Cold Water Travertine at Ilion
Some 30 years ago, Herkimer County decided that the annual flooding and requisite road repair on Jerusalem Road (Co. Rd 16) south of Ilion was not worth the cost and effort and a one mile section of the road was permanently closed. In the 30 years hence, the road has been washed out repeatedly and is now a mere paved path in the woods. In fact, there is not much left of the old road (note the asphalt along the right side of the cover photo).
About half way along this section of road there is a series of springs which exit the shale that is exposed in the gully. At this point fractures in the shale have been partially filled and coated with travertine (a form of calcite). Varying in color from yellow to orange to various shades of brown this material has become a favorite of local collectors. Our club has generally scheduled an annual trip to this location. This year nine of us visited on June 24th and were not disappointed.
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Article I wrote for August, 2014 WCGMC News
Amphiboles, Apatites, and a Whole Lot More
Wonderful weather and a glorious suite of minerals greeted the eleven WCGMC members who spent 5 days and 4 July nights camping and collecting in the Bancroft, Ontario area.
The group did not let moss grown under their collecting feet. After setting up camp on Monday afternoon, it was off to the Graphite Road outcrop north of town for tremolite and biotite and our first set of mosquito bites. As a small and readily accessible roadcut listed in the 2013 Bancroft Chamber of Commerce collecting site book, this site is heavily visited, but we still found it worthy of an hour or two of dedicated digging and collecting and quite a few pounds of tremolite and biotite went back to the campsite for cleaning and packing. Back at the campsite we enjoyed Eva Jane’s chicken casserole and dreamed of the huge apatites and titanites to come.
Continue reading Bancroft, Ontario 2014 →
Retired, collecting minerals and stamps, growing flowers and vegetables, and when the spirit moves, toying with technology