Iowa Gems and Minerals in Your Pocket (Bur Oak Guide) [1 ed.] 1609380851, 9781609380854

Citation preview

a bur oak guide

Iowa Gems and Minerals

in your pocket

paul garvin and anthony plaut

Twinned calcite crystal; Conklin Quarry, Johnson County; 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

Pyrite and marcasite crystals on calcite; Conklin Quarry, Johnson County; 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) high; Paul Garvin Collection.

Millerite brush; Conklin Quarry, Johnson County; 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) high; Paul Garvin Collection.

Doubly terminated calcite; Klein Quarry, Johnson County; 7.5 centimeters (3 inches) high; Marvin Houg Collection.

Sphalerite crystal; Klein Quarry, Johnson County; 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) across; Marvin Houg Collection.

➔

Marcasite crystal clusters on pyrite; Klein Quarry, Johnson County; 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) across; Michell Johnson Collection.

Single and twinned calcite crystals; Pint’s Quarry, Black Hawk County; larger single crystal is 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Fluorite crystals with pyrite and calcite; Pint’s Quarry, Black Hawk County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Dogtooth calcite crystal cluster; Pint’s Quarry, Black Hawk County; 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Coldwater agate; near Urbana, Linn County; 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Polished Coldwater agate; near Urbana, Linn County; largest specimen is 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) across; Marvin Houg Collection.

Spherical chert nodules; Cedar Rapids Quarry, Linn County; sphere second from right is 2.6 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Zoned rhombohedral calcite crystals; Robins Quarry, Linn County; 15 centimeters (4.9 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Polished Lake Superior agates; Cedar River drainage; largest specimen is 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) across; Allan Johnson Collection. Yellow fluorite crystals on calcite; Postville Quarry, Allamakee County; 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Galena crystals (“cog lead”); Dubuque County; 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Wedge-shaped barite blades; Pint’s Quarry, Black Hawk County; 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Cavities containing barite and calcite; Peske Quarry, Black Hawk County; 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

➔

Geode containing barite and dogtooth calcite crystals; Fairbank Quarry, Buchanan County; 10 centimeters (4 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Colloform pyrite; Coal Mines, Knoxville, Marion County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

White calcite “pineapples” on brown calcite; Coal Mines, Knoxville, Marion County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Smoky quartz and goethite needles on calcite; Coal Mines, Knoxville, Marion County; 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) across; David Malm Collection.

Pink barite on brown calcite; Coal Mines, Knoxville, Marion County; 18 centimeters (7.1 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Tabular celestite crystals; Sperry Gypsum Mine, Des Moines County; 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Barite crystals; Linwood Mine, Scott County; crystals are 5 centimeters (2 inches) long; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Rhombohedral calcite crystals; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Tabular golden barite crystal; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

Calcite and marcasite boxwork; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

Marcasite crystal cluster; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

Banded agate and quartz; Keswick Quarry, Keokuk County; 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) across; David Malm Collection.

Agate cabochons; Keswick Quarry, Keokuk County; largest specimen is 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) high; Marvin Houg Collection.

Millerite tufts with colloform quartz; Keswick Quarry, Keokuk County; 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Tabular barite crystals; Keswick Quarry, Keokuk County; 10 centimeters (4 inches) across; David Malm Collection.

Calcite with marcasite inclusions; Moscow Quarry, Muscatine County; 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

➔

Colloform pyrite with calcite crystals; Moscow Quarry, Muscatine County; 10 centimeters (4 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College. Calcite crystal containing rhombohedral phantom; Moscow Quarry, Muscatine County; 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Plumose barite; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Doubly terminated calcite crystal with marcasite rosettes; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 10 centimeters (4 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

➔ Sphalerite crystal cluster; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Prismatic barite crystals; Linwood Mine, Scott County; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Paul Garvin Collection.

Octahedral pyrite crystals; Buffalo Quarry, Scott County; 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Transparent calcite crystal; Buffalo Quarry, Scott County; 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) high; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Aragonite needles on dolomite; Buffalo Quarry, Scott County; 5 centimeters (2 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Geode, colloform quartz; southeastern Iowa; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Marvin Houg Collection.

Geode, brown calcite on quartz; St. Francisville, Illinois; 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Geode, pink and golden calcite on quartz; Canton, Missouri; 5.5 centimeters (2.2 inches) across; Anderson Geology Museum, Cornell College.

Geode, calcite and pyrite cubes on quartz; southeastern Iowa; 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) across; Marvin Houg Collection.

Iowa Gems and Minerals in Your Pocket From the spiky teeth of a geode containing barite and dogtooth calcite crystals, the rich browns and golds of smoky quartz and goethite needles on calcite, and the coral-like branches of plumose barite to the abstract reds and whites of polished agate cabochons, world-class mineral crystals are harvested from the rocks of the Hawkeye State. Collecting these high-quality crystals requires access to active mines, pits, and quarries, and individual collectors are rarely allowed entrance to these facilities. With information about each specimen’s type, source, size, and current location, Paul Garvin and Anthony Plaut’s Iowa Gems and Minerals in Your Pocket provides access to the glittering, gleaming world of Iowa crystals. Iowa’s long record of mining lead, coal, gypsum, and limestone contains a rich history; the forty-seven crystals in Iowa Gems and Minerals in Your Pocket make up a fascinating illustrated guide to that history. Carefully lit and photographed to reveal both maximum detail and maximum beauty, each crystal becomes a work of art.

$9.95

A Bur Oak Guide

Copyright © 2012 by the University of Iowa Press Printed in the U.S.A. www.uiowapress.org

Manufactured by ProGuidez, Inc. Licensed under U.S. Patent N429 and 6,063,227; Mexican Model Reg. No. 10,020; Canadian Industrial Design Reg. No. 76,725