got a box of crappy rocks

Oh my gosh, if those are crappy then I would like to see what he calls good! Those should make some awesome tumbles. Lots of nice jaspers! Be sure to post the results.

Hi Chuck;

I have a guess for this one:



Those may be amazonite crystals in granite matrix. There is an outcrop of that somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mtns. A classmate made a 5" sphere of this "amazonite in granite" material. It had a green crystal over 1" across in a gorgeous granite matrix.

Can't wait to see what Lowell says what it really is.

Sorry I missed this post!!!!

I'm glad you liked the cr*ppy stuff. I still need to send you a box of the good stuff (same type of material, but larger with less fractures).

The green material is fluorite actually (nice guess tho) that comes from the Northern Cady Mountains near the place Mel finds his plumy jasper.
If I go on that field trip, it is a great first stop. You need a small shovel and some water cause basically you are diggin in the tailings that date back 50 years. The pieces are mostly small, but you can find kid-fist sized chunks that polish up wonderfully. It's soft, so you don't treat it like agate (don't tumble!!!!) You dig and sift and wet and keep the pieces that show green.

About a five minute walk up the draw will bring you to an outcrop of jasper I call psychedelic due to its swirly nature (reminds me of San Francisco rock posters from the 1960's). Mel's jasper I've never found, but I've not been beyond this point.

At the mouth of the draw is a river basic where you can find aragonite chunks of you're lucky.

I received your letter - you are most kind. Thank you!

Gotta run, but I love cady stuff for tumbling.

Lowell