Flatirons
Facets
Published by The Flatirons Mineral Club
Volume 45, No. 2 February
2003
Flatirons Facets
P. O. Box 3331
Boulder CO 80307-3331
Flatirons Facets is
published monthly by The Flatirons Mineral Club. The deadline for submission of
articles to Flatirons Facets is the 20th of each month. Permission is granted
for reprint if credit is given to the publication and author unless
specifically restricted.
The Flatirons Mineral
Club is a non-profit organization, established March 9, 1957, and dedicated to
developing and maintaining interest in all aspects of earth science and
associated hobbies. The club meets the second Thursday of each month at 7:15
PM. We meet at The
Senior Center, 9th and Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO. Guests and visitors
are welcome. Membership dues are $15.00 per year (beginning October of each
calendar year). People interested in membership can contact the club either by
writing to the above address or by attending one of the meetings.
Deadline for the March
Facets is February 20.
****************
President's Corner
Evan D. Elliott
Thanks are warmly extended by all to Jordan Sawdo, for his
thorough presentation on fossils at last month's (January) meeting.
For March we will have our "Silent Auction". I encourage
all attendees to bring material (gems, jewelry, mineral specimens, etc.) to
sell so we will be sure to have a plethora of items to peruse at the auction
tables. We need material for the kids' table too.
Evan D. Elliott
****************
January
Board Meeting (Jan. 6)
The Board meeting will be on January 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Melinda Thompson's.
****************
February
Meeting (Feb. 13)
Alex Cook
Continuing in the series of programs presented by the many
talented members of our Flatirons Mineral club, we are very pleased to have our
own Mike Trafton present a program on making video documentaries about Colorado
mineralogy. Mike has his own consulting
business in the aerospace and software area. As part of his service he is
engaged in providing documentary and educational videos for his clients, for
which he set up a separate business called Silver Mountain Productions. One of
the first projects was to film the 2002 Denver Gem and Mineral show,
concentrating on the theme of "Gemstones of Colorado." In
continuation of this theme he is also working on a documentary featuring the
famous Sweet Home Mine in Alma, which we all know is famous for its spectacular
rhodochrosite. Mike has consented to share with us the results of some of his
efforts in putting together these documentaries, showing scenes from the Gem
and Mineral Show and explaining how his videos are created.
****************
March
Meeting (Mar. 13)
Alex Cook
At our March meeting, March 13, we will hold our annual silent
auction. This is becoming a regular event for our club, and is an excellent way
to raise a little additional money for our organization, besides being a great
social event and a way to dispose of some of those extra rocks, which we all
have lying around. So start looking around for items related to our hobby, such
as lapidary, faceting, beads and beading, silversmithing materials and
supplies, books, magazines, finished jewelry, mineral specimens, fossils, you
name it. Whatever you put in the sale, the club will keep 25% or you can donate
more if you wish. Rules and bidding sheets for the auction will appear in the
March Facets.
****************
Field Trips
Paul Boni
Lew Yoder has arranged for a field trip to the Adams County Museum
complex located at 9601 Henderson Rd, by the entrance of the Adams County
Fairgrounds. This trip will be on Saturday February 22, and participants should
arrive at the Museum at 10 a.m. Jordan
Sawdo has agreed to give us a show-and-tell about the interesting fossils on
display, including a complete Rhino skull.
Also, the Museum has a display of Native American periods up to
1850, including a display created by Jordan of artifacts collected relating to
the Prairie Indians. A nice fluorescent display is included with the mines and
minerals of Colorado.
A sign-up sheet will be at the Feb 13th Club meeting for those
wishing to go on this trip. For more information call Lew Yoder.
****************
Flatirons
Mineral Club Annual Fall Show Plans
We have made final arrangements to hold our annual fall show at
the Boulder Elks Lodge, 3975 28th St., November 14th, 15th, 16th, 2003. This is a departure for us, as our fall show
has been at well-traveled shopping malls in recent years. It will be important to get the word out to
all our friends and fellow hobbyists, since we won't have the benefit of
walk-by traffic. But this is an excellent
venue for our show, and we are very excited and expect it to be a big
success! Dealer contract and
application forms are attached to this newsletter
****************
Membership
Notes
Melinda Thompson
Anyone who receives this newsletter has paid their dues so I don't
have to remind anyone about dues! We
have 94 member families at the present time.
The membership list will be available at the February meeting. If you need to have yours mailed, please
contact me.
I have a co-membership chairperson position available. This job requires someone who could
"meet and greet" at the general meetings that I cannot attend. If you already attend most meetings, this
job would be great for you! Please call
or e-mail me.
****************
Denver Gem
And Mineral Show Mini Report January 2003
Judy Knoshaug, Secretary
pro tem
The Denver Gem and Mineral Show Committee meets once a month to
work on planning the show. We always welcome new interested persons to the committee.
It takes a lot of dedicated people to put on the show. Right now we need a person who would be
willing to work on the postcard mailing project. This entails as much of the project as you would like. The
project involves data entry and/or data base management using the door prize
tickets from the show. If you are
interested, you may contact Regina Aumente at 303-978-9926 or raumente@aol.com,
your club's show committee representative or any member of the show committee.
The mailing has been great publicity for the show, bringing many persons back
each year.
The general categories of agates and fossils have been selected as
possible themes for the 2005 show. The hope is to come up with some catchy
wording on one of these two. A subcommittee composed of Larry Havens
(303-757-6577), Donna Hughston (303-989-8748), Jim Hurlbut (303-757-0283),
Aaron Rever (720-963-8011), and Bill Chirnside (303-989-8748) will be working
on selecting themes for the next several years. If you have any ideas, contact
one of these persons or your club's representative.
The club packets of important forms will be out soon. Please be
sure your club takes note of these forms, completes them and returns them when
due. The forms included are club table and space reservation form, club display
case reservation form, club information form for the show program, and, of
course, the volunteer sign up sheets. These forms come out early because many
clubs do not meet during the summer. Should your club have any questions about
these, please contact Martin Hannu at 303-429-2519 or ICD55MPH@qwest.net. Thank
you.
****************
Club
Officers for 2003
At the October meeting, the following people were elected by
unanimous acclamation to serve as officers of the Flatirons Mineral Club for
the next year.
President - Evan Elliott
Vice President (Trips) - Paul
Boni
Vice President (Show) - Andrea
Elliott
Vice President (Program) - Alex
Cook
Secretary - Emily Epstein
Treasurer - Gerald Naugle
Directors - Ray Horton, Lew Yoder, Dennis Gertenbach
We thank these people for providing leadership to the club for the
next year.
Our club could not exist without the efforts of a core group of
people who dedicate their time in serving our club. The outstanding meetings,
great field trips, and wonderful educational programs are the result of these
volunteers.
****************
Legislative Report
Dick Rodenburg
Earlier this week a well-dressed middle-aged lady paused by my tables
at the Cloud's Jamboree in Laughlin, NV. She pointed to a flat of blue-green
mineral specimens in front of her. "What is that?" she asked softly.
I replied that it was chryscolla. Then she asked, "Does it come from the
earth?" I assured her that it did come from the earth. "Oh," she
said, "It is so beautiful; we must protect the earth!"
She moved on, but then pointed to another display on the table.
"What is that?" she asked. I replied that it was petrified wood. Then
she asked, "Does it come from the earth?" I again assured her that it
did come from the earth. "Oh," she said, "It is so beautiful; we
must protect the earth!"
Then she looked at me and announced, "I am going to Kyoto. Do
you know what that is?" I replied, "Do you mean the United Nations
Kyoto Accord?" "Yes,"
she said. "The U.S. hasn't signed it yet, but they will have to."
She moved again, and pointed to another display on the table.
"What is that?" she asked. I replied that it was natures' glass, and
was called obsidian. Then she asked, "Does it come from the earth?"
Once again I confirmed that it did come from the earth. "Oh," she
said, "It is so beautiful, we must protect the earth!" And she
dreamily drifted on to the next dealer's booth... rlr
Environmentalists braced for the worst when Republicans won back
control of congress after the November elections, and are now making a key
shift in strategy. "We can get nothing done in Washington, or we can go
directly to the marketplace," explains Tom Paglia, campaign director for
ForestEthics, a forest protection group. By staging protests at Staples (a
major office supply company), Paglia's group persuaded the firm to triple the
recycled content of its paper products.
The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is targeting banks that finance eco-unfriendly
projects, like pipelines that run through forests. At Citicorp, RAN staged
protests and ran ads asking customers to cut up their credit cards. So far, RAN
has received more than 20,000 cut up cards. The Sierra Club is urging people to
write to Ford, and demand that Ford develop fuel-saving technologies for SUVs.
The group plans to launch a campaign charging that GM is irresponsible for
building the Hummer. And Greenpeace is organizing boycotts of gas stations to
force ExxonMobil to soften its hard-line stance on global warming. Business Week, December 16, 2002.
An Appeals Court in Washington, DC reinstated the Clinton
administration's Roadless Conservation Rule, the ban on building roads on 58.8
million acres of undeveloped national forest lands. The Bush administration
says more cutting is needed to prevent wildfires, among other things. While the
impact of the ruling is unclear, industry officials point out that Forest
Service staffers have continued to shy away from thinning projects in roadless
areas, because they have to be personally approved by Forest Service Chief Dale
Bosworth. Still, officials say the ruling could stop a project in Colorado's
National Forest near Steamboat Springs. Denver
Post, December 13, 2002.
The next day US Dept. of Agriculture spokesman Mark Rey commented
that having the rule back in place doesn't fundamentally change the
administration's course of action; but they haven't decided whether to propose
a new roadless rule to replace the Clinton rule. Rocky Mountain News, December 14, 2002.
And just before Christmas the Bureau of Land Management announced
it would publish regulations to make it easier for counties to process claims
for rights of way under the 1866 mining law, known as RS 2477. While comments
from environmental groups are not reported here in full, words like "We
fully expect to see rights of way granted for cow paths and dry stream
beds..." are being used. Denver
Post, December 24, 2002.
Legislative Report no.
37 April 2003
Dick Rodenburg reports
on items of interest to the gem and mineral community.
****************
Friends of
Dinosaur Ridge Talks
Hunting Meteorites in Bolivia
On February 25, 2003, Dr. Bob Raynolds, a researcher with the
Denver Museum of Nature and Science will present a lecture and slide show on
his recent expedition to Bolivia in search of meteorites. The program will be
held at 7:00pm at Red Rocks Elementary School in Morrison, CO. There is no
admission fee, however donations are greatly appreciated and go to support the
Friends of Dinosaur Ridge.
****************
Paleo-Environments
of the Morrison Formation
Have you ever wondered what the environment was like when
dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and the giant Apatosaurus (a.k.a. Brontosaurus)
roamed the Front Range of Colorado? On March 11, Christine Turner of the US
Geological Survey in Denver will present a lecture and slide show on this topic
at Red Rocks Elementary School in Morrison. The program begins at 7:00pm and is
free of charge. Donations are accepted and will go to help support the Friends
of Dinosaur Ridge.
The Morrison formation is found on the west side of Dinosaur Ridge
and dates to approximately 150 million years ago. The Morrison formation, named
for its very visible exposure near the town of Morrison, contains bones and
tracks left by dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and Allosaurus.
To get to Red Rocks Elementary School from C-470, take the
Morrison Rd (Hwy 8) exit and head west into the town of Morrison. Turn right at
the third stoplight (junction of Hwy 8 and Hwy 74). Free parking is available
at Red Rocks Elementary School, which is located at the top of the hill.
For more information on these programs or other programs offered
by the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, please contact Matt Carey, Program Director
with the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge at (303) 697-3466 x11 or
matt_carey@dinoridge.org
****************
Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere
Feb. 2-15, 2003: Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show, over 400
dealers at multiple venues, Tucson AZ. Martin Zinn Expositions
Feb. 13-16, 2003: Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. 49th Annual
Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, Tucson Community Center. Presented by Tucson Gem & Mineral Society 520-322-5773.
March 6-9, 2003: 38th Annual Rockhound Roundup, SW New Mexico
Fairgrounds, Deming, NM. Deming Gem
& Mineral Society, PO Box 1459, Deming NM 88031. Barbara Hamilton, 505-544-8643.
March 21-23, 2003: 42nd Annual Fort Collins Gem & Mineral Show, Lincoln Center,
417 West Magnolia, Fort Collins, CO. Fort Collins Rockhounds, Inc.,
970-484-6752.
March 29-30, 2003: WIPS
Founders Symposium 2003, Colorado School of Mines, "Volcanoes, Camels &
Carnivores: The Eocene/Oligocene Story". Western Interior Paleontological
Society, http://www.wipsppc.com (or call Beth Simmons, 303-986-9693)
May 22-25, 2003: Tri-Federation Rockhound Rendezvous and Field
Trip,
Texas Springs, NV. Contact Dean Richardson, Rocky Mtn. Federation,
agatelicker@aol.com, or 801-595-6750.
****************
How to
Tumble Rocks
Dennis Gertenbach
Just about every rock hound finds polished rocks fascinating.
Polishing brings out the beauty in a rock, showing off its fine structure. If you
are just starting out tumbling rocks, you are no doubt looking for some
guidance.
Proper tumbling takes time, anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks depending
upon the rock you are tumbling. The secret to successful tumbling requires a
little bit of knowledge and lots of patience, Patience, PATIENCE.
The club library has several pamphlets that can provide the
details on how to tumble rocks. At the next meeting, check out
* Tumbling Techniques by G.L. Daniel
* Tumbler's Guide by Ronald J. Balej
Also, the Internet can provide help.
* The Rock Tumbling
Hobby Site starts with how to begin and which rocks to use. The site also
provides valuable tips and warns of the pitfalls to avoid.
* For additional hints, tips, and secrets, go to the Rock Tumbling Hint & Tips
Information Page. Also provided is
a separate section on polishing Apache tears.
* For another recipe on polishing rocks, go to the TumbledTreasures site, then hit the
button entitled "Our Secret Rock Tumbling Recipe".
Tumbling rocks is a great activity for kids and will help you
better enjoy those rocks you found on your last collecting trip.
****************
Jasper Or
Agate?
David Olsen via Owyhee Gem 1/95
Jasper and agate are the rocks we hobbyists deal with most often
in pursuit of our goals as lapidaries and collectors. Do we really understand
the difference between the two?
Both jasper and agate are composed of extremely fine interlocking
quartz crystals called cryptocrystalline quartz. As such, they are both members
of the fine-grained quartz family referred to as chalcedony. Chalcedony occurs
throughout the world in beds, bands, nodules, geodes, botryoidal masses, as a
replacement of fossils, wood tissue or other minerals, and as a cementing
material. It is deposited from silica-rich waters, often carrying other
impurities.
It is the presence of these: mineral impurities which stain the
micro-quartz grains to produce the wide variety of colored patterns, banding
effects and inclusions that differentiate the basic "gem" forms of
cryptocrystalline quartz - jasper and agate - from ordinary drab chalcedony.
In general, agate is a transparent to translucent form of
chalcedony in which the coloration takes the form of regular bands, rings,
clouds, wispy inclusions or distinct groups.
Jasper, on the other hand, can be somewhat translucent, but it is
most often opaque...with color usually much darker then agate and...totally
random with respect to distribution and pattern.
****************
Pikes Peak
Richard Pearl
January 2003 Quarry
Quips (Wichita Gem and Mineral Society)
Pikes Peak is not a volcano and never has been one. Its geologic
story is just as interesting, however, and covers a far longer span of time
than that of any volcano.
The minerals of the Pikes Peak granite shows that it is an igneous
rock, having been cooled from a molten condition while far underground. This occurrence
happened at least 500 million years ago during the Precambrian time, when only
the lowest forms of life are known to have existed. A considerable thickness of
other rocks still lay above the Pikes Peak granite when it solidified. These
rocks were later eroded away, and the granite has alternately been exposed to
the air and covered by the sea several times during the long ages since then.
The summit of the present Pikes Peak represents an "erosion
remnant", a very resistant mass of hard rock that remained standing while
the softer rocks surrounding it were being worn down to a plain not much above
sea level. To produce this extensive flat surface, called a
"peneplain", required an enormous length of time, estimated at
millions of years. A second such peneplain, though lower and less extensive
than the first, was cut at a later date after the region rose again Pikes Peak
stands nearly 5000 feet above it now, just as it stood above the former plain a
long while ago.
These surfaces can be seen from the east side of Colorado Springs.
The upper surface is at an altitude of 13,000 feet and is named the Flattop
peneplain because it is at the summit of Flattop Mountain in Rocky Mountain
National Park. The lower surface forms the area below the summit of Mount
Manitou and is called the Rocky Mountain peneplain.
The impressive ruggedness of Pikes Peak originated rather recently
during the Ice Age. The slopes of the "peak" are not the same
everywhere and this is caused by the movement of the huge glaciers that existed
on the shaded north and east sides of the mountain, which lasted a million
years. Acting like gigantic cookie cutters, the powerful bodies of ice gouged
out the rock, leaving deep straight-walled basins, called cirques, such as the
Bottomless Pit. This glacial erosion changed the once dome-shaped mountain into
its present distinctively sculptured form.
Source: The Glacial Drifter April 2000
****************
Bulletin Board
Magazines
- If you have hobby-related
magazines, we can sell them at our next silent auction. Please save them next
year also.
Lapidary
Journal subscriptions,
new and renew, will add to the club treasury if you pay Gerald Naugle. Your check will be your receipt.
The Denver
Museum of Nature and Science has many interesting courses connected with their Paleontology
Certification Program. For information about their spring program, call
303-322-7009.
Mineral
Identification - Bring your
unknown mineral specimens to any monthly meeting. You will find several experts
with years of experience to help with identification.
****************
Minutes of
the Board Meeting, January 6, 2003
Emily Epstein, Secretary
Present: Paul Boni, Alex Cook, Evan Elliott, Emily Epstein, Ray
Horton, Jeannie Hurst, John Hurst, Steve Lubbs, Charlotte Morrison, Gerry
Naugle, Paul Ralston, Melinda Thompson, Brad Wilkomm, Lew Yoder
The meeting came to order at 7:30.
Gerry Naugle gave the treasurer's report. He has redone our
records using a computer program to make it easier to track the club's various
accounts, both operating funds and the scholarship funds. He and Melinda
Thompson are both keeping a membership database. He then presented the revised
covenant for the scholarship fund, so it no longer limits the club to
scholarships at the School of Mines. Discussion of limits the document places
on scholarships ensued. The Board adopted the revisions as presented.
Gerry and John Hurst reported that we have reserved the Elks'
Lodge for our show on November 14-16 2003, although the papers have not yet
been signed. Various issues, such as access for setup, security, and electrical
connections are still in negotiations, but the date is firm. The board voted to
give the show committee full authority to finalize arrangements. So far, 23
dealers have expressed interest in attending the show.
Charlotte Morrison reported that Denver has a number of showcases
for sale at a very reasonable price. After some discussion, the board voted
that it would not authorize any material purchases until we have resolved the
problem of where to relocate the shed.
Charlotte asked if we want to report our activities to the Retired
Senior Volunteer Project. This would be good publicity for the club, and the
board agreed it should be done. To be included in the report, we need to submit
a signed memo of agreement. Charlotte gave it to Brad Willkomm to look over.
Charlotte has received preliminary publicity of the Western
Interior Paleontological Society's seminar at the School of Mines in March. It
should be mentioned in our newsletter and webpage. She has also received a form
from Lapidary Journal to update the club's information for their Buyers' Guide
issue. The form was given to Emily Epstein to complete and submit.
Ray Horton reported that we still have not found a new location
for the shed. Also, the roof is in need of repair.
Melinda Thompson passed out the current membership lists. Copies will
also be available at the meeting on Thursday.
Paul Ralston reported that the scholarship checks for fall and
spring 2002 were issued. We will receive a list of candidates for 2003 in
February.
Whether or not to have a silent auction this spring. It was
decided to have one, but to keep it fairly low key. Evan Elliott will
coordinate it.
The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.
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Updated 1/12/04