheelbarrows. In 1947, when approximately 80 percent of the project was finished, an electric hoist was installed. Rock hammers were swapped for air hammers.

Father Louis Greving and the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption

Father Louis Greving arrived in 1946 and assisted Dobberstein in his parish duties, as well as work on the grotto.

“Although Father Dobberstein had no formal blueprints of the various grottoes, he talked about his plan frequently,” he wrote. In ailing health, he placed his trust in Greving and Szerensce to finish any work that had been started. Dobberstein died on July 24, 1954, and is buried in the parish cemetery one-half mile west of the grotto. Greving took up the torch for the cause of caring for the grotto.

“By providence of God I spent my priesthood of some 45 years (since 1946) in the shadow of the Grotto of the Redemption. The Grotto is a monument of faith, hope and love that once lived in the mind and heart of Father Paul Dobberstein,” said Greving. His championing of the grotto helped it secure National Register of Historic Places designation in 2001. He died in 2002 at the age of 81.

The nine grottos depict the following scenes.

• Garden of Eden -Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit and are cast out.

• Stable of Bethlehem -The Divine Child is born. (Completed after Dobberstein’s death).

• Home in Nazareth – Jesus’ boyhood home and humble beginnings are depicted. (Completed after Dobberstein’s death).

• Trinity -One God in three Persons is symbolized in three half circles.

• Ten Commandments -Man is told to keep the Commandments to gain eternal life.

• Gethsemane -Christ is shown praying and suffering on eve of the crucifixion.

• Stations of the Cross -Christ is degraded, crucified and dies for all.

• Fourteenth Station -Christ is buried.

• Resurrection -Christ is not here, in the grave; He has risen.

Growing Stalactites & Unusual Specimens

Dobberstein grew stalactites in the ceiling of the Grotto of the Ten Commandments. When he built that grotto, he had also put in a deposit of calcium and magnesium in the ceiling. He left a six-inch hole in the roof so whenever it rains, water collects there and gradually seeps through. In time, the mineral-saturated water drips through the ceiling and forms the stalactites.

The Christmas Chapel in the church was built in 1927. It’s made of materials from every state and nearly every country. The large Brazilian amethyst in the background of the chapel weighs 300 pounds. The agates in the base of this structure were cut and polished in Belgium.

Above the Beatitudes is a monumental stalagmite from Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. It was donated to the grotto by Jim White, the man who first developed the cave before the site became a national park.

Solid Construction & Maintenance of the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption

Dobberstein made sure to cure cement used for construction. According to information obtained from the forms filed for historic designation: “Once the concrete was hard enough to hold the rocks in place, he would sprinkle water over the concrete every four or five hours for one week. This curing process keeps the chemical reaction in operation while the concrete sets up. Consequently, the concrete bonds together into a solid mass.”

The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption was never completed because his successors didn’t know how he’d intended to cap off his tribute to the Virgin Mary.

Two to three times a year it is hosed down to flush out any debris. Rain also helps with this process. Loose rocks are repaired. Iowa winters (the freezing and thawing) are the grotto’s biggest enemy, Milam explained.

Visitors are welcome to stay for as long as they’d like and to view the grotto during different times of the year, as well as daytime and at night.

“He really never quit (building the shrine) for the next 47 years. He kept adding grottos, a courtyard, Stations of the Cross and spent months upon months looking for rocks, having them sent to him, working with collectors and rock hounds, people with farm fields full of rocks,” Milam added.

“One of the hallmarks of the Catholic Church is we don’t do things in just a utilitarian way: there’s always a sense of beauty to everything that’s done within the life of the church, so this was his way of carrying that out.”

Other Projects

The Stations of the Cross are being worked on by Marion Restoration out of Chicago, which Milam says is a six-figure project, all funded through donations and purchases from the gift shop.

Every year, the grotto is visited by tens of thousands of visitors. It is also equipped with 53 campsites. Guided tours are offered.

Perhaps it was Father Dobberstein who best explained the rationale behind his decades-long mission to build the grotto, during a conversation with Greving. “God is the master artist. Look at those flowers. There is a beauty, a symmetry, in every petal.

All the colors blend harmoniously. It is pleasing to the eye. All that any human artist can do is to imitate God’s artistry, and it is a poor imitation at best.”

In addition to the grotto at West Bend, Father Dobberstein built several other smaller grottos or memorials at these locations:

• Sacred Heart Church: Sioux City, Iowa

• Immaculate Conception Grotto: Carroll, Iowa (now gone)

• Franciscan Convent: Dubuque, Iowa

• Shrine in the St. Rose of Viterbo Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration: La Crosse, Wisconsin (now gone)

• Catholic Cemetery: Wesley, Iowa

• John Brown Park: Humboldt, Iowa

This story about the Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Sara Jordan-Heintz. 

The post Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

How Agatized Coral Formed

Florida agatized corals are the skeletal remains of colonial animals, known as anthozoans, that died 25 to 38 million years ago. The actual skeletal structures are very easy to see in some specimens and can be used to identify the coral species.

The skeletons consist of limestone (CaCO3 ) and the coral becomes agatized when the coral voids are filled with silica-rich water and the limestone is replaced by chalcedony quartz (SiO2 ) and common opal.

Chalcedony that is translucent and colored is called agate.

The replacement process takes millions of years and results in what geologists refer to as a pseudomorph –a crystal consisting of one mineral, but having the form of another which it has replaced. Occasionally, very small clear visible quartz crystals will form after the chalcedony layer; but, it is the richly colorful agate layer that we find so attractive.

Is Agatized Coral a Geode?

As far as geodes go, these wonders of an ancient ocean are atypical. While some are the round shape we generally see in most geodes, many have shapes that vary.

Some have questioned whether these specimens should even be considered geodes, however, most geologists today, including June Zeitner and Brad Cross in Geodes: Nature’s Treasures, feel they do fit the criteria for being a geode.

How to Collect

I field-collected Tampa Bay coral in Hillsboro Bay in 1964 and as far as collecting goes it was not a pleasant experience!

I waded out into the bay barefoot and stirred up the mucky bottom with my feet. Occasionally, I would feel something solid and would reach down and bring it up out of the slimy mass on the bottom. Most times it was just an ordinary rock.

The few pieces of coral I found were all very small. I was quite disappointed until I returned home, cleaned the pieces up, and carefully cut them on my lapidary diamond saw. It was then that I realized the allure that these specimens hold for collectors.

There, in a specimen one and a quarter inches across, was an array of swirls of red, blue, black, orange and white that was just stunning!

Agatized Coral History

Archaeologists have found tools, knives, and weapon points fashioned from agatized coral dating back to 5,000 B.C. The more recent discoveries date back to the 1840s when the coral was found at Ballast Point in the Hillsboro Bay area. Hillsboro Bay is part of the Tampa Bay complex and hence the referral to coral found in this area as Tampa Bay coral.

Ballast Point has an interesting history related to the coral. Sailing ships carrying goods between the port of Tampa and Europe would use the coral as ballast to adjust the depth of their hulls.

During the early 1900s, there was an intense rivalry between young men living in Ballast Point and young men living in Port Tampa. The rivalry was over the affection of the Ballast Point young ladies. The Ballast

Point boys would collect a large supply of the most round “geode rocks” to use as ammunition to repel the Port Tampa boys.

The Port Tampa boys not having access to the geodes would throw large chunks of coal.

Most times geodes triumphed over coal!

Collecting Agatized Coral

For many years since its discovery, Tampa Bay coral was the best known and most widely field-collected of the Florida agatized corals. Collecting opportunities are now limited as most of the area has been developed. Construction areas provide some of the best places to collect, but be sure to ask permission first.

The other main areas where Florida agatized coral is found are in the Withlacoochee/Suwannee riverbeds along the Florida Georgia State line and the Econfina River area north of Perry, Florida. Currently, Withlacoochee River coral is the best field collecting choice.

Collecting is usually done by diving using a snorkel or aqualung and requires a boat.

Coral Colors

Tampa Bay geodes are notable for their wide array of colors that include black,yellow, honey brown, red and blue. The blue chalcedony is spectacular and may appear with swirls of yellow and red in the same geode.

The formation of drusy quartz is more common in Withlacoochee coral. Drusy quartz crystals are very tiny crystals that form on top of the chalcedony and give a sparkly appearance to the inner surface of the geode. The appearance of Withlacoochee coral is different from the Tampa Bay corals, but small fragments can be foolers.

References to Econfina River coral are not commonly found these days and I only have two specimens in my collection.

Econfina agatized corals are noteworthy as they frequently show distinct banding in the agate.

State Fame

In 1979, Florida agatized coral was designated by the Florida Legislature as the official state stone. Besides being displayed by individuals and museums in their collections, the coral has lapidary uses.

This story about agatized coral previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story and photos by Richard Gross.

The post Florida’s Agatized Coral 101 first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Before the Show

Before there was a show in Tucson the city of Phoenix, about 100 miles north, was enjoying a fine annual gem and mineral show hosted by three local clubs: Mineralogical Society of Arizona, Air Research Club and Maricopa Lapidary Society. Advising this group was Arizona’s State mineralogist and Museum Curator, Arthur Flagg.

The Phoenix Show was successful and attracted dealers and visitors from all over the west. After the Phoenix Show, many dealers would drive down to Tucson to visit the wholesale mineral dealers there to stock up. One of the dealers who attended the Phoenix Show, Bob Roots from Colorado, would go to Tucson to buy minerals after the show. He’d stay with Clayton Gibson of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society. It was Bob in 1954, who urged Clayton to get his Tucson club to have a mineral show.

Humble Beginnings

In April 1955, the Tucson club hosted a small weekend show in the cafeteria of a local school. It was a success and the next year the show was moved to February and to a World War II Quonset hut at the county fairgrounds.

As the show grew, an area for wholesale deals was added when the TGMS expanded the show to include a second nearby building, the nearby cow barn. To use the cow barn, club volunteers showed up with brooms and shovels as there had been a cattle show the past weekend. Talk about a dusty venue! Wholesale dealers had a heck of a time just keeping their minerals clean during that show, and visitors had to deal with a very dusty atmosphere — but the wholesale event was a success!

Two rockhounds who won exhibit ribbons at this first show were Richard Bideaux and Gene Schlepp who became future leaders in the show.

The growing demand by dealers to be in Tucson during show season led to more and more sales in motels and on street corners. One dealer even rented an abandoned gas station across from the fairgrounds to conduct sales. The Holiday Inn, where the TGMS housed visiting lecturers, like Smithsonian’s Curator Paul Desautels, also attracted dealers, and eventually organized satellite shows began to appear.

By 1960, at the suggestion of Dick Bideaux, the club invited Paul Desautels of the Smithsonian to lecture at the show. With the Smithsonian participating the show gained national status in 1961.

Moving to the City

When the Show moved from the fairgrounds to the Tucson Convention Center, the nearby Desert Inn, which is no longer standing, quickly became the evening gathering place. Filled with dealers during show season, it served as a perfect social center, as dealers introduced new finds, friendships grew, and swapping of countless stories became traditional entertainment.

Unexpected Evacuation

A certain new mineral discovery gave rise to one of the more memorable Desert Inn stories. A dealer staying at the hotel had just received a large shipment of superb wire silver in calcite specimens from Batopilas, Mexico. The silver specimens needed cleaning, and the enclosing calcite had to be removed so fine silver wires would show. The dealer, pressed for time, bought gallons of pool acid (hydrochloric acid) and dumped it in his room’s bathtub immersing the calcite and silver specimens. Well, that certainly did the trick! The calcite dissolved, the silver wires were exposed, and as a result, the Desert Inn had to be evacuated because of the noxious fumes.

Another year just before showtime, as dealers were beginning to check into the hotels, a resident who had been convicted of a crime and granted a day to clear up financial affairs checked into the Desert Inn. Fearing incarceration, the man went to his room, climbed into bed, and ended his life.

Of course, the body was removed by police and the mess was tended to and the room cleaned. But, the motel owner, to save money, did not replace the mattress, which was greatly compromised. The mattress was just flipped over, and the room was rented to an unsuspecting mineral dealer. Sometimes the truth is truly more disturbing than fiction.

Elephant Incident

When the TGMS originally took over the Tucson Convention Center for the show, they did not use all of the space, including the arena. While the wholesale sales took place in a large room in the upper level of the center, the Main Exhibit Hall on the ground level housed the show. Next to the building, was the arena, which the city continued to lease or rent out for other events. Sporting events like ice hockey and basketball were held there.

In the early years, it was common practice for events to be booked into the Convention Center immediately before the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. But one year a serious problem arose.

That year the City of Tucson had booked a circus in the arena just before the Show. When it came time for the circus to move out on a Monday before crews began setting up for the mineral show, tragedy struck. One of the circus elephants died on the arena floor. Can you imagine having to move a deceased adult elephant in a hurry? The crews were able to remove the elephant, after much effort, just in time for the start of the Show. That situation convinced the TGMS Show Committee that it would be best to have the show occupy the arena as well.

Quick Response Relocation

In 2019, the Tucson Show added another chapter to the history of the arena. By this time, the City had given overall management of the Convention Center to a private company. The new management continued accepting bookings at the arena for basketball and hockey games and concerts, just before the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Due to this schedule, the hockey ice is commonly left intact on the floor for use, even during the show. In the past, the ice was covered with a wooden deck, so the arena could be used for the Show.

Such was the case during the February 2019 show. The arena floor was solid ice. Naturally, the Tucson Show Committee assumed the ice would be dealt with as usual. But the company managing the convention facility said the ice would remain and would be covered by temporary plywood covering, which required all tables and equipment to be carried in manually. This meant no motorized equipment could be used. How could a mineral show with heavy tables, metal curtain posts, and dealer suppliers be set up on such a weak floor? It was an impossible situation.

This left the TGMS Show Committee with a huge problem. The arena show had to be relocated. So, the Show Committee moved the dealers scheduled to be in the arena into another Convention Center area, the Grand Ballroom, which is off the main Galleria entrance. The American Gem Trade Association Show had ended a day or two before the Tucson Show, and with many sighs of relief, it worked out beautifully.

Last-Minute Ruling Keeps Show on Schedule

Another of the Tales from the Tucson Show archive saw the near cancellation or delay of the show, due to a pending court case. We did not find out until 9 a.m. on the opening day of the show if the court would rule in our favor! Fortunately, the show did open on time, and crowds of collectors entered the convention center to view the superb dealer exhibits.

The cause of this near delay/cancellation happened a year earlier, with a dispute over a dealer contract. Show contracts do not guarantee a dealer any future show space, only for the year of issue. One show dealer was not issued a contract the following year, so he sued to be allowed in. The matter went to court, and on opening day, with all of us standing around waiting, we finally got the phone call that the show could open on time!

Even before the Tucson Show opens each year the local motels are full of dealers. Motel reservations have to be made well in advance, which can be a bit of a challenge for visitors from other countries. As it happened, the curator of the Sorbonne, Paris asked a club member to make him a timely hotel reservation. The club member, fully intending to do it, forgot! When the French guest arrived, the only room available was at a motel named the “No Tell Motel?” Enough said!

The Next Step

At the behest of Dick Bideaux, the show committee invited Dr. Peter Embrey, Curator of the Gem and Mineral Collection at the Museum of Natural History in London to exhibit and lecture. Peter came in 1972 bringing with him a superb display of English minerals.

Full-Time Needs

By now, the show needed an office and a full-time show manager. The Club bought a combination meeting hall and office building. After using several part-time show managers, the club brought in Pat McClain as the full-time office manager. It is remarkable the world’s best-known gem and mineral show functions so well with a small staff and Pat’s firm hand aided by many volunteers.

Politics & Gem Shows

Another factor that played a role in the growth and success of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is politics. The adage “it’s not what you know but who you know” applies here. The Tucson Gem and Mineral Society was made up of a group of collectors living in the Tucson area.

One of the most active and influential groups in the City of Tucson is the Mountain Oyster Club. Mountain oysters are a desert dweller’s tongue-in-cheek name for a puma’s manhood. Some family members of this group date back to original Spanish land grants and were very active in business and local politics.

One member was critical in helping me with show publicity and government contacts including the Mayor of Tucson. I was able to work with this group which was a big help as the Show gained status.

Dick Bideaux’s father owned small-town newspapers in Southern Arizona and was a big help with publicity. He was also politically active and well-connected.

The Udall family was active in Arizona politics and through them, we were able to approach the Library of Congress to borrow the Silver desk set and ink well given to Abraham Lincoln by the Governor of Arizona for signing the treaty to bring Southern Arizona into the United States. The silver desk set was made of silver mined in Arizona.

Fabergé Eggs

Show visitors were also in a position to help grow the show. One regular exhibitor collector happened to live next door to Malcolm Forbes, once owner of many Russian Peter Carl Faberge Easter eggs made each year for the Czarina. We proposed to the Forbes Museum, New York, asking for an Easter egg display. They agreed and this also brought the Russian Ambassador to the show. As luck would have it the last living member of the Faberge family, Tatiana Faberge was visiting Phoenix at the time and she brought an exhibit of Faberge materials.

Dedicated Volunteers

The club’s members who volunteered for days, weeks and years were and still are the heart and basis on which the show grows.

This story about how the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show got started appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Bob Jones.

The post How the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show Got Started first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Attending the show for the first time can be overwhelming. The Tucson Convention Center and surrounding streets are filled with booths and displays. Hotel rooms and lobbies across the city become showrooms. There are lectures, opportunities for children and places for serious enthusiasts and professionals to connect with experts and beautiful stones. While there is no way to see the entire show, planning ahead will help you make the most of the time you have. Here are 12 tips to help you get the most out of your Tucson experience.

1. Book Well in Advance

Hotels, motels, Airbnb and VRBO offerings, and guest rooms of friends and family will be quickly reserved for the weekend. Some have found bookings so limited that they’ve opted to stay up to two hours away in Phoenix. If you’ll need a rental car, book that early as well.

2. Do Your Homework

If you are there on a mission to find a particular kind of gemstone, be prepared by understanding where the vendors of that type of stone will be. Take time to review the vendor list carefully. Map out where you’d like to go and who you want to meet with keeping your priorities in mind.

3. Use The Buddy System

Perhaps you know someone who has been to the show before or who has a specialty you can learn more about. Ask if you might shadow them through the show. For instance, if you know an experienced gemologist, join forces with them to learn what they see with their professional expertise. Ask questions.

4. Have a Business Card

Be prepared to make connections. You never know who you might meet and what you might need in the future. Consider this a relationship-building opportunity. You may hit it off with a certain gem or stone vendor and want to stay in touch. Take the time to start building relationships that will support your hobby or budding business.

5. Value & Respect Cultural Differences

Vendors travel from across the globe to display their wares in Tucson. Be respectful when asking questions about the items they are selling. Understand that not every culture welcomes or appreciates dickering over a price. Before you decide to explore this possibility, consider whether it might or might not be welcomed.

6. Demonstrate Your Seriousness

If you intend to buy, prepare the questions you will ask to reflect your intentions and knowledge. If a seller doesn’t think you are serious, they may not even give you a second glance.

7. Network

If you are a budding gemologist, jeweler or enthusiast seeking to grow your knowledge and expertise, introduce yourself. Invite a conversation by being respectful, curious and intentional about what you are there to learn. Consider asking for business cards and sending follow-up messages via email or snail mail with a couple of vendors whom you’d like to work with in the future. You never know how networking will serve you as you grow your interests and knowledge.

8. Plan a Budget

If you are there to purchase stones for specific projects, know what you want to spend. Then, visit more than one vendor to explore what price points and products are available. The advantage of being there in person is the opportunity to shop prices between dealers while seeing their goods up close. Be prepared to pay with cash or a credit card.

9. Public Show Vs. Association Exhibits

Understand there are plenty of opportunities to explore and even buy while attending the public portions of the show. However, for a more advanced experience, you may choose to invest in attending the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) portion of the show.

According to the AGTA website, the trade show is the “ultimate destination for quality, beauty and integrity in the world of colored gemstones and cultured pearls.” The show offers sales by the most trusted professionals in the industry. This is another opportunity to extend your learning, build relationships and network for future business opportunities.

Attending this portion of the show, however, requires certain credentials and investment in necessary entrance fees. Visit the AGTA website at www.agta.org to learn more about the credentials you’ll need to access the professional parts of the show.

10. The Public Show has Loads to Offer

From rocks, fossils and gems to silver, turquoise and copper jewelry, to loose stones and more, it is possible to explore and discover some great finds. All the networking suggestions apply to either the public or AGTA aspects of the show. Not only can you network with vendors, but you may also find you can ask questions, learn from and share ideas with others attending the public show. It is a great place to start if you are a beginner.

11. Wear Comfortable Shoes

Attending the Tucson Gem and Mineral show is exciting and fun. And it is massive! Be prepared to walk. A lot. Enjoy meeting other people, exploring all the beauty of the natural world. Look, listen and learn. Go in with the understanding that there is no way to see it all. There are opportunities galore when attending this magnificent event. Give yourself plenty of time for exploring, participating and engaging.

12. Gather Business Cards, Brochures, and Relevant Catalogs

Gather business cards, brochures and relevant catalogs. At the end of the day, take time to assemble notes about those you’ve connected with. You can jot a couple of notes on the back of each business card as well as in the margins of the program. Names, areas of expertise and anything else that is relevant to your interests are essential to write down while it’s still fresh in your mind. If you wait until later, you may not capture important details!

This story about the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Deb Brandt.

The post 12 Tips For Attending the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

I was visiting family in Ohio, and they told me of a crystal cave up North located at a winery. The crystal cave is on Put-In-Bay Island in Lake Erie, where Paul Bunyan could have easily skipped a rock across the water border into Canada. A ferryboat over to the island takes vehicular traffic as well as walk-ons, and if you are going for the day, I highly recommend walking. Parking lots on the mainland and golf carts available for rent on the island make this an easy option.

History of the Crystal Cave

The crystal cave is at the Heineman’s Winery. Fortunately, it turns out that the wine-sipping part of the program comes after the cave and winery tours. In 1897, the winery owners were digging a well and broke through the top of a cave lined entirely with whiteish-blue crystals. They thought they had struck it rich, but they found strontium sulfate crystals, also known as celestite. They mined some of the cave’s interior to sell the material as an ingredient in fireworks but soon realized that the cave’s greatest value was a tourist attraction. During Prohibition, tours of the cave helped prevent the winery from going out of business.

The winery’s origins date to 1888 with founder German immigrant Gustav Heineman. The winery has been in the family since. They produce over 20 varieties of red, white, and dessert wines from local grapes. During our visit, upon entering the winery, we signed up for the next cave and winery tour, and the cost of $8 included the cave tour, winery tour, and a glass of wine or grape juice in the tasting room afterward.

Touring the Crystal Cave

As we assembled for the tour, 20 of us lined up to walk down a long flight of stairs into the cave, which is 40 feet below ground. Our group just filled the main chamber, and all were careful not to touch the sides. The delicate mineral growths in the cave cannot take being rubbed by endless groups of tourists.

While we made our way through the cave, I found myself on the edge of the main group in a side tunnel that circles back to the base of the stairs. I walked through this tunnel to get behind the group, and as they exited through the tunnel, I was able to take pictures that would show the cave and not a tight pack of 20 tourists.

The winery owners call the cave the largest Celestine geode in the world, and tours are offered from May through September. This tour is a wonderful experience for anyone who is able to walk downstairs and through a crystal-lined cave. After the cave tour, we toured through the winery, learned about the process and then went to the tasting room. I enjoyed their wine and went home with a bottle of their dessert ice wine. It is made from grapes picked after the winter frosts have set in, making a very sweet sipping wine.

Heading to Kelleys Island

We left Put-In-Bay, made the ferry crossing back to the mainland, and headed to the next ferry. This ferry took us to Kelleys Island, another Lake Erie Island barely south of the Canadian border. The goal of this excursion was to spend a couple of nights camping at Kelleys Island State Park. We had no idea we would end up having such a great time rockhounding throughout this island.

Exploring Glacial Grooves

We had read about the Pleistocene glacial grooves at the state park, the largest in the world, so we walked from our campsite to the closest of the grooves that still exist. Several large limestone quarries exist on the island, and some of the glacial grooves were destroyed by limestone mining. The groove at the park was only partially visible until the 1970s when it was excavated, fenced off from foot traffic, and an informative trail built to encircle it. This trail includes an area accessible to wheelchairs. The information posted at the groove tells how the glaciers slowly moving over the landscape ground the grooves into the limestone.

As I was looking at the surface of the groove, it looked to me to have been formed by flowing liquids, not rocks embedded in the bottom of a glacier grinding away at the limestone. Why was it such a deep groove? Why were the grooves flowing into each other instead of parallel grinding marks that I have seen from other glaciers? However, that is what the interpretive signs said, so I didn’t argue with the signs.

Alternative Glacial Grooves Theories

Later, when I met with the State Park Manager, Chris Ashley, he told me of another proposed theory, and it makes much more sense to me. Streams of high-pressure water have been observed shooting out of the base of glaciers. The weight of the glacier can create water that becomes liquid at temperatures lower than freezing. When this trapped water escapes the glacier, it shoots out at great speed, carrying with it the debris picked up by the glacier. I liken it to the water jet cutters used by steel and stone cutters, only loaded with rocks and sand for extra scouring power.

When looking at the groove’s interior, the water flow patterns fit this glacial groove-making theory better than the old grinding concept. I hope that any new interpretive signs will add this new theory.

Another discovery we made is that the limestone in this location is loaded with fossils from the Devonian Sea. As we walked around the groove trail, the rocks we walked on were pockmarked with coral, snails and other ocean fossils. Back at the park office, we were informed that any fossils that are loose are legal to keep. Leave your rock pick in your car, though, because it is not legal to mine fossils from the rocks, but you won’t mind because there are plenty of loose rocks containing fossils to pick up.

Crystals, Wine, and Fossils, Too

Fossils here include corals, brachiopods, gastropods, pelecypods, cephalopods, crinoids, and stomato-poroids, 18 different types of marine fossils. I wanted to find one of the nautilus-type shell fossils, so we went over to the large quarry on the island’s southern side. I had my nautilus shell within half an hour. The fossil I found was a little one, three inches in diameter, but nautilus fossils a foot in diameter have been found on the island.

The Park Manager also showed me a less common stone from Kelleys Island, which is tillite. This type of glacial erratic rock came down from a Gondwanan deposit north of Lake Huron. It is an approximately 2.5 billion-year-old stone formed when granite was broken up and later encased in a glacial till that formed into rock. I tried to find one but was unable.

An Art Gallery Visit

One last stop on our tour of Kelleys Island was the art gallery of Charles Herndon at 110 Laylin Lane. For over 30 years, Herndon was an art professor at Columbus College of Art and Design, and his stone sculpture gallery is outdoors and indoors. The gallery also features paintings and photographs, and much of his stone has come from Kelleys Island. A stone carver myself, I greatly admired his skill and sense of design with rock. The gallery is open to the public, and you shouldn’t miss it.

This story about exploring the crystal cave in Ohio appeared in the April 2021 issue of Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Bruce McKay.

The post Exploring the Crystal Cave in Ohio first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.