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Fall 2009 Meeting Schedule

Sept. 10 — Perer Maciulaitis will give us a talk on The Development of the Carlin Gold Trend! He says he's
a "lucky" geologist, but we think he's just sly like a fox!

Oct. 8—This will be our big Silent Auction, so start looking for items that you want to sell.

Nov. 12—Marieke Dechesne will talk about the work that she's been doing with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Colorado Geological Survey on the stratigraphy of the Denver Basin. As always, I think it will be quite interesting!


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Upcoming Club Field Trips


Lake George for amazonite and smoky quartz and/or Badger (near Hartsel) for Peridot. Date: Saturday, Sept. 12. This trip will be with the CSMS, Colorado Springs, to their claim. 4WD may be required. We should work out car-pooling in advance. Contact Shaula Lee.

Tepee Buttes, Sept. 26 (Saturday): Tepee Buttes, east of Pueblo, to collect Cretaceous marine fossils, including clams and ammonites (joint trip with Western Interior Paleontological Society). During the Cretaceous age while Tyrannosaurus Rex ruled the land, eastern Colorado was a large shallow sea. The Tepee Buttes fossils are from a reef community feed by undersea methane vents. We are fortunate to have permission to collect on private land for this trip. This is a good field trip for kids, as everyone will find fossils. Please contact Dennis Gertenbach to sign up for the trip or for information.

Yellow Cat Mine, Utah, October (date to be determined). Several brave and waterproof club members joined up to enjoy the barren (and wet) beauty of Utah in May of this year. A few times we had to take cover from the storms but a lot of rocks were collected and on a beautiful Sunday, and guide books were used to explore new areas. We found some nice specimens of barite, agate, and abandoned uranium mines. We also found that the mileage in the books is a best guess. We re-mapped it. If you missed out on the May trip, North Jeffco has a trip planned early Oct and I will check to see if FMC can join them. Try to do this trip at least once. It is well worth it. Contact Shaula Lee for more information.

We are always looking for great places to go and for field trip leaders. Please contact Shaula Lee if you have an idea for a field trip or you would like to lead a trip. Think about places to go during the winter months, too!


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Denver Gem and Mineral Show September 18-20

This year, the annual Denver Show will focus on Fossils -Windows to the Past, but you can count on lots of minerals, rocks, and gems, too. The second largest mineral show in the country, the Denver Show features educational exhibits, fabulous displays of minerals and fossils, activities for the entire family, and over 100
dealers from around the world. Some of the activities you will not want to miss include the fluorescent room, free gold panning for kids, kids' corner and kids' treasure hunt, numerous exhibits (including several from Flatirons Mineral Club members), and grab bags, pins and posters available for sale. As in past years, the FMC will have their table with activities for kids.

This year’s presentation series at the show includes A Mammoth Find in Florissant by Steven Veatch, Ammonites Windows to The Past by Neil L. Larson, Silicification of Fossil Wood by Richard Dayvault, New Jersey Fluorescents: Today and Tomorrow by Dick Hauck, and Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway" by Kirk Johnson on Saturday. The series continues on Sunday with The Princeton Scientific Expedition of 1877, from College to Colorado by Steven Veatch, Research on the Depositional Environments of the Denver Basin by Bob Raynolds, PhD, and Early Fossil Collecting in Colorado by Beth Simmons, PhD.

Once again, the show will be at the Denver Merchandise Mart Expo Hall, 451 E. 58th Avenue (just off of I-25 at Exit 215), in Denver. The show is open Friday, September 18, 9am - 6pm, Saturday, September 19, 10am - 6pm, and Sunday, September 20, 10am - 5pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door: $6 for adults, $4
for teens and seniors (65+), and children under 13 are free with an adult. For more information about the show and a map with directions, see http://www.denvermineralshow.com/.

Volunteers Needed for the Show: Volunteers are needed to help with many different jobs at the show, as well as helping at the club table. You can sign up by contacting Gerry Naugle.

The club will hold a brief super door prize drawing after the show for all of the club volunteers who work at the Denver Show this year. Each FMC volunteer at the Denver Show will get one ticket stub per day worked. The club has seven REALLY NICE prizes that will be drawn. If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too
late! Contact Gerry now.


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Jr. Geologists Summer Activities
 

The Jr. Geologists spent the summer meetings outside collecting specimens and learning more about geology. In June, we visited a pegmatite outcrop in Golden Gate Canyon to collect microcline feldspar, biotite and muscovite mica, tourmaline, and quartz.

Next month, we collected purple fluorite outside of Jamestown. August’s meeting was our back-to-school fun night at a lake north of Boulder to swim. Plus, we collected magnetite from the sand with magnets.

Beginning in September, we will begin meeting at Charlotte’s home (290 Seminole Drive in Boulder) again on the third Thursdays of each month, beginning at 6:30. In September, we’ll start working on a new badge.

The Jr. Geologists program is open to all Flatirons Mineral Club families. Each month we learn more about geology, plus earn badges for different earth science activities. For information about the Jr. Geologists program, please contact Dennis Gertenbach.

Andy Klauber and Charles Mock collect purple fluorite outside of Jamestown


Jr. Geologists collecting magnetite from sand with a magnet at August’s meeting
 

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FMC Board Meeting

Aug 31 (Monday) is the next Board Meeting at Charlotte Morrison's house at 290 Seminole Dr in Boulder, 7:15 p.m. As always, all club members are invited to the club's Board Meetings.

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An Elephant Never Forgets!


A friendly reminder that the annual dues to the FMC become due on October 1st, 2009. The dues are only $18 for individual and their member immediate family. You can pay in two ways:

SEND A CHECK made out to: Flatirons Mineral Club (or) FMC

P.O. Box 3331
Boulder, CO 80307

or

you can pay cash or check to Gerry Naugle, Treasurer or Alex Cook, Membership Chair at any FMC monthly meeting. One of them is at the sign-in table upon entering the West Boulder Senior Center room for the monthly meetings. The payment receipt is your new annual 2009-10 FMC membership card.

Please do not send a cash payment to the Club P.O. Box 3331 by USPS mail. Remember, you can receive electronic (or) paper club newsletters containing the general meetings information, guided club field trips information, annual show opportunities, silent auction opportunities and the club annual summer picnic if you are a member of the Flatirons Mineral Club. Your 2009-10 dues must be received by Jan 31st, 2010 in order to stay current on club newsletters and the many other club member benefits. Thanks.

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Wednesday Nights at Charlotte’s

Lapidary Work/Grab Bag Samples Nights - Remember, use of the club's lapidary equipment, including saws and lapidary machines, is open to all club members every Wednesday night at Charlotte Morrison's home. Also on Wednesdays, help is always welcome to prepare grab bag specimens for next year's grab bags for the kids. Please contact Charlotte to let her know you are coming.

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Annual Club Picnic a Success
Gerry Naugle

IApproximately 50 FMC members and their kids attended the 2009 annual picnic held at the main pavilion of the North Boulder Park on Saturday, Aug 22nd. Picnic attendees bagged 1116 grab bags (a record) for use at our show, and for the FMC contribution for the Denver Show.

The picnic attendees then had BB-Q sandwiches and all of the trimmings at the food tables, potluck style. Thanks to all of the FMC members that brought food items, bagged the 1116 grab bags, packed the mineral specimens earlier in the year. And, a special word of thanks to all the club members who sewed the many hundreds of cloth grab bags used in the finished items.

Shaula Lee was recognized for winning the AMFMS/FMC "Rockhound of the Year" voting and is now on the FMC Hall of Fame plaque and Ray Horton was honored for his military awards received on Memorial Day of 2009 for his service in Korea.

Rockhound of the Year—Shaula Lee


The grab bag production line at the picnic

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Ray Horton Receives Military Honors

On Saturday, May 23, in a Memorial Day ceremony at Civic Center Park in downtown Denver, our fellow FMC member Ray Horton was awarded five medals for his service in the Korean War. Back in 1951, Sgt. Ray Horton was serving with the U.S. Army, 3rd inf., 15th rgt. Combat team, Company G. This outfit spent most of its time either on the front lines or behind enemy lines. Ray was wounded in action three times, but for one reason or another he never received his Purple Heart. At the ceremony, Brigadier General Sal Velanno, USAF (ret.) presented Ray with the Order of the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters, the Korean War Service Medal, the United Nations Korean Service Medal, the Republic of South Korea Korean Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the corresponding ribbons. Congratulations Ray, and thank you for your service and a job well done!

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Fossils in the News
Dennis Gertenbach

New Tracks Found at Dinosaur National Monument

Finding fossil tracks at Dinosaur National Monument may not sound so surprising, except these tracks were made by ancient mammals 190 million years ago, not
dinosaurs. In a remote canyon in the Monument, paleontologists have discovered a remarkable series footprints made by mammals as they scurried across a sand dune in an ancient desert. During the early Jurassic, a large stretch of the southwestern United States was covered by a vast desert, not unlike the Sahara Desert today. In areas of water within the dune fields, dinosaurs and other animals survived.

Dan Chure of Dinosaur National Monument and George Engelmann of the University of Nebraska discovered this remarkable trackway containing hundreds of small tracks. Most of the tracks were smaller than a dime. Among the many small tracks were others made by larger animals, perhaps dinosaurs. Also found in a lower layer in the area was a trail of a large scorpion with a leg span of 4 inches. The area is being mapped as part of an extensive study of the tracks.

How Piranhas Got Their Teeth--This mystery appears to have been solved.

Researchers from Argentina, the United States, and Venezuela have discovered a fossil jawbone from a fish that is a transition between plant-eating fish and flesh-eating piranhas. The closest relative to piranhas found in the fossil record is a group of fish known as pacus that have two rows of square teeth, thought to have been used to crush fruits and seeds. Piranhas have a single row of triangular teeth, like a saw blade. This new discovery, named Megapiranha paranensis, shows an intermediate pattern; its teeth are arranged in a zigzag fashion, suggesting that the two rows of teeth were being compressed into a single row.

The fossil was collected in the early 1900s, but was not studied until it was recently rediscovered in the La Plata Museum in Argentina. Megapiranha is thought to have lived between 8 and 10 million years ago. As the name suggests, the jawbone indicates that this fish was quite large, perhaps up to 3 feet in length or four times as long as the modern piranha. Scientists are unsure of what it ate, but the teeth suggest that it had a diverse diet.

The First Tree Climber

During the Permian 260 million years ago, land animals, both plant eaters and predators, roamed the lands. However, no vertebrates were known to inhabit trees. Robert Reisz and Jörg Fröbisch from the University of Toronto have discovered the fossil of an animal, Suminia getmanovi, in central Russia that had opposable thumbs, allowing it to climb trees. Fossil dung from the animal indicates that Suminia was a fruit eater and climbed trees to obtain this untapped food source. Undoubtedly, it also climbed trees to escape predators.

More than 20 skeletons of Suminia have been unearthed in the area. These skeletons indicate that it was a small lizard-like animal. However, its skull and skeleton show that it was an ancestor of modern mammals, not a reptile or dinosaur ancestor. The researchers were most excited by the hands. It had a thumb-like digit that allowed it to climb trees, pluck fruit, and bring food to its mouth. However, its thumb is quite different than humans and other primates, which evolved separately.

Young Dinosaurs Roamed Together, Died Together

ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2009) — A herd of young birdlike dinosaurs met their death on the muddy margins of a lake some 90 million years ago, according to a team of Chinese and American paleontologists that excavated the site in the Gobi Desert in western Inner Mongolia. The Sudden death of the herd in a mud trap provides a rare snapshot of social behavior. Composed entirely of juveniles of a single species of ornithomimid dinosaur (Sinornithomimus dongi), the herd suggests that immature individuals were left to fend for themselves when adults were preoccupied with nesting or brooding. "There were no adults or hatchlings," said Paul Sereno, professor at the University of Chicago and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.

While approaching the edge of a lake in what is today the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia, a herd of young Sinornithomimus dinosaurs suddenly finds itself hopelessly trapped in mud some 90 million years ago. (Credit: Art by Todd Marshall, courtesy of Project Exploration)

"These youngsters were roaming around on their own," remarked Tan Lin, from the Department of Land and Resources of Inner Mongolia. Within an exquisite pair of the skeletons, prepared for display in Sereno's lab and airlifted back to China in late February, preserve stomach stones and the animal's' last meals are preserved.

Sereno, Tan and Zhao Xijin, professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led the 2001 expedition that found the fossils. Team members also included David Varricchio of Montana State University (MSU), Jeffrey Wilson of the University of Michigan and Gabrielle Lyon of Project Exploration. "Finding a mired herd is exceedingly rare among living animals," said Varricchio, an assistant professor of paleontology at MSU. "The best examples are from hoofed mammals," such as water buffalo in Australia or feral horses in the American West, he said.

The first bones from the dinosaur herd were spotted by a Chinese geologist in 1978 at the base of a small hill in a desolate, windswept region of the Gobi Desert. Some 20 years later, a Sino-Japanese team excavated the first skeletons, naming the dinosaur Sinornithomimus ("Chinese bird mimic"). Sereno and associates then opened an expansive quarry, following one skeleton after another deep into the base of the hill. In sum, more than 25 individuals were excavated from the site. They range in age from one to seven years, as determined by the annual growth rings in their bones.
 
The team meticulously recorded the position of all of the bones and the details of the rock layers to try to understand how so many animals of the same species perished in one place. The skeletons showed similar exquisite preservation and were mostly facing the same direction, suggesting that they died together and over a short interval. The details provided key evidence of an ancient tragedy. Two of the skeletons fell one right over the other. Although most of their skeletons lay on a flat horizontal plane, their hind legs were stuck deeply in the mud below. Only their hip bones were missing, which was likely the handiwork of a scavenger working over the meatiest part of the body bodies shortly after the animals died.

"These animals died a slow death in a mud trap, their flailing only serving to attract a nearby scavenger or predator," Sereno said. Usually, weathering, scavenging or transport of bone has long erased all direct evidence of the cause of death. The site provides some of the best evidence to date of the cause of death of a dinosaur. Plunging marks in mud surrounding the skeletons recorded their failed attempts to escape. Varricchio said he was both excited and saddened by what the excavation revealed. "I was saddened because I knew how the animals had perished. It was a strange sensation and the only time I had felt that way at a dig," he said.

In addition to herd composition and behavior, the site also provides encyclopedic knowledge of even the tiniest bones in the skull and skeleton. "We even know the size of its eyeball," Sereno said. "Sinornithomimus is destined to become one of the best- understood dinosaurs in the world." The work was funded by the National Geographic Society and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Journal reference: David J. Varricchio, Paul C. Sereno, Zhao Xi-jin, Tan Lin Jeffrey A. Wilson, and Gabrielle H. Lyon.  Mud-trapped herd captures evidence of distinctive dinosaur sociality. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, December 2008.
 

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Agate Swap
Crawford, Nebraska 2009

Agate Time!!!

It is the 23rd annual “Fairburn” Agate Swap in Crawford, Nebraska, and Yes--their dealers sell all kinds of agates, spheres, minerals, fossils, jewelry, gemstones, petrified wood, jade and curio items. With up to 75 dealers in a good year, there are always some surprise treasures (like local honey) that show up on Labor Day weekend. When: Fri. Sept. 4th through Mon. Sept. 7th, 2009, 8 to 6 daily. Where: City Park-NW edge of Crawford, NE (Dealers camp free). Admission: Free to all- the best deal out there! Free Daily Field Trips to the Agate Gravel Beds (27 miles one-way). Sat.--Agate Collectors’ Meeting 2 p.m., potluck 6 p.m. (open to all – public and dealers alike-just bring food); Public Rock Auction – open to all. For more Information contact: Locally-John Hurst, or in Nebr.-Wade Beins 1-308-432-8950.

Camping at Fort Robinson (3 miles west of Crawford). Motels in Crawford—Hilltop Motel or Townline Motel Chadron-Motel 8 and others (22 mi. NE of Crawford). Fort Robinson-rooms and cabins with advanced booking.

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Theft Reported at Smoky Hawk Mine

ATTENTION CLUB MEMBERS: The following e-mail regarding a theft comes from Joe Dorris who so kindly welcomed the Denver Gem & Mineral Guild on his claims
near Lake George in late June. His e-mail was sent to the Lake George Gem & Mineral Club and we are passing Joe's message on to other Denver area clubs to inform everyone of the theft, and how you should keep your eyes & ears open to
anyone attempting to sell the stolen specimens.

Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009
Subject: Stolen Pocket

Hello Folks,

Between evening 16 July and morning 17 July thieves dug two pockets on the Smoky Hawk mine. The specimens are large smokies up to 4 or possibly 5 inches with tapering terminations and 2 to 3 inch amazonites. There may be some combos. The pockets were discovered late on the 16th and inspected for contents. We were saving them for filming by Blue Cap Productions. The amazonites are typical Smoky Hawk "green" and the smokies were satin luster. It is possible there were only a few good pieces as the two pockets were relatively small.

I believe there were two diggers and that they walked in.

They may attempt to contact you with these specimens for sale. They may or may not be cleaned by the time they try to market them.

We do have some pieces from the pockets and can make a positive identification. It is possible we also have some "fits" to the stolen pieces.

I would appreciate and welcome any information regarding this theft or even if you have ideas as to who might be in the Crystal Creek area actively highgrading claims.

Thanks.

Joe Dorris
(719)685-4479.
 

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Future FMC Silent Auction, Towel Show

Dates to Change

The FMC Board decided at their July meeting that we will return to a single annual silent auction starting in 2010, and that it will be held in April. It was felt that two silent auctions per year was one too many, and disrupts the scheduling of regular program events. Additionally, the October general meeting each year [as required by the bylaws] is the club annual business meeting and the officers presiding have had to "weave" the business portion into these S-A's for the past few years. It is very difficult logistically to do this; and especially with out-of-club persons present who are selling their specimens and jewelry. So starting in 2010, the October meeting will be the towel show and business meeting. For one time only, the 2009 towel show will be held at the January 2010 club meeting.


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Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere

Fri-Sun, Sept. 4-7, Crawford, NE Agate Swap—see above for details.

Fri-Sun, Sept. 18-20, Denver Gem & Mineral Show— see article above. Denver Merchandise Mart Expo Hall, 451 E. 58th Ave (I-25 exit 215). Colorado Fossil Expo, Denver Merchandise Mart, Plaza Annex.

Wed-Sun, Sept. 16-20, Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show, Holiday Inn—Denver Central, 4849 Bannock St (near I-25 and I-70 intersection). Over 200 dealers on
three floors of the hotel. Open to the public, free admission. Free shuttle bus to the Denver Gem & Mineral Show and Colorado Fossil Expo at the Merchandise Mart.

Sat. & Sun., Nov. 21 - 22, Hands of Spirit Gallery 12th Annual Holiday Mineral and Jewelry Open House from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. You're sure to find an incredible selection of the finest crystal and mineral specimens and a lovely selection of jewelry. Call 303-541-9727 for directions and further information.



 

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Calendar of Events

Aug. 31 - FMC Board Meeting, 7:15 p.m., Charlotte Morrison’s house, Boulder.
Sept. 10 - FMC Club Meeting, 7:00 p.m., West Boulder Senior Ctr., 9th & Arapahoe, Perer Maciulaitis will give us a talk on The Development of the Carlin Gold Trend
Sept. 12 - FMC Field Trip - Lake George for amazonite & smoky quartz, Shaula Lee, leader.
Sept. 17 - Junior Geologists Meeting, contact Dennis Gertenbach.
Sept. 18-20 - Denver Gem And Mineral Show, Denver Merchandise Mart, see article above.
Sept. 26 - FMC Field Trip - Tepee Buttes, For Cretaceous Marine Fossils, Dennis Gertenbach, leader.
Sept. 28 - FMC Board Meeting, 7:15 p.m., Location TBA.
Oct. 8 - FMC Club Meeting, 7:00 p.m., West Boulder Senior Ctr., 9th & Arapahoe, Semiannual Silent Auction.
Oct.? - FMC Field Trip—Yellow Cat, UT, Shaula Lee, leader.
 

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Updated 11/7/09