Volume 29, Issue 2 February 2019 NAME THAT ROCK€¦ · Rockonteur February 2019 Page 2 AMETHYST...
Transcript of Volume 29, Issue 2 February 2019 NAME THAT ROCK€¦ · Rockonteur February 2019 Page 2 AMETHYST...
NAME THAT ROCK
The banner photo (above)
changes each month -
can you identify what type of
rock it is? Answer is on last
page but don’t peek until
you’ve tried to guess!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Birthstones 2
Words from the
President 3
Meeting, Events,
Announcements 4
Features 7
Board Meeting
Minutes 7
General Meeting
Minutes 9
Volume 29, Issue 2 February 2019
Info and photos by Mark Nelson
Almost a dozen members partici-
pated in the JANUARY SHOW &
TELL, sharing their stories on
how they acquired their rock
specimens. Among these were
items collected near Bonneville
Dam by Leonard Johnson; a
large Jade specimen collected
north of Morro Bay by Michael
Dunivan (left photo); a compari-
son of Orthoceras fossils from
Morocco and the United States,
and a fossil of a stingray were
shown by Wayne Mills. Some
members also brought in free
samples to give away.
Show postcard approved by the Board and to be distributed next
month. Contact Show Coordinator Kim Noyes if you have ques-
tions or want to volunteer: 805-610-0603, [email protected]
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 2
AMETHYST TRIVIA
Amethyst is considered the best
form of quartz.
True False
Amethyst ranks amongst the old-
est gemstone forms ever recorded
in the world.
True False
Amethyst are found here:
Brazil and Africa
Russia and Germany
Mexico
All of the above
The name ‘Amethyst’ means ‘not
intoxicated’ and is derived from
this language:
Coptic
Greek
Middle English
Old Norse
Which color of amethyst did St.
Valentine prefer and hence, be-
came the color representing love:
Red
Yellow-orange
Rose
Purple
Take the test and check your an-
swers here:
www.gemstonebuzz.com/10-
interesting-facts-and-myths-you-
would-love-to-know-about-
amethysts
Santa Lucia Rockhounds (SLR)
is a non-profit public benefit corporation with the
specific purpose to promote the study of mineralogy,
including (but not limited to) the fields of lapidary,
metal working, jewelry design and fabrication, geology
and conducts field trips for collecting and education.
We encourage learning and good citizenship in a
congenial atmosphere. We respect both private and
public property, and we strive to protect natural
resources. Meetings are held during the third Monday of
each month, except December, at the Templeton
Community Center.
We are a member of the California Federation of
Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) and affiliated with the
American Federation on Mineralogical Societies (AFMS).
Santa Lucia Rockhounds, Inc. is also a member of the
American Lands Access Association (ALAA).
Annual dues are $20 for the first adult and $8
each for every additional member of the same
household. Annual dues are payable between August 1
and the third Monday of December, in person at club
meetings or by mail to P.O. Box 1672, Paso Robles, CA
93447.
The Rockonteur
This is the official monthly newsletter of the SLR and an
independent publication containing news and
information consistent with the mission of SLR and of
interests to its members. Circulation is approximately
100 copies per issue.
Member submissions are encouraged and may be
sent to the editor. We reserve the right to accept or
refuse submissions inconsistent with the objectives and
purpose of the SLR. Submissions may be edited as
needed without consent. Deadline are due by midnight
of the last day of the month but early submissions are
highly appreciated and strongly encouraged.
Newsletter Editor/Publisher:
Amy Phillips | [email protected]
Website: www.slrockhounds.org
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 3
Words from the President
Happy Valentine’s Day! My Inspiration quote for this month is
“Faith makes all things possible…Love makes all things easy”
by Dwight L. Moody.
After the rainfall, I hope you will be successful at finding
more rocks while spending time outdoors.
You should watch for warning signs and not go
too far off the trail or road, it can be dangerous.
Our next meeting will be on President’s Day,
Feb. 18 @ 7pm. The featured speaker is Tim Elan
and his presentation is on Shark’s Tooth Hill.
During the meeting, our annual budget will be presented to the
membership for discussion and voting to approve it.
Mark your calendar on Feb. 16 @ 10am - 1pm to visit Ralph
Bishop’s Museum. Contact Wayne Mills @ 805-481-3495 or
email [email protected] for directions.
It’s getting closer to our Rock & Gem Show, which is Apr. 13
and 14, from 10am to 5pm. This year’s theme is “Discover The
World of Crystals.” Every member can help during the show, and
I encourage you to find something to add meaning and value.
The Show Coordinator will provide and update during our
meeting. There are still many volunteer shifts available.
Please help us market the show by inviting your family
and friends to come. We’ll have yard signs and other marketing
products next month and will need your help
to put them out and about.
Rock On, Mary
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 4
February 4 @ 7pm
Board Meeting
Rabobank Meeting Room, Templeton
February 16, 10am - 1pm
Wayne Mills is inviting our club to visit Ralph Bishop's Museum at his residence in Santa Maria. Interested members can call him for directions at
(805) 805-481-3495.
February 18 @ 7pm
General Meeting
Guest speaker Tim Elam,
a National Park volunteer ranger and
retired petroleum geologist, will talk about
Shark Tooth Hill, a well-known fossil site
outside of Bakersfield.
Mary Beatty is helping manage the Junior
Rockhounds classes until John McCabe recovers.
Juniors will be learning about Stone Age
tools and arts.
Templeton Community Center
March 4 @ 7pm
Board Meeting
Rabobank Meeting Room, Templeton
March 18 @ 7pm
General Meeting
Barbara Bilyeu and Galen Moyer is speaking
about thunderegg collecting in Nevada.
Templeton Community Center
CLUB MEETINGS & EVENTS OTHER EVENTS
February 23-24
Vallejo Gem & Mineral Society
McCormack Hall, Solano County Fairgrounds
For more info: www.vigems.org
March 1-3
Mineral & Gem Society of Castro Valley
Newark Pavilion, 6430 Thornton Ave.
For more info: www.mgsv.org
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 5
President Mary Caparone 805-610-5281
Senior Director Mary Beatty
805-466-4917 runrungranny @gmail.com
VPs Membership
Kathy Clarke ladykatephotos @sbcglobal.net Karen Hilchey 805-296-4183
VP Education John McCabe
805-464-0528 [email protected]
VP Communications
Amy Phillips 805-269-4194 amyphillips18 @hotmail.com
Assisted by
Auctioneer Pete Duckworth 805-467-3413
CFMS Director Wayne Mills
805-481-3495 [email protected]
Drawings
Roberta Hall 805-226-8965
Field Trips
Richard Smitten (805) 440-1496
Historian
Mike Doherty 805-466-4061
Hospitality Julie Cannon
[email protected] 805-610-7644 Brenda Obert
805-423-0737
Ron Rusconi
805-549-7961
Secretary Rachael Denny 805-472-9036 stormdragon71 @netscape.net
Treasurer
Laurie Wylie 805-466-7864 [email protected]
Junior Director
Lisa King 805-467-0062 anoldcowhand @gmail.com
Past President
Tina Clark 805-305-0246
tdkclark @sbcglobal.net
Library/Museum Barbara Bilyeu 805-434-2708
Merchandise David Nelson 805-423-0188
Museum Barbara Bilyeu
Newsletter Editor/
Publisher Amy Phillips
Program
Coordinator Gene Bilyeu
805-434-2708 [email protected]
Rock & Gem Show
Chair Kim Noyes
805-610-0603 [email protected]
2019 CLUB OFFICERS COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Thank you for your service!
Kim Noyes and Tina Clark sponsored a field trip to the San Simeon State Beach Park in Janu-ary, with about 20 folks participating. “They had a great time finding a variety of quartz from chalcedony to agate to various colors of jasper to brecciated jasper to jasper-agate to colorful cherts. Even one myrickite specimen may have been found. The recent storms had scoured out San Simeon Creek bringing to the beach a lot of fresh material and the wave action and recent king tides and further sorted the beach. Conditions were perfect!” - submitted by Kim Noyes
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 6
EXHIBITS It's almost show time so start putting your exhibits
together! Anyone can exhibit (including Junior
Rockhounds!), and we welcome new exhibitors.
An exhibit application form is on the following page
of this newsletter and copies will also be available
at the Library Table during our February and March
meetings. A limited number of exhibit cases can
be loaned from the Club if you do not own case.
The People's Choice Contest invites rock show par-
ticipants to vote for their favorite exhibit, so do
your very best! Our show theme this year is
"Crystals" and it's a great chance to show our visi-
tors the many wonderful forms crystals can take.
Other types of exhibits are very welcome as well
so don't feel left out if your collection isn't heavy
on crystals. For more info or questions, contact
Barbara Bilyeu at 805-434-2708 or bbilyeu2001@
yahoo.com.
KIDS BOOTH We need your help to make the Kids Booth a suc-
cess! This booth was very popular last year with
kids and adults alike. We have a spinning wheel
for a chance to win a rock specimen and $1 grab
bags for sale. This year, we’re adding a rock paint-
ing table for people to try their hand at rock art.
We need small tumbled stones, rocks, petrified
wood, or anything small and rock-related to
put in grab bags.
Painted or non-painted rocks to give-away as
prizes or use as references at the rock painting
table.
Unwanted small paint brushes, acrylic paint
and small rocks to paint on.
We also need volunteers for two-hour shifts
each day.
To donate, signup or ask questions, contact Amy
Phillips at [email protected].
Guest exhibitor Tom McGanty from Oregon won 1st Place with
his fossil display during the 2018 Rock Show People’s Choice
Contest.
Rock art by the Phillips family.
MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - CONTACT KIM NOYES!
805-610-0603 / [email protected]
Dear Friends, We would be honored to have your exhibit in our annual rock and gem show to be held at the Paso Robles Event Center. Our show theme this year is "Discover The World of Crystals." Exhibit set-up time is from 12:00 noon until 7:00 PM on Friday, April 12th, or between 8:00 and 10:00 on Saturday morning. Exhibits must remain in place until 5:00 Sunday afternoon. The Santa Lucia Rockhounds will have security in place during the show, but will not be liable for loss or damage to exhibits. Please complete the following form and return to:
Barbara Bilyeu 620 Santa Rita Rd.
Templeton, CA 93465 For further information, please call Barbara Bilyeu at (805)434-2708, or email at [email protected]. We look forward to your participation!
Detach here - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
Name_______________________________ Club_______________________ Address_______________________________City______________ZIP______ Phone__________________ Email_______________________ I have my own case_____ Upright______ Slant______
Outside dimensions are Length_____Depth_____ Height_____ Maximum wattage not to exceed 150 watts.
I need to borrow a case _____. A limited number of loaner cases can be loaned from the Club, if you do not have your own case. They are standard 4’x2’x2’. Please pro-vide your own liners.
Description of exhibit ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Signature__________________________________ Date_________________
EXHIBIT APPLICATION Santa Lucia Rockhounds Annual Gem and Mineral Show April 13 - 14, 2019 at the Paso Robles Event Center (Fairgrounds)
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 8
The central Andes Mountains and surrounding land-scape, as seen in this true-color image from NASA’s Ter-ra spacecraft, formed over the past 170 million years as the Nazca Plate lying under the Pacific Ocean has forced its way under the South American Plate. (NASA photo)
Earth's continental nurseries discovered beneath mountains Continent origins revealed in search for missing niobium
In a paper published this month by Nature
Communications, Tang, Rice petrologist Cin-
Ty Lee and colleagues offered an answer to
one of Earth science's fundamental questions:
Where do continents form?
"If our conclusions are correct, every
piece of land that we are now sitting on got its
start someplace like the Andes or Tibet, with
very mountainous surfaces," said Tang, lead
author of the study and a postdoctoral re-
search associate in Rice's Department of
Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
(EEPS). "Today, most places are flat because
that is the stable stage of the continental
crust. But what we found was that when the
crust formed, it had to start out with moun-
tain-building processes."
The connection between niobium, one of
Earth's rarest elements, and continent for-
mation is a story that plays out over billions of
years at scales as small as molecules and as
large as mountain ranges. The leading players
are niobium and tantalum, rare metals so
alike that geologists often think of them as
twins.
"They have very similar chemical proper-
ties and behave almost identically in most ge-
ological processes," Tang said. "If you meas-
ure tantalum and niobium, you find that their
ratio is nearly constant in Earth's mantle. That
means that when you find more niobium in a
rock, you will find more tantalum, and when
you find less niobium, you will find less tanta-
lum."
The mantle is Earth's thickest layer, span-
ning about 1,800 miles between the planet's
core and its thin outer crust. Earth scientists
believe that little, if anything, moves between
the mantle and core, but the mantle and eve-
rything above it -- seafloor, oceans, conti-
nents and atmosphere -- are connected, and
many of the atoms on Earth's surface today,
including the atoms in humans and other liv-
ing things, have cycled through the mantle
one or more times in Earth's 4.6 billion years.
The rocks in continents are an exception.
Geologists have found some that are up to 4
billion years old, which means they were
formed near the surface and stayed on the
surface, without being recycled into the man-
tle. That's due in part to the nature of conti-
nental crust, which is far less dense than the
basaltic rocks beneath Earth's oceans. Lee,
professor and EEPS department chair, said it's
no coincidence that Earth is the only rocky
planet known to have both continents and life.
Finish reading this article here: https://
www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2019/01/190129162402.htm
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 9
The meeting opened at 7:00 P.M. with the Pledge
of Allegiance. Present were Mary Caparone, Tina
Clark, Laurie Wylie, Rachael Denny, Kathy
Clarke, Karen Hilchey, Lisa King, Gene and Barba-
ra Bilyeu, Roberta Hall, Kim Noyes and Mary Beat-
ty.
Correspondence: the Club received the AFMS
newsletter, the Cuesta College News (for John
McCabe), passes for the Santa Barbara Gem Faire,
late membership renewals, and a postcard from
New England Meteoritical Services offering mete-
orite testing.
The C.F.M.S. is requesting help for the Paradise
gem club, which was seriously impacted by last
fall's devastating fire. Anyone who wishes to con-
tribute funds or equipment should contact CFMS
President Tony Fender.
Mary Caparone reported that she has received a
request from a Club member to place a website
link on the Club's website. If there are going to be
links to commercial sites on the Club's website, we
will need to add a formal disclaimer.
Tina Clark, Kathy Clarke and Mary Beatty will work
on changing the g-mail and website passwords for
this year.
Treasurer's Report: Laurie Wylie presented the
report and passed around the budget closeout for
2018. A budget for 2019 will be put together and
presented to the membership next month, so the
Board and Committee members need to think
about what they will need in the coming year.
Juniors: John McCabe has undergone major sur-
gery, and may not be able to resume his duties for
some time. Tina Clark has volunteered to send
out the scholarship letter, and it was suggested
that Amy Phillips might be willing to help work
with the Junior members. Mary Beatty brought
the new backpacks, and proposed giving them out
when the Junior members receive their badg-
es. Roberta Hall suggested giving out a backpack
when a Junior has earned three badges, and there
was general agreement that this would be a good
policy.
Equipment: Tina Clark will look into the possibility
of acquiring speakers for audiovisual presenta-
tions.
Board positions: There was further discussion
about creating a new Board position of Vice-
President, or President Elect. This would require
amending the Club's by-laws, which is a complex
process. Mary Caparone and Tina Clark will be
working on this.
Programs: The featured program for this month's
general meeting will be the Club's annual Show
and Tell, and in February, Tim Elam will give a
presentation on Shark Tooth Hill. In March, Bar-
bara Bilyeu and Galen Moyer will present a pro-
gram on the thunder eggs of Aurora, Nevada. As
the Club's annual show is scheduled for April 13-
14, Tina Clark will check on the possibility of hold-
ing the general meeting on April 8th, so as not to
have a meeting immediately after the show.
Gene Bilyeu proposed giving an honorarium to the
speakers at our meetings, to help cover their ex-
penses. Lisa King moved that the Club give an
honorarium of $100 per program, Laurie Wylie se-
conded the motion, and the proposal was ap-
proved by the Board. Tina Clark made a motion to
approve the minutes of last month's business
meeting, Lisa King seconded the motion, and the
minutes were approved by the Board.
Field trips: Mary Caparone reported that the
Orcutt club is having a field trip to Ralph Bishop's
museum on February 16th. Anyone who is inter-
ested in going should contact Wayne Mills. Barbara
Bilyeu reported that there will be a sale of rocks,
minerals and fossils to benefit the Buena Vista Mu-
seum of Natural History in Bakersfield on February
2nd.
Roberta Hall asked where the drawing prizes are
kept. They are in the storage shed, and Tina Clark
suggested Roberta contact David Nelson about
helping her get them out and that she could help if
David was not available. Tina moved that Lisa
King be given $125 to buy some more drawing
prizes when she goes to Quartzite, and the pro-
posal was approved by the Board.
(Continued on page 10)
JANUARY 7, 2019
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 10
JANUARY 17, 2019
GENERAL MEETING
MINUTES
Mark Nelson has been sending out a survey to the
Board members, with the aim of nominating our
Club for the A.F.M.S.-C.F.M.S. All-Club Award. Af-
ter some discussion, it was decided that Mark
should submit his requests for information to Mary
Caparone for club wide distribution instead of
emailing members directly himself. Mary Capa-
rone, Tina Clark, and Lisa King would like to re-
view the document before it is submitted.
Kathy Clarke has been having technical difficulties
with the membership list. She will be working with
Galen Moyer to resolve this issue.
Show Report: Kim Noyes presented the report.
At present, the dealer contract has the wrong
dates, and needs to be corrected. Richard
Smithen and Mark Nelson are willing to be in
charge of the People's Choice. and Debbie
Meacham and Amy Phillips have both offered to
work on the Kid's Booth. Roberta Hall will be in
charge of the Drawing, and Kim will see about
getting prizes. Lisa King is willing to get shark's
teeth in Quartzite. She will need about $500 for
that, and an additional $200 to get a nice crystal
for the Grand Prize. Galen is happy with the
Gravel Pit. Laurie and Tom Wylie will need to get
more geodes, and they should have an estimate
on that by next month. Kim will talk to Amy
Phillips about postcard printing, and get quotes on
yard signs and banners. It will probably be more
cost-effective to put patches on last year's ban-
ners to change the date than to get new ones. Ti-
na Clark will talk to Meagan from Paso Robles
Magazine, and send a press release to Kim. Kim
will call Richard Wade about presenting a program
at the show. As yet, there has been no feedback
from dealers.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 P.M.
Submitted by Rachael Denny, Secretary
The meeting opened at 7:00 P.M. with the
Pledge of Allegiance. Ryan Jones performed
the badge check, and a Junior Rockhound
led the singing of "Happy Birthday" and
"Happy Anniversary" to those Club mem-
bers celebrating these events in the month
of January. Guests were invited to intro-
duce themselves.
Mary Caparone announced that the general
meeting in April has been scheduled for the
second Monday (April 8th), so that it will
not take place right after the show.
Next month's Board meeting (which is open
to everyone) will be on February 4th, and
the general meeting will be on February
18th. The featured speaker will be Tim
Elam, who will give a presentation on
Shark's Tooth Hill, and the budget will be
presented, as well.
John McCabe is recuperating from heart
surgery, and was unable to attend. Mary
Beatty presented certificates to Junior
Rockhounds attending the general meeting.
The Juniors will receive backpacks after
earning two badges and a patch.
Mary Caparone thanked Tina Clark for
sending the scholarship letter to the local
high schools.
Kathy Clarke reported that there were 45
members present (not counting guests)
and encouraged all members to wear their
name badges.
Wayne Mills reported that the C.F.M.S.
show will take place on March 8-10 at the
Pomona Fairgrounds, and that the Ventura
show will be March 2-3. C.F.M.S. insurance
needs to be submitted by March 1st. There
will be a joint field trip with the Orcutt Club
to the Ralph Bishop Museum in Santa Maria
on February 16th, from 10;00 A.M. to 1:00
P.M. Anyone who wants to go should con-
Rockonteur ❖ February 2019 ❖ Page 11
tact Wayne for directions. Wayne also
thanked Mark Nelson for entering the Club in
the All-American Yearbook 2018 competition.
Kim Noyes presented the Show Report. Kim,
Tina Clark and Laurie Wylie will be going to
get the contract worked out. Lisa King has
obtained prizes for the drawing and sharks
teeth for the Kid's Booth, and the dealer con-
tracts are coming in. Exhibit forms will be
available next month, and there is someone
in charge of all the different sections, but it
appears that Richard Wade will be unable to
attend the show this year.
Julie Cannon thanked everyone who brought
refreshments to share, and Roberta Hall an-
nounced that Lisa King brought some nice
crystals for the drawing.
The featured program for the evening was
the Club's annual Show and Tell. The mem-
bers, adult and junior alike, presented speci-
mens of crystals, fossils, thunder eggs, jade,
fire opals, artifacts, jewelry, and other inter-
esting things, and told the stories of how
these prizes came into their possession.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 P.M. for re-
freshments, the drawing, and the silent auc-
tion.
Submitted by Rachael Denny, Secretary
DIATOMITE
IS A BEER FILTER Diatomite is a friable light-
colored sedimentary rock that is mainly com-posed of the siliceous skeletal remains of dia-
toms. Diatoms are members of a large, di-verse group of algae that drift freely in the
waters of oceans and lakes. Diatomite has a very small particle size, a high porosity, and is
relatively inert. That makes it an excellent material for use as a filter. Much of the beer
brewed in the United States is filtered through crushed diatomite, known as diato-
maceous earth. When selecting diatomite for beer filtering, it is important to source the
diatomite from a deposit that was formed in a freshwater environment - because the salty
marine diatomite will ruin the beer! Diato-maceous earth is also used to filter wine, drinking water, syrup, honey, juice, swim-ming pool water, and much more. Learn more here: https://geology.com/rocks/
diatomite.shtml
MALACHITE Used as an ore of copper, a pigment, a gemstone, and a sculptural material for
thousands of years. It was one of the first ores used to produce copper metal.
Today it is most often cut into cabochons or beads for jewelry use. Malachite is a
mineral that forms at shallow depths within the Earth, in the oxidizing zone above
copper deposits. Some of the first malachite deposits to be exploited were located
in Egypt and Israel. Learn more at: https://geology.com/minerals/malachite.shtml
P.O. Box 1672
Paso Robles, CA 93447