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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 8, 2011 12:59:55 GMT -5
Here's an odd one from my collection. Collected by me back in the 1950's This is a natural sand concretion which has only been found at Mt. Signal, Imperial Co., California. Unfortunately the site is completely worked out, and the site is now on private ground which is closed to collecting. A few show up for sale from time to time, but most are in museums or private collections. Don
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
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Post by adrian65 on Mar 8, 2011 13:45:42 GMT -5
Nice specimen. I've seen a lot of concretions, but none with such shape.
Adrian
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 8, 2011 13:59:24 GMT -5
In all the world, they've only been found in this one spot. The location is an ancient dry lake or inland sea bed, between Mt. Signal and the Mexican border. When found, they were wet and very fragile. They had to be carefully removed from the sand and allowed to dry on a piece of plywood for several hours in the hot sun. Now for a really strange thing about Sand Spikes. About 96% of them were found with the long pointed end facing west. Don
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 8, 2011 16:18:33 GMT -5
Back in the early 50's, when I was still a pebble pup, an old rockhound who live down the street from me took me to the site in his old surplus Dodge Power Wagon. He was one of a very small handful of people who knew the location of the sand spikes. Shortly after that weekend outing, someone was followed to the site. The following week the person went in with a bulldozer to dig sand spikes to sell. Being as fragile as they were when first dug, he destroyed hundreds if not thousands of them. After that, only a very few more were found. The person who originally found the location had collected a few thousand. Most were traded with other collectors, or donated to museums around the world. The land now belongs to a vineyard owner, and is closed to everyone. Don
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Post by tanyafrench on Mar 8, 2011 18:38:36 GMT -5
Don, that is one unique piece. I've never seen anything like that and probably won't again.
Tanya
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 8, 2011 20:42:49 GMT -5
Wild. Any speculation on why they pointed west?
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NDK
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Member since January 2009
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Post by NDK on Mar 8, 2011 20:56:23 GMT -5
Very cool spike, Don! It's a wonderful story. Too bad it only takes one person to ruin it. I'm glad you were able to get one.
Nate
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
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Post by mossyrockhound on Mar 8, 2011 22:46:35 GMT -5
Cool. Looks like a petrified caveman club. I guess when the cavemen died most of them must've fallen eastward, leaving the handle pointing west - lol. Is it story time??
Having this piece for over 50 years, I'm sure you've heard some good theories about how it was formed.
Garry
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 8, 2011 22:50:51 GMT -5
Wild. Any speculation on why they pointed west? They have been studied by the "experts", and nobody can come up with a reason why they formed the way they did, or why most of them pointed west. I consider myself lucky to have been able to collect one, and to have kept it all of these years. Just about an inch of the pointed end was missing from mine when I found it. Don
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spicer m
spending too much on rocks
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Post by spicer m on Mar 9, 2011 0:54:04 GMT -5
Don Thanks for the information. Wish You had posted this a week ago. went to a sale last week and they had a couple dozen of them. I bought 3 of them for next to nothing because I thought they might be lightning strikes. They are smaller than the one You have. Now I know what they are and wish I had bought them all. Mike
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 9, 2011 8:52:50 GMT -5
Mike, I wish you had bought all of them too. They are rare enough to deserve a good home. You were lucky to find that many together in one place. They must have belonged to an old timers estate. Don
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rons
spending too much on rocks
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Post by rons on Mar 9, 2011 9:54:58 GMT -5
Neat specimen
material looks simular to calcite sand crytals we used to get at Rattlesnake butte SD at least I think that was where we got them...d*** CRS
you piece is really interesting, thanks for posting
Ron
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 9, 2011 10:33:58 GMT -5
Yep, Rattlesnake Butte. I have several of those. The sand spikes are shaped completely different from the sand crystals.Both are interesting though. Not as colorful as most collected rocks, but interesting none the less. Sand crystals have been found in several places around the world, but the sand spikes in only the one place. Don
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Post by Dicky the Rockhunter on Mar 9, 2011 12:35:57 GMT -5
Those are quite interesting and nice. Bet it take quite a bit to not harm them.
When I was diving caves in North Fla. we use to find something similar on a shelf about 20 feet down and exploration showed that it was like a stalagtite and was sand coming in through a tiny hole in the ceiling and one or two grains at a time falling down. There was no current in the room and the water was very calorific as the cave was an old coral reef thus they were fairly hard , however they always pointed up except the one that had fallen and they were all in the same direction. We assumed the direction was because a small temp current came in and knocked them over. But I like your better
Thanks for showing.
Dicky
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 9, 2011 12:57:49 GMT -5
Interesting thoughts. My speculation was that they formed in a current of some type. Even in a lake setting there is usually some current. As almost all are pointed in the same direction then the current flow would have built them up this way. The few that are not pointed in the same direction could have formed in an eddy or something.
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 9, 2011 13:01:21 GMT -5
Actually, after being dried in the sun for a few hours, sand spikes are quite hard. The so called experts haven't even been able to explain why the spikes were damp and soft when dug, when the sand they were buried in was dry.
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 9, 2011 22:15:14 GMT -5
Pretty cool
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Post by tandl on Mar 10, 2011 11:14:27 GMT -5
That is cool ! Don . There is a place here , where a river cuts into a glacial moraine , that i find similar concretions -spikes, some are like hands , claws, mountain ranges - etc. some have pebbles in them too . i believe these are formed from outwash from the glaciers .
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 10, 2011 11:25:28 GMT -5
Hey Ted, the glaciers didn't reach that far south. These were found within about 2 miles of the Mexican border.
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Post by tandl on Mar 10, 2011 12:21:31 GMT -5
i meant the ones i find . As for yours , i`m thinking water flow from something .
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