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THE EARTH SCIENCE NEWS

Volume 62 February 2011 Number 2

EARTH SCIENCE CLUB OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS

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WWW.ESCONI.ORG

EARTH SCIENCE CLUB OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS 2010 OFFICE NAME STREET TOWN,ZIP PHONE

President Karen Nordquist 6340 Americana #808 Willowbrook, 60527 630-325-8189 1st Vice Pres. Rob Sula 1761 Gary Ave Aurora, 60505 630-236-9695 2nd Vice Pres. Irene Broede 2510 S. Forest Ave. N. Riverside, 60546 708-447-5295 Recordng Sec. William Vinikour 7729 Knotty Pine Ct. Woodridge, 60517 630-985-6114 Corresp. Sec. Jim Fairchild 1144 Siesta Keys Elgin, 60120 630-497-6278 Treasurer John Good 1891 Windward Lane Hanover Park, 60133 630-483-2363 Publicity Don Cronauer 6 S 180 Cape Road Naperville, 60540 630-357-6570 Librarian Andy Jansen 2 Langford Ct. Bolingbrook, 60440 630-739-7721 Curator Randall Bultman P.O. Box32 Joliet, 60434 815-722-0449 Historian Judy Dedina 11 N. Cumnor Road Westmont, 60559 630-969-2522 Field Trip Richard Rock P. O. Box 726 Wilmington, 60481 815-476-7040 AsstFieldTrip John Catalani 3405 High Trail Woodridge, 60517 630-852-8747 Editor Don Cronauer 6 S 180 Cape Road Naperville, 60540 630-357 6570 Circulation Howard Svoboda 17046 W. Bluff Road Lemont, 60439 630-739-7913 Past Pres. Jim Fairchild 1144 Siesta Keys Elgin, 60120 630-497-6278 Membership Eileen Mizerk 2094 Windward Lane Hanover Park, 60133 630-289-7736 Liaison Rep John Good 1891 Windward Lane Hanover Park, 60133 630-483-2363

STUDY GROUP CHAIRS

Archaeology Bryan Nugent 6621 Westmoreland Woodridge, 60517 630-960-5147 Lapidary Sheila Bergmann 401 S. Lombard Ave. Lombard, 60148 630-629-5785 Min/Micromt. Kathy Dedina 11 N. Cumnor Road Westmont, 60559 630-969-2522 Paleontology John Good 1891 Windward Lane Hanover Park, 60133 630-483-2363 Junior Open John Good & Karen Nordquist are delegates to Chicagoland Gems & Minerals Association. Mark Kuntz is desig-nated as Show Chairman for 2011. The aim of the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois is to promote an interest in the Earth Sciences. In addi-tion to the regular General Meeting, study group meetings are held monthly. They include the studies of Archae-ology, Mineralogy, Micromounts, Paleontology, and the Lapidary Arts. There are periodic study sessions for Jun-ior members. From time to time field trips are arranged. ESCONI has a fine library of books on the earth sciences that are available to members. Attendance of all interested persons is free for any or all sessions. Membership is $20.00 (which includes the Bulletin) for family membership, or $50.00 for three years. Dues are payable either at the monthly meetings or by mailing to the Membership Chair listed above. Articles in this publication may be reprinted if full credit is given the author and The Earth Science News. Ex-change bulletins may be mailed directly to the Editor. The ESCONI website is www.esconi.org and the Web Ad-ministrator is Dianna Lord.

Articles of Interest in this News Letter

1. Presidents Message by Karen Nordquist—Page 1 2. February 2011 ESCONI Events - 3. Future Field Trips - Page 3 4. Burpee Paleofest 2011 - Page 4 5. December and January Mineral /Micromount Study Group - Page 5 6. December General Meeting (Field Museum Minerals) by Bill Vinikour - Page 6-8 7. Karen’s Komments by Karen Knordquist - Page 9-10 8. Arkansas Quartz by Kathy Dedina Page 11-12 9. Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils by Haley Gottardo Page 13-14

10. Local Calendar Of Events - Page 15 11. ESCONI Show Flyer – Page 16 12. Mazon Creek Books – Page 17

FEBRUARY 2011 EARTH SCIENCE NEWS PAGE 1

Now is the time to start getting serious about our March show which will be coming up before you know it. Do you know what you are going to put into your case? Start pulling out your treasures and planning your display. We want to see them. And plan to help out in any way you can. We will need you to help out in set up and tear down and during the show too. Its fun and a chance to meet old friends and collecting buddies. In this weather it is still a good time to be finding inside things to do. I hope that everyone had a chance to get to the Lizzadro Museum to see their special exhibits. They pulled out some of their ivory specimens and supplemented it with some from the Smithsonian to make a very nice display that I enjoyed. The in-tricate carvings are a marvel to behold. One of my favorites was the tower of seven puzzle balls with horses at the base on one at the top from the Smithsonian shown at left. There are other shows to keep in mind also. The Burpee Mu-seum in Rockford has the PaleoFest coming up the first week-end in February and it should be a really good lineup. They have a lot of good speakers who will be concentrating on Gondwana this year. ESCONI will be one of the sponsors again this year so we will be there as usual. They do a good job every year and they have expanded the Museum and lab so that it should be even better this year. And MAPS will be April 1-3 this year and will be on the Creta-ceous this year. It is always a lot of fun to visit Macomb and see all the fossils and people from all over the country. Some of us from ESCONI will be there also selling out books and new bag as well. Come on over and find some new treasures or visit with other fossil friends. I don’t know about you but I am ready for Spring already. I know it is early, but after that cold December, I think that we should start early. Let’s hope for an early warm spell so that fossiling can start early this year.

Karen Nordquist, President

Dues are due now!


General Meeting February 11, 2011 8:00 PM

LaBrea Tar Pits by Dr. Virginia Naples

Mineral-Micromount February 12, 7:30 PM

Pseudomorphs by Jim Daly

Paleontology February 19, 7:30 PM

The Upper Permian by Tom Williams and John Catalani

Archaeology February 26, 7:30 PM

Chinese Artifacts in Pre-Columbian North America

Junior

Subject to reorganization.

ESCONI Field Trips

See Web Site, www.esconi.org, about future field trips in 2011. February 12, 2011: SciTech museum (See Page 3) Miner Safety Training is being scheduled for either March 28 or 29 or May 21

BOARD MEETING January 28, 7:30 PM

February 2011 ESCONI EVENTS The normal ESCONI meeting schedule is taking place. The meetings are typically held at the College of DuPage (COD) Building K, Room #161, but note that the room number is subject to change. There will be a note posted on the entrance door.

GROUP GENERAL MICRO PALEO ARCH BOARD JUNIOR

February 11 12 19 26 25

March 19-20 Show

12 X 26 25

April 8 9 16 23 22

DAY 2nd FRI 2nd SAT 3rd SAT 4th SAT 4th FRI 2nd FRI

TIME 8:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:00

ESCONI GEM, MINERAL FOSSIL SHOW

March 19 and 20, 2011

Help us in the planning!

BURPEE PALEOFEST

March 5 and 6, 2011


Future Field Trips for 2011

SciTech Hands On Museum

February 12, 2011 2:00 AM with Rob Sula, ESCONI Member HATCHING THE PAST: DINOSAUR EGGS AND BABIES

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 to FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Contact John Good at (630) 483-2363 to Sign Up or e-mail at ESCONI@hotmail

General Admission $8, Additional Price TBA

Other Future Field Trips Miner Safety Training is being scheduled for either March 28 or 29 or May 21 Jacob Geodes, Hamilton, Illinois—Geodes April 2, 2011 St. Paul, Indiana - Fossils Friday in April or May 2011 Braceville—Mazon Creek Fossils May 2011 Braidwood Boat Trip—Mazon Creek Fossils May 2011

E.S.O.N.I. GEM-MINERAL-FOSSIL Show Saturday-Sunday March 19-20 2011

We will need your help with our show. Donations of time, silent auc-tion and live auction material will be appreciated. You can help by demonstrating your lapidary skills or displaying your collection. We will provide space and display cases. Setup will be on Friday after-noon March 18, 2011. More Information is available on the web site, www.esconi.org, including the show flyer. We will be having a work day at our storage unit in February at 9:00 AM date TBA

Contact John Good at (630) 483-2363 or E-mail at [email protected]

Admission Members: FREE! General Admission: $8

60 and over: $7 3 and under: FREE!

SciTech Hands On Museum

18 W. Benton St. Aurora, IL 60506

630-89-3434 http://scitech.mus.il.us

The exhibit features: Real dinosaur leg bone fossil for visitors to touch Over 130 real and cast dinosaur eggs and nests

Dig pits Six different groups of dinosaurs are represented

"Life-like" models of dinosaurs Original artist depictions of early dinosaur development and life Baby Louie as featured in National Geographic

Magazine


Festival Hours: March 5th & 6th, doors open 10:00 am - 5:00pm; free children's DinoBlast ac-

tivities with admission 11:00am - 4:00pm, lectures begin at 10:30am.

Order Tickets: Call 815-965-3433 or visit www.burpee.org,

Festival Admission: $10 per person, Burpee Members are FREE! Admission includes chil-

dren's DinoBlast Passport activities and Giants: African Dinosaur exhibit. Coupons and recipro-

cal memberships are not valid March 5 & 6 .

Saturday night Dinner & Lecture: Paul Sereno, Ph.D., Professor, University of Chicago and

Explorer in Residence, National Geographic

Splendid Isolation: Africa's Cretaceous Dinosaur World

Saturday Lectures: 10:30-11:30 AM Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D Cretaceous Birds and Other Dinosaurs from Madagascar and East Africa 12:00-1:00 PM Alicia Stigall, Ph.D., Amazing Arthropods of Gondwana 2:00-3:00 PM Jeffrey Wilson, Ph.D., Indo-Pakistan 67 Million Years Ago: When Snakes Ate Dinosaurs 3:30-4:30 PM Bill Hammer, Ph.D., From Giant Amphibians to Dinosaurs: Antarctica During the Age of Reptiles Sunday Lectures: 10:30-11:30 AM Virginia Naples, Ph.D., South American Mammals: Placentals and Marsupials Alike! 12:00-1:00 PM Matthew Bonnan, Ph.DA Sound of Distant Thunder: How a New Dinosaur Illuminates the Beginnings of the Dinosaur Giants 2:00-3:00 PM Holly Woodward, Diminutive Dinosaurs, Enigmatic Ediacara, and MEGA-Marsupials: Fascinating Fossils from Down Under 3:30-4:30 PM Robert Reisz, Ph.D., Those Mysterious Parareptiles: Their Evolutionary History in Gondwana, and the Permo-Triassic Extinctions Family Workshops: 1:00pm Saturday or Sunday Workshops- Two fossil-themed workshops will be offered Saturday and Sunday for an adult working with one or more children. Recommended for children over five. All workshops include an age appropriate PowerPoint presentation, followed by a fun “make-and-take” project. Tickets: $12/non-member child, $8/non-member adult, $10/member child, $6/member adult. Includes admission to selected workshop. Festival admission is required to attend workshops.


MINERALOGY/MICROMOUNT December 11, 2010 The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by Kathy Dedina. Members were asked to place their minerals for the Identification Contest on the tables set aside for it, and place the names in a bag provided for it. Jim Daly announced that there was free material from various localities available after the meeting. In January we will se the video on agates. In February we will have the program on pseudo-morphs originally scheduled for this month. In March, Jim Daly will do a program on mineral terminology. Bring suggestions to the January meeting of terms that you would like to see de-fined. We are considering future programs on collection curation and mineral identification techniques. This month’s program was the traditional Identification Contest. Eleven members participated, and it was a bit more difficult than usual. Jim Daly won, with 23 correct out of 32. Kathy Dedina was a close second, with 21 correct. Third place went to Doug Bank, with 19 correct. Prizes were awarded to all participants. Refreshments were provided by John Good and Dianna Lord. Submitted by Jim Daly

Contest Minerals Entered (Epidote and Spodumene had two (2) specimens en-tered.

MINERALOGY/MICROMOUNT JANUARY 8, 2011 The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by Kathy Dedina. The group discussed future topics and agreed on the following; California, Curating, Terminol-ogy and Calcite. The February Meeting will be Pseudomophs by Jim Daly. Future dates will be decided at the February meeting. The Mineral Study Group display for the March Show was discussed. A Pseudomorph case using minerals that members bring in for the February Meeting will be evaluated. An Arkansas case was discussed also. Several agate videos were shown; Coconut agates from Mexico, Fairburn agates from South Dakota and Sweetwater Moss agates from Montana. A silent auction was held. Refreshments were provided by Kathy Dedina. Submitted by John Good

Actinelite Garnet Prehnite

Aragonite Goethite Purpurite

Atacamite Gypsum Pyrite

Barite Kyanite Rubellite Tourmaline

Calcite Lepidolite Schorl Tourmaline

Crocoite Malachite Serpentine

Elbaite Tourmaline Manganite Spodumene (2)

Epidote (2) Mica Thompsonite

Fluorite Natrolite Tourmaline

Fuchsite Phillipsite/Clinoptilolite Vanadinite


GENERAL MEETING December 3, 2010

President Karen Nordquist called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. She informed everyone that the Holiday dinner earlier that evening at the Greek Islands restaurant was good and thanked 1st Vice President Rob Sula for setting up the dinner arrangements. The slate of officers nominated at the November General Meeting was unanimously voted into office for next year. Editor’s Note: (Randall Bultman has accepted position of curator)

Rob then listed upcoming General Meeting speakers. He mentioned that Tom Loebel, who was to be our January 2011 speaker, had to cancel. In his place, John Ruskamp will speak on evidence of Chinese exploration of America based on petroglyphs. In February, Virginia Naples will speak on the La Brea tar pits.

Our ESCONI Show will be March 19 and 20, 2011, in K Commons. Paleofest will be the first

weekend in March at the Burpee Museum of Natural History. The Mid America Paleontology

Society’s (MAPS) National Fossil Exposition XXXIII will be April 1-3, 2011. The theme for Expo

33 will be "The Cretaceous", and Dr Steven Nicklas will give the keynote talk titled "Application

of Archaeological Field Methods in Paleontology.”

POSITION NAME

Board Members for 2011

President Karen Nordquist

1st Vice President Rob Sula

2nd Vice President Irene Broede

Recording Secretary William Vinikour

Corresponding Secretary Jim Fairchild

Treasurer John Good

Publicity Don Cronauer

Librarian Andy Jansen

Curator Open

Historian Judy Dedina

Field Trip Chairman Richard Rock

Assistant Field Trip Chairman John Catalani

Editor Don Cronauer

Assistant Editor John Good

Circulation Howard Svoboda

Past President Jim Fairchild

Membership Eileen Mizerk

Liaison Representative John Good

Alternate Liaison Karen Nordquist


General Meeting of Dec 3, 2010, Continued John Good stated that there may be a field trip to the SciTech museum in Aurora to see the special exhibit on dinosaur eggs and babies that runs through February 20. No date has been set. Librarian Andy Jansen mentioned the ESCONI books and messenger bags that were available for purchase. The upcoming Mineral-Micromount Study Group Meeting was then mentioned. Rob then introduced the speaker for the evening – James Holstein, Preparator of Fossil Verte-brates and Collection Manager of Meteoritics and Mineralogy, Department of Geology, The Field Museum.

“Rocks, Mineral and Gemstones: What They Are and How Do We Classify Them”

Jim began his presentation by describing how elements, minerals, and rocks differ. Elements consist of one type of atom and cannot be separated into simpler substances. There are more than 100 known substances of which 92 occur naturally. Minerals are basic earth materials that cannot be physically broken down any further. They are naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline substances with a narrowly defined chemical composition. Minerals are made of one or more elements. Rocks are hard, naturally formed masses of minerals.

Jim then told some interesting facts: (1) there are over 4,500 known minerals; (2) living organisms are responsible for the formation of most of the Earth’s minerals; and (3) ten ele-ments comprise nearly 99.8% of the Earth’s crust. He then told the audience what exactly makes a mineral a mineral. A mineral is any naturally occurring, inorganic substance char-acterized by a particular crystalline and chemical structure. Some solid elements that occur naturally are also considered minerals. Carbon is an example of a solid element that is also a mineral. Diamonds are carbon atoms held together in three dimensions; while graphite is comprised of carbon atoms held together in two dimensions.

Minerals have the four following properties: they are solid, they usually have a crystalline struc-ture, they must be naturally occurring as a result of a geological process, and, within limits, must have a defined chemical composition. Traditional definitions of minerals excluded organi-cally derived materials such as coal. There are a number of physical properties that can be used to determine what kind of mineral you have, These include the crystalline structure; hardness (determined by the Mohs Hardness Scale); luster (dull or glassy or metallic or non-metallic); color (which is not actually a good indicator); streak (color you get when you scratch a scratch plate with the mineral); cleavage and fracture; specific gravity (density); and others such as taste, magnetism, florescence, and response to acid. Minerals can sometimes develop into regular geometric shapes to form crystal forms. The seven crystal systems and examples of each are: 1. Triclinic – feldspar, plagioclase; 2. Hexagonal – beryl; 3. Cubic – galena; 4. Monoclinic – mica, gypsum; 5. Tetragonal – wulfenite; 6. Orthorhombic – olivine; and 7. Trigonal – dolomite.


General Meeting of Dec 3, 2010, Continued The Mohs Hardness Scale is a way to test the hardness of a mineral to determine its type. On the low end of the Mohs Hardness Scale are minerals such as talc and gypsum, while corun-dum and diamonds are among the hardest minerals. Luster is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock, or mineral. Ways to describe luster (and examples of each) include: adamantine (diamond), greasy (halite), dull (clay, hematite), waxy (jade), silky (gypsum), metallic (pyrite), resinous (amber), vitreous (calcite, quartz), submetallic (sphalerite), and pearly (talc).

Jim then went into a more detailed discussion of rocks. Rocks are solid substances made of more than one mineral. For example, granite is comprised of quartz and orthoclase (feldspar) while rhyolite is comprised of these minerals plus hornblende and biotite (mica). The rock cycle is the mechanism by which rocks form, change, and recycle. The three types of rocks are sedi-mentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Some rocks form in space (e.g., meteorites). Some mete-orites form in ways similar to terrestrial rocks; while others form in ways unlike rocks formed on earth.

Jim then discussed gemstones. Gemstones are minerals that can be cut and polished. There are five category levels used to classify gemstones. Using an emerald as an example, these include: system (inorganic gemstones), class (silicates), group (beryl), species (beryl), and va-riety (emerald). The two gemstone systems are organic and inorganic. Class refers to the ma-jor chemical compound that comprises the mineral. Group is a further breakdown of classes; while species is the chemical compound of the gem. A variety is based on the trace elements that give the gemstone its color. For example, chromium gives the emerald its distinct green color. Other varieties of beryl include bixbite, aquamarine, heliodore, morganite, pale green beryl, and goshenite. Varieties of corundum include rubies and sapphires.

Jim showed a slide of popular modern cuts that are done to gems. The various cuts include

princess, round brilliant, square, pear-shaped brilliant, marquise, emerald brilliant, standard

baguette, and briolette. Jim mentioned that James Dwight Dana (1813-1895) created a hierar-

chical system to classify minerals. It uses four sets of numbers separated by periods. The first

number represents the class of the mineral based on the dominant structural element; the sec-

ond represents the type of mineral based on the atomic characteristic; the third number refers

to the group which is based on structural similarities; and the fourth number is assigned to the

individual mineral species. The Field Museum uses the Dana system to classify and track its

specimens. The Field Museum collection started with the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

The museum now houses over 18,500 gem and mineral specimens.

A question and answer period followed Jim’s well-received presentation. Jim also brought in several mineral and gem specimens that were passed around during his presentation. The meeting was adjourned with thanks to Jim for his entertaining presentation. Refreshments were served. Jim remained to answer further questions.

Respectively Submitted, William S. Vinikour, Recording Secretary


Deinonychus by R. Bakker ‘69

First Ceratopsian from South Korea – Koreaceratops

While building a dam 30 miles SW of Seoul, Korea a construction crew came upon some bones. It turns out that it is the back half of the first ceratopsian to be found in Sotu Korea and it has been named Koreaceratops hwaseongensis after Hwaseong City where it was found. The tail is nearly complete with much of the pelvis and hind limbs and feet. It was found in the Tando beds (Albain or about 100 MYA) of the Lower Cretaceous. This is during the time of other basal ceratopsian taxa but it has a very distinctive feature

of interest – it has very long caudal neural spines similar to those of some late Cretaceous ceratopsians such as Protoceratops, Bagaceratops and Montanaceratops. The model of Ko-reaceratops above is by Julius Csotonyl of Winnipeg, Canada. The preserved tail consists of 36 vertebrae and the estimated length of the tail is 813 mm (2.66 ft.). There may be 4 or 5 ver-tebrae missing from the end of the tail. The tallest spine is near the back on caudal 22 where it is 98.9 mm (3.89 in.) long. After that vertebrae the spines decrease abruptly to vertebra 28, after which there are no spines. It has a long and gracile foot with long phalanges. Koreaceratops does have a claw-like ungual, which is similar to Cerasinops and Graciliceratops. Some speculate that the long spines in the tail were an adaptation for swimming but enough is not known about the environment of this specimen to know if that were the case here. It could also have been used as a signaling device. It was estimated to have been about 6 feet long and to have weighed about 100 pounds and would have been fairly agile. (Lee, Ryan et al in Naturwissenschaften Nov 18, 2010)

New Sauropod from 190 MYA in North America – Sarahsaurus

This is a smaller and almost complete skeleton of a sauropod skeleton that was found in Arizona that has been named Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis. It was found in the Kayenta Formation of the Early Jurassic. It was named for Sarah Butler and Gold Spring, Arizona. Since sauropods were absent from North America be-fore this time they are believed to have come from other areas. It is estimated to have been 14 feet long and to have weighed about 250 pounds.


Karen’s Komments, Continued It had a long neck and a small head and had strong teeth but had an unusual clawed hand was probably quite strong. The strong teeth and hands indicate that its diet was more than vege-tarian and that they were both scavengers and not pure herbivores. (Rowe, Sues & Reisz in Proc. R. Soc. B on line 2010).

Two New Iguanodonts from Utah – Iguanacolossus & Hippodraco

Two new basal iguanodontian dinosaurs have been found in the Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation of eastern Utah. Both fossils include partial skulls and skeletons with unique combinations of char-acters. The first is named Iguanacolossus fortis (upper drawing; scale = 1 m) from the Latin in reference to the herbivorous Iguana lizards and the Latin “fortis” for mighty. It would have been a large ponderous beast similar in size to Iguanodon bernissartensis (about 9 m or 29.5 ft.) long. The second fossil has been named Hippodraco scutodens (lower drawing; scale = 1m) from

the Greek “hippos” for horse and the Latin “draco” for dragon referring to the long low skull. The species name is from the Latin “scutum” for oblong shield and “dens” for tooth for the shape of the dentary tooth crowns. This animal was smaller and more gracile with an esti-mated length of 4.5 m (14.8 ft.) long although the age of the holotype is unsure. The large or-bit of the skull suggests that it was young. (McDonald, Kirkland et al in PLosONe Vol. 5/11 Nov. 2010)

New Complete Sauropod Found in China – Yizhousaurus This is an important find because it is a nearly complete and well preserved skeleton of a basal sauropod from the Lower Lufeng Formation or Early Jurassic in Yunnan, China. It includes an in-tact skull which is a rare find. It has been named Yizhousaurus sunae. The skull is wide and domes and short;snouted with eye sockets on the sides so that it can watch for predators. It is pic-tured at left. It has broad, U-shaped jaws that are like those of later sauropods. The teeth are serrated and spoon-shaped on the upper and lower jaws and could shear vegetation easily. It is considered to be a transition between prosauropods and sauro-

pods because of its features. It lived 200 MYA and would have been about 30 feet long with a long neck and quadrupedal stance. The new dinosaur was presented to the GSA meeting in Denver on October 31 by Sankar Chatterjee. This is the most complete basal sauropod cur-rently known with an intact skull. Most other information has come from postcranial material. (Chaterjee et al GSA abstract 2010)

Karen Nordquist, Paleontology


Arkansas Quartz by Kathy Dedina Arkansas is one of the classic locations for the very common mineral quartz. Arkansas quartz is known both for the quality and quantity of good crystals found there. The best of Arkansas quartz is water clear with perfect crystal faces. Specimens of large groups of crystals or large crystals are much prized. Such specimens are priced in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Arkansas is one of the few locations where fee collecting areas are common, thus adding to the interest in this mineral. A quartz arrowhead dating to 11,000 B.C. had been documented. The Toltec Mounds builders used quartz in their artifacts dating before 1,000 A.D. De Soto in 1541 noted the uses of quartz by the native population. No early mine sites have been found. The Indians probably worked quartz from surface sites. Historical records from 1804 and 1819 reference the occur-rence of quartz in the Quachita Mountains. Quartz mining in Arkansas was a haphazard affair until WWII. In 1930 Ocus Stanley obtained a lease in the Quachita National Forest. He opened a rock mine in Mt. Ida and encouraged other dealers. Most miners did not bother with leases or claims. They worked private timberlands or federal lands. As long as they did not cut timber or leave pits they were left alone. With the war the need for oscillator grade pure quartz became strategic. The shipping lanes supplying South American quartz were threatened by German submarines. The government took over 2 mines; namely, the Blocker Lead # 4 Quartz Mine also called the Old Coleman Mine in Jessieville in Garland County and the Willis Mine is Saline County. Interest in mining rights and leases dra-matically increased. The boom in quartz was soon to end. Armistice brought an end to wartime needs for quartz. Shipping lanes were reopened. Additionally laboratories perfected the techniques to synthe-size pure quartz crystals from less pure seed quartz. The Old Coleman Mine changed hands to the Japanese in the 1960’s, to the Germans and then the Canadians before reverting back to Ron Coleman in1987. This mine is currently a fee collecting area. Most Arkansas quartz has been marketed to tourists, hobbyists, museums and jewelry makers since the 1950’s. It is esti-mated that between 20 and 25 mines operate as fee collecting areas for tourists and mineral collectors. Some of these mines also market cleaned quartz crystals to mineral collectors. The internet is an excellent place to locate specimens for sale and mines to self-collect. Most quartz mines are open pits with explosives used to open some veins. Quartz occurs in a belt 30 to 40 miles wide by 170 miles long trending S SW from Little Rock to Eastern Oklahoma. The quartz is found in veins in Paleozoic rock primarily shale and sand-stone. The Blakely and Crystal Mountain sandstone deposits have produced the best crystals although any Paleozoic rock may contain veins of quartz. The quartz was deposited from hydrothermal fluids in fractures and fissures formed in the host rock during the late Pennsylva-nian and the early Permian from 300 to 245 MYA. This period was the late stage of the Quachita orogeny. Water, silica and some minerals like antimony, lead, zinc and mercury were drawn out of rock during metamorphesis and deposited in the veins. Quartz veins in shale are more of the milky variety and less of the clear crystal type. Less quartz occurs in sandstone veins but it has better crystals. The host rock at the time of quartz deposition was a mile or more underground. Quartz veins in the sandstone make it more erosion resistant. This sand-stone forms ridges.


Arkansas Quartz, Continued The quartz for which Arkansas is famous is the clear, well formed crystals found singly or in clusters. Sizes vary from small crystals in Jeffrey quartz to specimens measured in 6 or more inches. Clear large sized crystals are pricey. Milky quartz is the more common variety found. The milky appearance is due to tiny bubbles in fluids trapped in the crystal. Smokey quartz is found at Magnet Cove and in Garland County. The color is due to irradiation. Much of the smoky being sold has been artificially irradiated. Some quartz has fluid inclusions locally known as bubble quartz. Phantom crystals are seen in some specimens. Self-collecting can be a fun way to add to a collection. Many fee areas are open in Arkansas for quartz. Collecting is allowed only from tailings at some mines. You will be able to mostly collect single crystals or small specimens. Vein collecting is harder work but will yield better specimens including crystal clusters. Most quartz is coated in mud and iron or manganese ox-ides. All types of collecting is dirty work. Wear old clothes that may never come clean again. Bring gloves, bug spray, sunscreen, first aid kit, rock hammer, paper for wrapping, a bucket, an old cushion and some kind of a garden trowel. Vein collecting requires sledge hammers and pry bars of varying lengths. Amenities vary at collecting sites. Some sites bring the material to you under an awning. Others are pits at the end of a dirt road. Some areas have restrooms, re-freshment sales and camping with electric hook ups. Checking websites or making a phone call will help you find the right mine for your needs. Collecting the specimens is only part of the work. We picture the crystals being water clear and dirt free. The truth is the collected material is caked with mud and stained. The mud is removed by letting it dry out of sunlight and then washing with a hose. This should remove most clay after several washings. The next step is trickier. The iron stain found on many crystals is re-moved with the use of oxalic acid which is heated for a period of time. This step may need to be repeated more than once. Instructions on the rockhounding Arkansas website give details on all steps in the cleaning process. Only after all this do you have the quartz specimen you pictured adding to your collection. Purchasing specimens is another option. Arkansas quartz is a prized addition in any case. Kathy Dedina References: “Quartz Mining” on The Encyclopedia of Arkansas His-tory and Culture Website “Quartz“ on the Rockhounding Arkansas Website by Darcy and Michael Howard “Arkansas Quartz Crystals Brochure Series 001” by J Michael Howard of the Arkansas Geological Survey

Quartz— Wegner Mine, Arkansas


Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils by Haley Gottardo

It was a beautiful, exciting day for me. Today was the ESCONI field trip to Braceville, where we’d look through a massive pile of rocks, known as the “spoil pile,” for fossils. As I ap-proached the pile, I was wowed by its height; it reminded me of the Bad Lands of South Da-kota. Clay, mud, sulfur and coal gave it the colors red, white, yellow and gray. Around, along and within the pile, fossils were hidden. The search felt daunting, but with the advice of more experienced club members, I found out what to look for. With what they told me in mind, I looked for rounded rocks that were colored red. These rocks were potential fossil that I would have to crack open later. I also looked for halves of these rocks. The halves sometimes contained an already visible fossil. I took my scraper and scraped away at the pile, coming across many round rocks. I tossed them in the bucket for keeps. My dad used a hoe to scrape at larger areas and he tossed what he found to me. After three hours of fossil hunting, I had more than half a bucket full of possible fossils, as well as three open clam fossils, chunks of coal, sulfur, and selenite crystals. The state of Illinois is not the most exciting state geologically, but there are a few interesting rocks or fossil that you can find, such as Mazon Creek fossils. The fossils consist of ferns, bugs, shrimp, worms, jellyfish and other soft-bodied animals from the Carboniferous period. Their soft bodies are nicely preserved in the red-clay concretions (Pinna). The state fossil of Illinois is from Mazon Creek and is called the “Tully Monster.” Mazon Creek fossils are truly a popular collector’s item among rock hounds and are not hard to find as long as a person knows where to look, what to look for, how to look for them and what to do with them once they are found. Illinois residents, specifically those from Chicagoland, have the advantage of finding these fos-sils with out traveling much distance. These fossils are found in a few Illinois counties located south of Chicago such as Grundy, Will, Livingston and Kankakee. The best fossils are found in and on the banks of Mazon Creek, located south of Morris. The problem is that most of the land around the creek is privately owned by farmers, so ESCONI had to get special permission to collect there. The few public places where you can find fossils are in the state parks or rec-reation areas that are nearby, or the spoil pile in Braceville located off of I-55 that ESCONI uses. It’s best to be careful, though. Some state parks fine for taking natural occurring objects out of the park. (Ed. Note: This spoil pile is on private land, and ESCONI must get permission each time before searching at the site.) Once one knows where to look, what to look for is the next most important part of fossil hunt-ing. Mazon Creek fossils and usually found in round, reddish mud shale and iron stone concre-tions, or spherical sedimentary rock (Case). In the spoil pile, there are plenty of these. Most of them are fossils, but sometimes they will contain a tiny pyrite crystal. Most of the concretions that contain fossil are heavier. This is because of the iron content that gives it weight. The fos-sils inside are mainly pyritized, in which the organism is replaced with pyrite (Walker). Some of the fossils will already be open. In the spoil pile, clam shells, jellyfish and worms are the most common fossil found. Clams are easy to recognize, but the jellyfishes will look like blobs and the worms will look like white lines of powder smeared on the concretion halves. Using a fossil handbook might help with identification.


Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils, Continued Besides picking concretions of the ground, digging might be helpful. Be sure to bring a garden shovel, a scraper or hoe just in case it’s too hard to get the concretion out of the dirt. A rock hammer, also know as a chisel of rock pick might help with hammering concretion out of tough shale. Wear goggles to protect the eyes while hammering. Loose bits of shale will fly though the air and find themselves in any uncovered spots, so be careful. Also, dress properly for the work. Old jeans, gloves and boots are best to wear in the muddy and dirty conditions. Also, a hat, water, bug spray and some sunscreen help if it’s hot and sunny and the rock collector is planning to spend a few hours outdoors. Always bring a bucket or something to put the fossils and concretions in. Be prepared to work hard. Once the concretions are found and taken home, there is special procedure to open them up. Do not try to hammer the fossils open; they will break unevenly. It is best to do this carefully and patiently. To get the best results, freeze the fossil open. First, place some of the concre-tions into a plastic container, and then fill it with water till it covers the rocks. Place that con-tainer in the freezer over night, and then thaw it the next morning in someplace warm or sunny and not cold. Once the container or rock has completely thawed, some of the concretions will have opened. The open ones are the ones with fossils or pyrite crystal nodules. Repeat the procedure with the ones that did not open and hopefully they will over the next few days. Mazon Creek fossils are a treasure that can be found in Illinois. With the correct knowledge and tools, anyone can collect them. Collecting fossils is an exhilarating experience for all ages and it can even become a life-long hobby. If you or anyone else is interested in collecting Ma-zon Creek fossils or any other kind of fossils, another great suggestion would be to join a club such as ESCONI (if you haven’t already) because that way you would have better access to the places in which fossils are located, and would get more good advice on how to find them. You could go to the library or search online for more information. So, grab a shovel, a bucket and a pick and start digging! Ancient treasures are just waiting to be uncovered beneath the dirt of Illinois if you look hard enough. Works Cited: Case, Gerard R. A Pictorial Guide to Fossils, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982. Pinna, Giovanni. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fossils, New York: Facts On File, 1990. Walker, Cyril, and David Ward. Smithsonian Handbooks: Fossils. New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 1992.

Don’t Forget the ESCONI Books on Page 17


Local Calendar of Events

Special Exhibit – “Bundenbach’s Golden Fossils” January 15 to April 3, 2011 The slate quarries of Bundenbach, yielded slate shingles used on roofs for over 400 years. Quarrymen were the first to notice the rare pyritized fossils embedded in the slate. By the 1800’s fossil collectors recognized the importance of the Bundenbach fossils. The fossils are Devonian sea creatures preserved by pyrite in slate. Regular Museum Admission and Hours. Every Sunday Afternoon “The Lizzadro Museum Collection ” Introductory DVD on the permanent collection explains how jade is carved and the unique forms of lapidary art on display. DVD – 50 minutes – 3:00 p.m. - Regular Museum Admission February 5 – “Dish Garden in Miniature” Create a container of flowers to go with your gem tree or dollhouse. Artist, Edie Rodriguez teaches miniature creations using colorful stones, shell, wire and other materials. Take home up to four miniatures. All materials are provided. Activity – Ages 10 yrs. to Adult – 1 pm to 3 pm $20.00 per person – Reservations Required February 19 – “Rock & Mineral Identification” Geologist Sara Johnson presents an introduction to rocks and minerals. Learn how to make a basic mineral test kit. Hands on identification procedures include observation skills and hard-ness tests. All materials are provided. Activity – Ages 8 yrs. to Adult 75 minutes – Classes at 10:30 am and 1 pm Admission - $5.00 per person – Reservations Required

Collections: What Do You Collect? Temporary Exhibit in the Crown Family PlayLab. Discover what The Field Mu-

seum collects, and discover specimens and artifacts collected by families just like yours! Special Exhibition Family November 20 2010 - February 19, 2011 Free

Gold October 22, 2010-

March 6, 2011 Known as one of the rarest and most prized minerals in the world, gold has cap-tured the world’s fascina-tion for centuries. Discover its natural beauty, scientific value and its power to shape history in Gold, only at The Field Museum.

E.S.C.O.N.I.

GEM-MINERAL-

FOSSIL SHOW

COLLEGE OF DUPAGE __________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday March 19, 2011 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.

Sunday March 20, 2011 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.

FREE ADMISSION & PARKING Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

WWW.ESCONI.ORG

DEALERS GEODE SPLITTER DISPLAYS

FREE DOOR PRIZE BOOKS & MAGAZINES

KIDDIE KORNER DEMONSTRATIONS

THE FIELD AND LIZZADRO MUSEUM DISPLAYS

College of Dupage Building K West Commons


ESCONI’S Next Book Undertaking!

ESCONI first published Keys to Identify Pennsylvanian Fossil Animals of the Mazon Creek Area in 1989. With the success of the publication of The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora, it is time to consider updating our twenty-year-old publication of Keys to Identify Pennsylvanian Fossil Ani-mals of the Mazon Creek Area. Jim Fairchild, Jack Wittry, Rob Sula, Chris Cozart, and John Catalani have come together with a goal to produce a quality publication that could comple-ment The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora. In this updated version, the publication will not only util-ize existing illustrations, but will also include photos to represent this diverse fauna. One differ-ence is that the flora book presents major revisions to the classification of Mazon Creek plants, requiring museum specimens to be pictured. The new fauna book, will not present major revi-sions to species which will allow us to picture specimens from private collections. This pro-vides all Mazon collecting ESCONI members with an opportunity to be a part of this new publi-cation. We envision that each species will be represented by photos of one exceptional speci-men and two typical specimens. By doing this we hope to show the reader examples of fossils that are representative of those they are attempting to identify. We are suspending the photography of Mazon Creek fossils for the book until the next year, 2011. Any questions? Contact Jim Fairchild at 630-497-6278

The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora by Jack Wittry 313 color pictures, 113 taxa, 145 drawings $65 hard covers for ESCONI Members $35 soft and $6 to ship Make check out to ESCONI Associates

Keys to Identify Pennsylvanian Fossil Animal of the Mazon Creek Area 125 Pages, 212 Black and White Drawings $12.00, $5 to Ship

Andrew Jansen 2 Langford Ct.

Bolingbrook, 60440 630-739-7721

[email protected]

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DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS 60515

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