jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 16, 2015 9:50:51 GMT -5
Two types of quartz Ed- crystalline quartz(harder to tumble) and chert/agate/jasper quartz. Cherts and agates break more like glass. Like the brown, yellowish, orange arrowheads you find. Not the white crystalline quartz, it is much more grainy/fractured and breaks like granite.
Gravel bars a gold mine. Especially south of the fall line.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Sept 16, 2015 9:54:27 GMT -5
'Appalachian Mineral & Gem Trails' has a chapter on Alabama.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 16, 2015 10:59:04 GMT -5
Was reading through some ancient threads the other night, particularly the location topic. Found this one from way back (June 2006), has some links to PDF files (will need to download them)with locations for finding rocks in different states. Ed, the Alabama locations are found in the first link in the post.
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/173647/thread
The files are from 2005, so no idea what locations are still accessible, and what is there when you access it. Maybe some of the info is still valid.
FWIW, I wasn't interested in rocks the year (7/76 to 7/77) I was in AL, so no ideas to throw your way. Good luck!
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,169
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Post by jamesp on Sept 16, 2015 13:11:23 GMT -5
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 16, 2015 13:51:18 GMT -5
So did I, jamesp ! When I am awake on and off throughout the night, when any sane person is fast asleep, I've been looking through old threads on this forum. So much information, a treasure trove! Unfortunately, many photos are missing now, as they have been removed from the third party photo accounts.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 16, 2015 15:14:29 GMT -5
Howdy Jean, yep, been pondering over that file for a few days...really interesting. Looking like from down below Grove Hill on up to Tuscaloosa might not be a bad area. Still, to invest the driving it would be good to know something awaits at the end of the drive, if nothing else access to a nice gravel bed on the river. Looking up towards Montgomery would be one of the closer trips for me. I know there's gravel pits up there, just not sure of public access areas along the river....my daughter has worked up there and lived there at times for years so I texted her asking if she knew any places like that. She took me to an oyster bar down by the river (The old Captial City Oyster Bar that used to be on the south side of town)...I remember the parking area and surrounding area was thick in gravel...maybe go eat oysters and hunt rocks.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,169
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Post by jamesp on Sept 16, 2015 15:42:15 GMT -5
River bridge crossings too Ed. Skirt down on the ROW if not posted. Do some sampling. S. Alabama has fine gravels in their rivers. Been wanting to explore them, now I got a source of locations thanx Jean.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 16, 2015 15:56:55 GMT -5
Two types of quartz Ed- crystalline quartz(harder to tumble) and chert/agate/jasper quartz. Cherts and agates break more like glass. Like the brown, yellowish, orange arrowheads you find. Not the white crystalline quartz, it is much more grainy/fractured and breaks like granite. Gravel bars a gold mine. Especially south of the fall line. Hmm, I just had a message I was working on disappear...I think I went off on a rabbit trail and lost it. Anyhow.... James, this just gave me some great knowledge...I did not know that those other stones were actually a type of quartz!!! I can see the difference in the way that they break...the crystalline quarts breaks in "chunks", even the small rocks while the colored rocks of the other typs of quartz break with an edge. I've seen crystalline quartz arrowheads but they've never had the fine details that you find in the cherts and flints. Looking down into white quartz you can see what looks like cracks inside of them...what are those "cracks"...just the crystal formation? I once found an indian site over in Wilcox county (east of Alabama River by probably 20 miles) that had black and white (crystallin quartz) arrowheads....very strange site. I think I might have found one piece of a sandstone point. It was in a very large clear-cut that had a very large flat hill in it. Most all of the artifacts were found towards the steepest end of that hill. Small points of an inch and on down to birdpoint size and due to the rock, not the finest of . I only got to hunt it once as the summer quickly grew it over. Man, I'm glad to hear that about the gravel bars. My sister wants us to come up to Columbus, GA next weekend to babysit the dogs (don't know who will babysit ours...but our's are ornery ol' cusses)....and,....the Chattahoochee River is right there and according to the Location Guide for Rock Hounds pdf, it has a host of good rocks in it's gravel beds!!!!! Might just have to help sister out!!!!
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 16, 2015 15:59:38 GMT -5
River bridge crossings too Ed. Skirt down on the ROW if not posted. Do some sampling. S. Alabama has fine gravels in their rivers. Been wanting to explore them, now I got a source of locations thanx Jean. Gotcha. I'm figuring places about like when I used to hunt arrowheads...skint up ground close to water.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 25, 2015 18:42:03 GMT -5
Last Sunday my daughter got me to come down to her house and take pictures of the family. Well, the Conecuh River crosses US331 below Brantley...I checked Google Earth and spotted a nice sandbar just south of the bridge. Here's a picture of it... Conecuh by Intheswamp, on Flickr ...well, I pulled under the bridge and walked through the little bit of jungle between the bridge and the sandbar. The best finds were clods of clay...I did not see a single *rock*. I rode on south and hit some dirt roads...nothing except some busted up granite and limestone strewn in the road.<sigh> This is more or less standard for the area than I'm in. Road trips or by the post office...looks like that is going to be my avenue to rocks. I do enjoy road trips...I just need to make them worth my while.
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