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“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1965”
November 2011
This issue edited by Don Hammer
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The next General Meeting of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club is on Monday November 14, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the Sunsites Community Center. The program starts at 7 and will be:
The Bowen's Reaction Series--Unpacked
- How do different minerals and rocks form from the same magma?
- What are the nine most common rock-forming minerals?
- How does the texture of a plutonic rock differ from that of a volcanic rock?
- Which minerals would you expect to find on a beach?
- Why would you not expect to find olivine in your rhyolite grab sample?
- You discover your basalt specimen has quartz in it--where did it come from?
- What is Bowen's Reaction Series and how does it aid our interpretation of igneous rocks?
If you would like to know the answers to these questions, then “The Bowen's Reaction Series—Unpacked” is for you.
In the early 1900s N.L. Bowen offered a comprehensive theory of the evolution of igneous rocks that explained the great diversity of igneous rocks. More than any other theory, it integrated field observations, experimental evidence, and sound physical-chemical theory and consequently, set the stage for further work on the origin of igneous rocks. This presentation lays out the results of Bowen's landmark work; reveals the common mineral associations among the igneous rocks; and also explains, as an added bonus, the law for weathering resistance for these same silicate minerals. Now you can go to the field with the knowledge in hand to know various igneous rock types are found always with certain mineral associations and why it would be impossible to ever find other minerals in these same rocks. Also learn what minerals weather first and which resist environmental forces, an interesting systematic consequence of Bowen's series. Once you grasp the concepts of the Bowen's Series, an eye-opening pattern of understanding emerges for fundamental mineral occurrences you can observe in the landscape. Equipped with this new knowledge, you will then comprehend the obvious answers for “The why and how does it happen questions of rock formation.” Bowen's concept remains a very powerful tool in earth history and mineralogy.
Glenn Minuth is a Department of Army civilian employed as project manager for the Network Enterprise Technology Command at Fort Huachuca. His Bachelor’s and graduate degrees are in geography with specialties in cartography, geomorphology, remote sensing, and geology. Other areas of academic focus were biogeography (flora/fauna), weather/climate, and soils. Glenn taught geography and geology in the Life and Physical Science Department of American River College, Sacramento, California, for seven years. He instructed in geography and geology for 10 years at Cochise College in both credit and non-credit programs.
General Meeting Minutes
10 October 2011
Presiding, Jack Light, Vice President.
The Minutes for the May and September General Meetings as included in the News Letter were accepted by voice vote.
The Treasurer's report was accepted without vote.
Announcements:
The Field Trip is scheduled for October 22nd. The Club will meet in the parking lot at the corner of US 191 and 81 in Sunizona at 8:30 for a nearby outing to look for quartz crystals, polishable conglomerates and jasper.
Next month the Club will vote on officers for next year.
After intermission and the raffle, members were once again treated to a presentation by Larry Strout who demonstrated the lapidary process and explained the Club facilities for working rocks and minerals. Larry finished by encouraging members to take advantage of this program where members can learn this fascinating and rewarding craft finishing and beautifying rocks that they have found during rock hounding adventures.
Refreshments for the intermission were provided by Diane Brower and Nadine Wirshing, and coordinated by Zoe Schnabel.
Respectfully submitted, Jim Brower, Treasurer
October Field Trip
13 Members assembled at 8:30 am on Saturday October 22, 2011 and departed at 8:45 for the hill with the cross on it near the Apache Lair restaurant. After a quick orientation by Henri, we all scattered out across the hillside searching for yellow/brown jasper, quartz crystals and a conglomerate that polishes very well. Small and large pieces of jasper were lying all over the hillside and some found nice pieces of conglomerate but I didn’t see any quartz crystals. The members did manage to find two rattlesnakes; one was a Western but I didn’t see the other. By 11 everyone had found good specimens and the sun was getting warm so we left for cooler spots and some of us indulged in specialty coffees at the little shop in Sunsites.
November Field Trip
We will go to Rockhound State Park near Deming, NM for geodes, agate and jasper. Meet in the Willcox Safeway parking lot at 7:45 to leave at 8 am on Saturday November 19. The entry fee is $5/car so car pool as much as possible. Cars are OK. Bring light digging and light breaking tools, bags or pails, lunch, water, lawn chairs and sun protection. The limit is 15 lbs of rock. The good geodes are about 800 feet above the parking area but there is plenty of jasper and agate lower down. See the first hand account later. The park has a campground and other facilities - go to www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/rockhound.htm .
Some may want to visit the Geolapidary Museum on the way out www.zianet.com/geodekid/
The Deming Luna Mimbres Museum in Deming has the geode collection of the Geode Kid. 9-4 daily except Sunday 1:30 – 4. http://deminglunamimbresmuseum.com
Elections
The nominating committee will present a slate of officers for election to office for the upcoming year during the business meeting in November.
Old Pearce Heritage Days
The Club has been asked to set up and man a display of rocks, minerals and mining during the Old Pearce Heritage Days on November 25 and 26. This is the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Cleaning and setup will be on Wednesday November 23 in the Captain’s Store just south of the Old Pearce Store. The Club has an extensive rock collection to display. Members that worked the show last year really enjoyed it and we signed up six new members. If you can help with setup and/or manning the display, please call Don Hammer at 384-3105.
The Club Library
The Club has an impressive collection of rock and mineral books including field identification guides, guides to collecting areas, lapidary manuals and related topics. If you are interested in checking out any of the books please call Larry Strout (826.3991) or Diane Dunn (826.0278)
Club Website
The address of the Club Website is on the masthead of this newsletter. The Website has past newsletters, photos from almost all of our field trips and other Club information.
Lapidary and Silversmith Classes
Our lapidary, silver soldering and wire wrapping classes are once again available so if you’re interested call Larry Strout at 826-3991.
Wally Hozjan is selling her lapidary equipment – a complete rock shop. Call her at 384-4582.
Dues are due.
Dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for a family. Bring your dues to the next meeting or mail your check to Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 87, Pearce, Arizona 85625. Unpaid members were dropped on March 31.
Club Calendar:
November
14 General Meeting
19 Field Trip
December
1 Board Meeting
12 Christmas Party
Upcoming Regional Events
November
12-13 Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center sponsored by the Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society. 928.230.5504.
18-19 Mazatzal Hotel & Casino, Payson, AZ. Margaret Jones 928.476.3513, barrythebearjones@gmail.com
26-27 Wickenburg Community Center. Beth Myerson, 928.684.0380,
Officers for 2011
President: Diane Dunn 520.826.0278
V-President: Jack Light 520 824-4774
Secretary: Jim Brower 520 826-4672
Treasurer: Walter Sigel 520-826-1009
Deleg-at-Large: Carl Schnabel 520.826.0100
Hospit Coord: Zoe Schnabel 520-826-0100
Field Trip Crd: Henri van den Bos 384-0288
Past Pres: Paul McKnight 775-434-8395
A TRIP TO ROCKHOUND SP
By Larry Lightner
As soon as we arrived, we checked out the park exhibit room to see just what the heck we were supposed to be looking for. The raw product always looks very different from the finished one, and it helps to see the rocks on display. We inspected a plaque outside which had specimens of semi- precious gem stones. That really got us going. We discovered this area has opals, jasper, geodes and a glittery black gemstone.
We do not have any real rock gathering equipment, so I made do with what I had. A twenty-ounce claw hammer would crack rocks and suffice as a pick. I cut a four-inch hole on top of a one-gallon plastic jug, opposite the handle, to make it into a container for specimens. We wore fanny packs, and I carried a camera and binoculars, the former to take photos of my attractive wife, and the latter to view the surrounding tall peaks in hopes of seeing an Ibex, that illusive goat that has been transplanted to the park region.
Off we trudged, taking the first small trail to our right. It led us up and over a saddle, out of sight of the park proper. We slowly explored around a myriad of prickly pear cactus searching for something unusual. We immediately found the glittery black gemstones. Onward and upward we traveled, our destination an outcropping of dark boulders. It was here that we discovered large amounts of jasper, most of which appeared to be orange and orange-brown. We also gathered some pink jasper and some of a gold coloration.
There were copious amounts of the black gemstone, which I was especially drawn to, much to Jeri's puzzlement since she did not find them to be particularly appealing.
Within ninety minutes or so we had a jug full, so we opted to go back down and have a picnic. About five hundred feet above us on a steep slope, we spied two outcroppings of whitish-brown veins that were quite conspicuous since nothing else was that color. They drew me like a magnet.
We had to do some scrambling to reach the veins. It was steep and loose to boot, but accessible as long as we used caution. There were many places where others before us had dug at the bases of boulders and outcroppings. It was in one of these places that we took some greenish-tan specimens using the claws of the hammer as a pick. I have no idea what this stuff is, but it is unique to the country side, so we collected it.
We climbed higher, my wife in the lead. She seemed to really be having fun crawling up and down the slopes, using the hammer claws to secure hand holds and for breaking up the small stones that caught her eye.
At one place we found a small cropping of geodes. We did not find any with crystalline hollows to keep, but we did find a bunch of small, marble-like nodules. Some were striped, but most were all solid slate gray. They seemed unusual to us, so we gathered up a dozen or so of the prettier ones and put them in our jug.
Next we moved into a steep draw which had a vein of tan limestone. Right in the middle of it, on a wall about twelve feet up, was an unusual vein of bright pink limestone. Jeri insisted on getting some, so she literally crawled and pulled herself up the nearly vertical slope. I followed after her, figuring that I would do the husbandly thing and break her fall if she slipped and needed a soft place to land. But she got up there, as did I, without mishap. She used the hammer claws to break away small chunks of her “treasure”. It was a good spot to sit and admire the great view of the park grounds far below us. We did not find any opals perhaps because we didn’t know what raw opals looked like.
On the way down, I stepped on a loose rock about the size of my fist. It let loose, causing me to take a nosedive downhill but it only hurt my dignity.
Back in the wash she spied a bright pink boulder that she had to have so yours truly lugged the 75 pound rock back to the pickup. I found a brownish rock with glittering green on it. The hammer revealed its core was also green.
We left the park with about the limit of 15 pounds of rock.