Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
If you cannot see Amazon ad banners directly below this text, please whitelist this site in your ad blocker(s). The ads below have been hand-selected for relevant content, and your patronage directly benefits this forum community, thanks!
We have had some heavy rains recently in central Texas, so we are heading up to Llano to see what the currents have exposed. We'll probably grab some Cooper's BBQ while we are in town.
Dillon, I hope y'all get a TON of cool rocks...but I'm hoping to see pics of what you get from Cooper's BBQ! LOL
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
Oh man! Me too! Now, if I just knew how to identify them! I have a pile of small stones from previous trips that are just different from quartz (soapy feel), but I'm not sure how to confirm my suspicion.
4. Texas Topaz Moving east into the staked Plains, how about some Texas Topaz! -Found weathering out of Pegmatites in Precambrian Rocks from Mason to Burnett
If you are going to search for Texas Topaz, it will help if you know what formations they will be found in.
lonestarjewelry.com/shop/custom.aspx?recid=3 Topaz was first recognized in Mason County in 1904. Old-timers remember stumbling onto the quartzlike gemstone while searching the creek beds for arrowheads. Sometimes the stones were so big, they could be used as doorstops. But it was the arrowhead that had value in those days. The topaz was just another pretty rock.
Mason County boasts the largest gem-quality topaz crystal ever found in North America. It is a 1,296-gram pale blue crystal that now resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Most pieces are considerably smaller, generally less than a couple of inches long with a diameter of less than an inch.
Texas topaz is usually colorless to white, though some of the most beautiful and startling gemstones are in the light-blue to sky-blue range. In color, size and clarity, Texas topaz is considered among the best in the United States. "Mason County is known for the best-quality stones," Seaquist said. "We have a lot of geology classes from the University of Texas come out here to look for it." But they don't find much.
Yeah, but . . . Where, what, how . . .
The first were found in creek beds like Comanche Creek, next to eroding Packsaddle schist folds that were formed way back when ancient North America slammed into Europe. Packsaddle and the surrounding Valley Spring Gneiss and Town Mountain granite were later intruded by pegmatites where penetrating fluorine gas transformed silicon and aluminum into topaz - a silicate mineral of aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4(F,OH)2.
Blue Topaz is the Texas state gemstone as well as the birthstone for the month of November. Blue Topaz is the Texas state gemstone as well as the birthstone for the month of November. It occurs naturally in many colors including blue, orange, brown, green, pink, beige and red. Colorless topaz, a the most common variation, can be treated by irradiation to produce a wide range of shades of blue. Thus treated, blue topaz is one of the most popular and widely used of all gemstones. Blue topaz was adopted as the state gemstone as the result of legislation approved March 26, 1969. The same legislation also named petrified palm wood as the state stone. It occurs naturally in many colors including blue, orange, brown, green, pink, beige and red. It is especially common in the East Texas Piney Woods region and along the Gulf Coast.
5. Rare Earth Minerals Buchanan Lake is the site of a famous meteorite impact that provided lots of rare earth minerals. Probably used in making the first transistors.
Oh man! Me too! Now, if I just knew how to identify them! I have a pile of small stones from previous trips that are just different from quartz (soapy feel), but I'm not sure how to confirm my suspicion.
Topaz is an 8 on the Mohs scale. Quartz is a 7.
Topaz also has perfect cleavage along one axis, is doubly refractive and weakly dichroic (varying shades of the body color).
Robin
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Post by quartzilla on May 26, 2023 11:10:56 GMT -5
Topaz has a higher specific gravity too and should feel a bit heavier for it’s size when compared with a similar sized piece of quartz. The cleavage should be a dead giveaway too. I’d imagine any stream tumbled topaz should show signs of the cleavage if it got bounced around a bit. Quartz is my “go to” for comparison when doing a heft test in the field. It may help to pack a couple various sized pieces of quartz with you on trips for just such purposes.
Dillon, I hope y'all get a TON of cool rocks...but I'm hoping to see pics of what you get from Cooper's BBQ! LOL
Beef rib, lean brisket, green beans, and pinto beans:
Robin
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Dillon, I hope y'all get a TON of cool rocks...but I'm hoping to see pics of what you get from Cooper's BBQ! LOL
Beef rib, lean brisket, green beans, and pinto beans:
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
We got back yesterday. We got around 6-7 milk crates full of stone: 3 full of chert, 2 full of quartz, and about 1.5 full of stuff from Comanche creek that 1dave suggested above.
This route Comanche creek from Llano: take 29E to Mason - in town take a left on 87S - Stop at the bridge that crosses Comanche creek. Park on the northwest corner of the bridge and go down to the creek on the northeast side.
The creek has chert, quartz, petrified wood, and reportedly - Topaz. Here is a photo of the creek.
There was a nice swallow colony on the west side of the bridge. We found some nice quartz, pet wood and maybe some topaz? My wife, Leslie, used a rock pick to break away some large chunks of Packsaddle Schist ~25lbs spread out over 4 chunks. There were some nice veins of quartz or topaz running through it. We will chip away at it at a later date-to see what's in it. Here are some small stones I’m looking to test to see if it is topaz or not.
Almost all of them were shaped in a manner that suggested they exhibited perfect cleavage along at least one axis - as hummingbirdstones suggested we look out for.
Leslie spotted this awesome piece of petrified wood (probably the best find of the trip - if it turns out we didn't find any topaz):
Will be this coming weekend, or longer, before I can get more pics and clean up some of the stuff we collected. Had to mow the lawn and fix our Titan today.
What the heck is it with wives coming up with the best finds on a rockhounding trip!?! I've been shown up by my wife SEVERAL times!! LOL
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
Post by victor1941 on May 30, 2023 11:29:15 GMT -5
Dillonf, I hunted topaz somewhere in the area of Streeter on Highway 377 in the creek beds that are cut by the road and are public property. Check around and see if any of the locals can help you. My wife found one nice clear topaz that was faceted and shown.
This space is for temporary chat only and all posts drop off automatically and are not saved.
Members with real questions or comments that need an actual response, please post on the main forum - not here! Casual PG-13 posts only, no politics or religion please!
RickB: a few more push-ups should get you back in shape
Apr 11, 2024 9:04:26 GMT -5
*
ThomasT: Somebody has two left feet...
Apr 13, 2024 14:44:42 GMT -5
1dave: And they are playing footsie on company time!
Apr 13, 2024 20:09:51 GMT -5
parfive: Bob & Carol & Jerry & Becki & The Pool Boy
Apr 13, 2024 20:25:53 GMT -5
RickB: It's a Toe Jam
Apr 14, 2024 6:33:27 GMT -5
*
rockhobbyguy: I am very heartbroken to hear Lortone is going out of business. My motor on my 45c just went out and needs to be replaced. Since theses are now seemingly unavailable for good, does anyone know of another brand of motor that would work with a Lortone 45c.
Apr 15, 2024 20:12:39 GMT -5
Wooferhound: This Little Piggy went WEEE Weee weee all the way to Rock Shed
Apr 15, 2024 21:19:49 GMT -5
*
amygdule: Don't forget to take a bath on April 15, 2024
Apr 15, 2024 22:10:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!