Sand from Hiroshima

On August 6th, 1945, the United States detonated a 5-ton nuclear weapon over Hiroshima, Japan.  The result helped end WW2 in the Pacific Arena as Japan surrendered less than one month later, but it was devastating to the city of Hiroshima and its immediate surroundings.   Approximately 100,000 Japanese perished in the blast and about 5 square miles of the city were obliterated as ground temperature reached above 1800⁰ C in the firestorm that followed.   

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A Sea of Garnet Sand

In early 2020, I was comfortably sitting in my man cave planning a September trip to collect beach sands along the coastline of southern New England.  While cruising along the shoreline using Google Maps satellite images I spotted a bright red patch of beach near Madison, Connecticut.  Zooming in, there seemed no doubt.  The beach sand there is red.  Could the dominant mineral in that patch of beach be garnet?  If it is, this could be a highlight stop along the trip. Continue reading A Sea of Garnet Sand