M General Meeting Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 PM At the...
Transcript of M General Meeting Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 PM At the...
May
2 0 17
General Meeting
Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 PM
At the Whittier Senior Center
Brilliant color spouting from a spiny, vicious hedgehog cactus.
Seen at Stoddard Wells recently
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Whittier Gem & Mineral Society
Elected Officers and Committee Chairmen
2016-17 Elected Officers
President: .............. Jerry Turner .......
1st Vice President: ... Frank Winn ........ ([email protected]) ................ (626) 912-0404
2nd Vice President: .. Art Ragazzi .......
Treasurer: .............. Jay Valle ............ ([email protected]) ................ (626) 934-9764
Secretary: .............. Yvonne Morton .
Federation Director: Tony Fender .......
Directors: ................ Joe Goetz ........... ([email protected]) ............... (626) 914-5030
................................ Marcia Goetz ..... ([email protected]) ............... (626) 914-5030
................................ Kathy Valle ........
Appointed Chairmen
Budget/Finance: ........
Bulletin Editor: ......... Jay Valle .................. ([email protected]) ........ (626) 934-9764
Bylaws & Rules ........ Jerry Turner .............
Claim Secretary: ....... Art Ragazzi .............
Community ............... Kathleen Turner .......
Relations: .........
Displays: ...................
Door Prizes: .............. Loretta Ogden ..........
Field Trips: ................ Joe Goetz ................. ([email protected]) ....... (626) 914-5030
Librarian: ..................
Rockgabbers: ............ Tony Fender ............
Show Chairman:........ Frank Winn .............. ([email protected]) ........ (626) 912-0404
Social Secretary: ....... Kathy Valle ............. ([email protected]) .... (626) 934-9764
Regular Monthly Meetings: 7:30 PM 4th Thursday each month, 3rd Thursday in
November & December. No regular meetings in July & August. See Map on
cover for meeting place.
Board of Directors: To be announced.
Rockgabbers: To be announced. See pages 4 & 5.
Field Trips: Monthly except July & August. See inside bulletin for details.
Annual Dues: Adults – $15.00; Married couple – $25.00, Junior – $5.00
1-time initiation fee - $5.00
The Rockhounder May 2017
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ROCKHOUNDER The Prez Sez:
I t’s May and the first thing that comes to mind is May Day.
Now how do I tie this into a WGMS President’s Message?
Somehow the image of WGMS field trippers doing a Maypole
Dance around a Saguaro Cactus is a bit more than any of us can
handle. Don’t Laugh; we’ve done some kind of kooky things on
field trips. I can remember one field trip where we dressed up in
costume (mostly improvised e.g. Sand People from Star Wars).
Somewhere I have a picture of everyone on a field trip with red
wax covers from baby bel cheese on our noses. We are not a dull
group. On one trip we had our pot luck in formal regalia
including silver wine bucket and candelabras, including full
tuxedo tee shirts, curtesy of Tony Fender. Rumor has it that in
the distant past one of our members used to take embers from the
campfire and place them under the chairs of those sitting around
the fire. Now this gives a whole new interpretation of roasting
your fellow members.
May has some rather strange days in addition to the more serious
days of celebration; Mother’s Day, VE day and Memorial Day.
May 14 is “Dance Like a Chicken” day. This follows immediate-
ly after “Blame Someone Else” day (May 13). It seems like they
got the sequence backwards on that one.
We will be putting on a show in October and although that may
(Continued on page 4)
WGMS Webpage: http://wgmsca.com/
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The Rockhounder May 2017
WGMS General Meeting
Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 7:00 PM
at the Whittier Senior Center
C ome join us for another meeting of the Whittier Gem &
Mineral Society on May 25 at 7:00 PM. We will be found
at our new location at the Whittier Senior Center, located behind
the Community Center, next to the baseball park.
See you there.
Frank Winn
seem a long way away, I can guarantee that it will sneak up on us
before we know it. Now is a good time to think about what you
will be displaying in your cases.
Our theme is “Found in America” so that gives a broad spectrum
of things to display. Don’t feel, however, that you have to
incorporate the theme in your case. Anything you would like to
share with the public regarding our hobby is perfectly acceptable.
The next meeting will be on May 25, that’s just 12 days after
“Dance Like a Chicken” day.
See you then,
Jerry
The Prez Sez: (Continued from page 3)
The Rockhounder May 2017
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Rockgabbers
May 13 at 1:00 PM
Pot Luck at 5:00 or 5:30 PM
T he May project for Rockgabbers is the wave necklace shown
above.
This necklace was made with 18 gauge sterling silver, although
heavier material could be used if you prefer a heavier look. The
necklace consists of 18 links and makes a necklace of 22 inch
length plus clasp.
Each link needs 3¾ inches of wire, so about 6 feet is required
for this necklace.
Tony and Sandie.
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Japan’s Cherry Blossom Stone
Image: John Rakovan et.al.
A n intriguing geological peculiarity has found in the Japanese city of
Kameoka, which lies just over the western mountains of Kyoto city. It’s a
small subhexagonal-shaped stone of very fine-grained muscovite mica hosted
on a type of metamorphic rock called “Hornfels”. Interestingly when cracked
and opened, their internal cross-sections appear just like tiny golden-pink
flowers. They’re exclusively called “Cherry Blossom Stones”, after the revered
flower of Japan and one of the most renowned icons of the country.
The Science Alert.explains the pattern of these flowers weren’t always made of
mica. They began their existence as a multifaceted matrix of six prism-shaped
crystal deposits of a magnesium-iron-aluminum composite called cordierite,
radiating out from a solitary dumbbell-shaped crystal made from a magnesium-
aluminum-silicate composite called indialite in the center. Moreover; cherry
blossom stones are hosted in a matrix of hornfels, a very fine-grained, contact
metamorphic rock shaped underground about 100 million years ago by the
intense heat of molten lava. The sub-hexagonal formed masses of
cordieriteindialite in the hornfels contain seven individual crystals. At the
center of each mass is a dumbbellshaped indialite crystal very narrow at the
center, and fairly wide at the ends. Adjacent the indialite crystal are six
prism-shaped cordierite crystals. They’re widest at the center of each cherry
blossom stone and narrowest at the ends.
The cordierite-indialite masses underwent a 2nd metamorphic event when they
were uncovered to a type of hot water called hydrothermal fluids. These fluids
altered the chemical composition of minerals inside the cherry blossom stones,
producing mica to change the original cordierite-indialite inclusion. Since they
have to undergo two penetrating and very specific types of metamorphosis in
order to shape, cherry blossom stones are extremely rare, and found only in
The Rockhounder May 2017
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central Japan. Therefore; cherry blossom stones that underwent a whole
replacement of their internal minerals during their geological lifetime are so
subtle inside that they can without difficulty be snapped in half or crushed
between one’s fingers. In order to preserve the prettiness of their subtle mica
patterns, the Japanese locals coat them in a diluted solution of wood glue
mixed with water to keep everything in place.
Sources: www.Charismaticplanet.com
www.AmusingPlanet.com
Rocks & Minerals
Science Alert
Additional from the Japanese Kiseki Museum of World Stone:
Mineral called cordierite turns into mica when hydrothermally altered. The
altered mineral is called cerasite (cherry blossom stone).
Normally cordierite has amethyst color, but cordierite from Sakura Tenmanguu
has rose-pink color by the action of iron oxide, and it looks just like cherry
blossom.
Today ceriste from Sakura Tenmanguu is designated as natural monument.
Source: http://www.kiseki-jp.com/english/e-index.html
Via El Gambrisino 11/16
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Field Trip
Kramer Junction and Beyond May 27th thru 29th, 2017
K ramer Junction is always a great fieldtrip and a great camping
spot to explore nearby areas such as the Princess Pat Mine and
other area Tungsten mines, Opal Mountain, North Edwards or Castle
Butte So you know it's not going to be boring. There is great
collecting right there at the junction as well. There is moss and
flower agates as well as jasper some petrified palm and opalite.
There is a large area to explore and who knows what we’ll find (the
best stuff has been found when we were “lost”). Typically, where we
camp not 30 feet away are some of the widest seams of agate I have
ever seen.
This can be done in a single day, but it is much more enjoyable to be
there each day of the trip. It is really nice to be camping there,
because when you wake up, you are there. It is really neat to walk
around with a cup of coffee and find rock. You can relax and not
worry about making it to camp before the group leaves to head out to
explore and collect choice material.
The time to be in camp is before 8:30 a.m., because that’s when
you’ll find out where we are going and what will be collected. If by
chance you are a little late call on the cell and let us know. This way
then we could wait by the road for you to show up. Should you miss
us, we’ll probably have left a map and directions on how to get to
the area we have headed to. Bring a lunch, lots to drink, sunscreen, a
hat, sunglasses, a rock hammer and something to put you collected
material into.
It could just happen that we all might be popping wheelies on the
way home.
Somewhere in Calif driving in circles
Joe Goetz
(626) 260-7239
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Graphite Found at Pluto Moon Charon and Dwarf Planet Ceres
By: Nola Taylor Redd , Space.com
T he gray surfaces of the dwarf planet Ceres
(the asteroid belt's largest resident) and
Pluto's biggest moon, Charon, both show signs of
containing forms of graphite, the material in
pencil lead.
When NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres
last year to embark on an orbital survey, it found
a gray, icy world covered with debris left behind
by impacts. Spectral observations of the object,
which is both a dwarf planet and an asteroid,
revealed evidence of a form of graphite called
graphitized carbon on its surface, according to
Amanda Hendrix, a senior scientist at the
Planetary Science Institute in Arizona.
The dark carbon suggests that similar processes could change the colors of
both worlds, though they're significantly different environments.
Graphitized carbon forms when carbon is heated to high temperatures in the
absence of oxygen.
Hendrix studies how carbon forms in the inner solar sys-tem. She presented
the results of her ultraviolet examination of Ceres at the Lunar and Planetary
Sciences Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, in March.
Throughout Ceres' history, carbon-filled meteorites and asteroids have crashed
into the dwarf planet. The solar wind's charged particles have collided with the
deposited carbon, repeatedly reprocessing it to release hydrogen and leaving
behind a dull, gray graphitized carbon. The dark material has a low albedo,
meaning it doesn't reflect a lot of light.
"It hasn't evolved to proper graphite," Hendrix told Space.com. But it's close.
Similar carbon processing may occur on other objects in the asteroid belt, she
said.
And earlier this year, scientists found that Mercury's sur-face has high levels
of carbon, suggesting that it once boasted a graphite-rich crust.
The dull, gray surface of the dwarf
planet Ceres may come from
graphite as organic material is
bombarded by radiation from the
sun.
The Rockhounder May 2017
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A dull moon
The inner solar system isn't the only place to find a gray world. Only a few
months after Dawn reached Ceres, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by
Pluto and revealed that the dwarf planet's largest moon, Charon, has a grayish
appearance. That color could have been caused by graphite on the moon's
surface, according to lab results presented at the conference by Dale Cruik-
shank, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center.
The presence of graphite at Charon presents a puzzle because New Horizons
didn't spot carbon on Charon, but it did so at Pluto.
Before New Horizons arrived at Pluto, scientists hypothesized that the dwarf
planet shared its atmosphere with its largest moon, and observations made by
the spacecraft seem to confirm it. So carbon may travel from Pluto over to
Charon, New Horizons scientists have said.
But although it is mostly gray, Charon also boasts a bright-red spot at its pole.
Cruikshank performed several experiments to learn more about this unusual
color combination. In dousing ices similar to those found on the dwarf planet
with radiation, Cruikshank was able to produce a residual organic gunk known
as tholin. The color of this substance - named in 1979 by Carl Sagan and his
colleague Bishun Khare, who performed similar space-themed experiments
that left behind tholin as a sticky residue - resembles the color of Charon's red
spot, as well as the color of some features seen at Pluto.
In fact, tholin may be involved in both the gray and reddish hues at Charon.
"The neutral color of Charon is consistent with taking tholin material and
irradiating it," Cruikshank said during his presentation. "You end up with
graphite."
The reddish region at Charon's pole is likely a newer de-posit, whereas the rest
of the moon is covered with an older layer, Cruikshank said.
Hendrix called these results surprising. Radiation from the solar wind should
be significantly weaker at Charon than it is at Ceres, because Charon lies, on
average, about 10 times farther from the sun than Ceres does. If the moon's
surface is covered with graphite, she said, "it likely formed a different way."
Via The Heavenly Herald, Summer 2016
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Banalinga
By Anastasia Chaparro
B analinga are most popularly known as
Shiva Lingam. In the ancient form of
Sanskrit Shiva Lingam means a sign or
symbol. They are also called Svayambhu
Linga which means, “Selfexistent mark or sign
of God”. By this they mean that it is natural
and not carved or crafted by human hands.
These are naturally formed river rock, made of
cryptocrystalline quartz that are oval in shape and contain earth colored hues,
which are generally two-toned. Their chemical composition is SiO2 with
inclusions of iron and magnesium. They are a 7 in hardness.
These only come from one place on earth, and that is the Narmada River in the
Madhya Pradesh state of India. This is one of the seven holy rivers, and these
stones are worshiped by the Hindus. The river and the stones within them have
been considered sacred objects for thousands of years. This river is said to have
sprung from the body of Lord Shiva, created in the form of a lovely damsel. It
is believed that these stones give happiness and salvation to the owner. So
every year there are celebrations when the Hindu people will collect them from
the Narmada river and bestow them upon family and friends in a ritual.
The wonderful shape of these stones is natural. They are hand polished, and
generally are used as icons, or talisman to bring happiness to the home. As
jewelry, they do have small ones that you can find, but I would not want to cut
into one as their formation is considered a blessing. Most people will wrap
them and use them as pendants. I have personally seen them in sizes of one
inch to about 4 feet long, but I understand that they can be found much larger. I
have seen photos of them larger than 11 feet in length.
Today they are highly sought after as collectables, but
are quickly becoming endangered by projects to dam
the Narmada river. When this happens, the jumping
waters which form this river rock will be stilled and
they will be lost forever. At this time, you can purchase
them on numerous sights and I suggest that everyone
should own one in honor of the ancient traditions.
Via The Hound’s Tale 3/17
The Rockhounder May 2017
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Local Rocks - Sagenite Wayne Mills, Ore-Cutts Editor
C alled “weed rock” by local
collectors, Sagenite agate is one
of the two highly desirable agates
produced by the Nipomo Volcanics.
The website listed below, Agates with
inclusions.com, mentions that the
author, Pat McMahan has identified
Sagenite agate from over 250 loca-
tions worldwide. The agate begins as
a bundle of needle-like (acicular) crystals in a vug in volcanic rock. The
material that causes the crystals to grow is likely the relict gasses from
the original lava flow. When the sagenite needles have formed,
silica-laden water seeps into the cavity where the crystals are, gradually
inundating them, then solidifying into chalcedony (crypto crystalline)
quartz. In Nipomo, the sagenite can be a golden brown or red
depending on mineral impurities present in the vug when the needles
were formed. About 30 miles from Nipomo, a different kind of sagenite
agate occurs. Near California Min’s Colony, nodules containing needles
of aragonite surrounded by Chalcedony have been found.
OMS Honorary member Ralph
Bishop has the finest collection of
both the Nipomo and San Luis Obispo
sagenite agates. Member John Von
Achen has adopted Nipomo Sagenite
as his favorite gemstone, and has a
wonderful collection of it as well.
See this website for some world class pictures of agates with inclu-
sions, including sagenite: http://agateswithinclusions.com/
The pictures found at:
http://www.omsinc.org/mem3/mem_display3.html
Via Ore-Cutts 3/17
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The Rockhounder May 2017
Upcoming CFMS Gem Shows
Jun 2-4 LA HABRA, CA. North Orange County Gem & Min Soc
La Habra Community Center, 101 W. La Habra Blvd.
Hours: Fri 5 - 8; Sat & Sun 10 - 5
Website: www.nocgms.com
June 3-4 ESCONDIDO, CA. Palomar Gem & Mineral Club
California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd.
Hours: Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
Website: www.palomargem.org Show Page
June 3-4 GLENDORA, CA. Glendora Gems
Goddard Middle School, 859 E. Sierra Madre Avenue
Hours: Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
June 9-11 VENTURA, CA. CFMS-AFMS Show & Convention
Hosted by Ventura County Gem & Mineral Society
Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 West Harbor Boulevard
Hours: Fri & Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 – 4
Website: 2017CFMS-AFMSShow.com
June 17-18 CAMBRIA, CA. San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club
Cambria Vets Hall, 1000 Main Street
Hours: 10 - 5 daily
Website: www.slogem.org Show Page
July 8-9 CULVER CITY, CA. Culver City Rock & Mineral Club
Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Blvd
Hours: Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 5
Website: www.culvercityrocks.org
Aug 4-6 NIPOMO, CA. Orcutt Mineral Society
Nipomo High School, 525 Thompson Avenue
Hours: Fri-Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4
Website: www.omsinc.org
The Rockhounder May 2017
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NEW WGMS MEETING LOCATION!
Whittier Senior Center
13225 Walnut Street, Whittier
Whittier Senior Center