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Natural History Collection Here are pictures of selected items from my mineral, fossil, and natural history collection. The majority of these specimens came from the Gem & Mineral Show in Tucson, Arizona held annually in late January and early February. The Gem & Mineral Show is the largest and most popular show in the world and attracts vendors, collectors, and buyers from around the globe. Many of the specimens in my collection came from places as far away as Brazil, India, Madagascar, China, and as near as the foothills of the Santa Rita mountains in the beautiful high desert of southern Arizona where I use to live. |
Amethyst Cathedral Geode This beautiful geode comes from Brazil and formed due to volcanic activity. Along with hundreds of similar geodes, both large and small, it was shipped to the Gem & Mineral Show in 50 gallon steel drums filled with sawdust. What a thrill it was to watch those beautiful specimens get pulled out of a drum and have the sawdust brushed away to reveal what treasures they might be. It is one of the centerpieces of the collection and is over 24 inches tall and weighs over 40 lbs. It is referred to as a cathedral geode due to the arched or high domed shape. Some of the deep purple amethyst crystals are actually gem quality. |
Ammonite Fossil Ammonites are a type of cephalopod that thrived from 400 million years ago to about 65.5 million years ago. This specimen is about the diameter of a basketball. |
Marbleized Cephalopods, Ostrich Egg, & Petrified Tree Section On the left is a wonderful specimen of a marbleized mass of cephalopods polished to stand out from the natural marble formation in which they were found. The size is about 21 inches tall by about 21 inches wide. In front of the slab is an ostrich egg. On the right is a large section of petrified wood, a section of a tree trunk about 11 inches in diameter. The face is polished to a high gloss which shows tree rings and grain. This specimen weighs over 50 lbs. |
Ammonites Here are both sides of a large, polished ammonite. Note the beautiful spiral calcite formation in the center. |
Concretion Concretion is a hard, compact mass of sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the voids between the sediment particles (i.e., the interstitial space). Concretions are often ovoid or spherical, but irregular shapes also occur. I found this specimen. |
Pyrite Sun & Rose Quartz A pyrite (fool's gold) sun from a coal formation. A specimen of lovely rose quartz. |
Malachite and Azurite The pictures do not do justice for this colorful specimen of ore containing traces of both malachite (green) and azurite (blue). |
Selenite This is one of the center pieces of my collection of mineral specimens. This sample has great depth, grain, and sheen. It is about 17 inches wide. It is somewhat friable so handling is minimized. |
Lapilli Lapilli means "little stones" in Latin. These "little stones" are formed in the air from ash from a volcanic eruption. I found these specimens. |
Calcite Above are two varieties of calcite - blue and green. Both are large, beautiful specimens with elements that span the full range of their particular color variety. The marked color shift in the green specimen is particularly lovely. Calcite This is a particularly striking sample of calcite with red and orange hues with a burgundy seam, contrasted by white calcite that looks like icing. |
Unidentified Specimen I found this unusual specimen in southern Arizona. It appears to be an agate with a deep, conical void. It reminds me of pictures of fulgurites I have seen. Fulgurites are formed from lightning striking the earth and fusing the rock or sand material into a stone or glass-like formation. |
Tourmaline in Quartz This is a very interesting sample of large, distinct, and well-formed black tourmaline crystals embedded in a large specimen of quartz. |
Petrified Wood This is a small specimen of petrified wood I found in southern Arizona. It is about the size of a 12 ounce can. |
Trilobite This large trilobite fossil is a type of arthropod. This specimen is about 15 inches wide. Trilobites appeared about 521 million years ago and became extinct about 270 million years later. This is one old critter and it presents irrefutable evidence that I am not the oldest fossil in the house. |
Cephalopod Varieties A wonderful example of a polished cephalopod plaque. Note the many small shells and seabed detritus in addition to the two forms of cephalopods, i.e., ammonite (spiral) and orthoceras (straight). |
Chrysanthemum Stone This is a nice specimen of chrysanthemum stone from China. The floral-appearing burst of reflective calcite against the contrasting, smooth, non-reflective granite is very striking. |
Dendrite Dendrite is a natural chemical and mineral staining on the hosting rock. This specimen is in light sandstone which highlights the dark staining presented as a plant or fractal-like design on both the front and back of the specimen. |
Typical Desert Foothills Scene Gambel Quail with Chicks (male standing on rock) High Desert Backroad Red Rock in Sedona, Arizona Desert Scenes The room in which the mineral collection is displayed has a southwestern theme. These original oil and water color portraits or numbered prints are featured on the walls. |
Desert Rosettes The beautiful, delicate, and intricate desert rose clusters are formations of barite, gypsum, and sand. They are very fragile. |
Prehistoric Fish Imprint & Shark Teeth Nice examples of a fossilized fish imprint and large shark teeth. The shark teeth are a bit smaller than the palm of my hand. |
Fluorite A nice specimen of fluorite from a mineral shop in Sedona, Arizona. |
Fossilized Sediment Sphere & Magnetite A large specimen of fossilized lake bed sediment from China, shaped and polished as a sphere and set on a decorative iron stand. It contains many shells and other small examples of lake bed detritus. It is the size of a bowling ball. To the right are specimens I found in the foothills of the Santa Rita mountains near Green Valley, Arizona. I had thought that they might be meteorites, but Geoff Notkin of the TV show Meteorite Men, whom I met and showed these to after his presentation to the Challenger Space Center in Peoria, AZ of a piece of the meteorite that hit Russia in February 2013, thought that these were magnetite. |