Description: Beryl var. Aquamarine Elizabeth R. Mine, Chief Mountain, Pala Mining District, San Diego County, California 2.8 x 3.5 x 5.5 cm, 51.1 grams This is a fairly large specimen of etched light blue beryl from California. This crystal has been very abused and has lots of fuzzy-looking etched faces, and chips because of its eccentric shape (see video). The interior appears variably milky / cloudy, with a mild Schiller or cat's eye effect. Solid hand sample of beryl from an uncommon US locality. Ex. FGMS About the deposit: The Pala Pegmatite District, in Northwestern San Diego County, California, is a widely known source of gem and lithium minerals. Formal mining operations began in the 1870s, but the most active period was from 1900 to 1922. The dominant rocks of the district form parts of the southern California batholith, of probable Cretaceous age. At least 400 pegmatite dikes are exposed in an area of about 13 square miles. Most trend Northward and dip gently to moderately Westward, and many are marked by broad bends in strike and dip. They are remarkably persistent, and range from small stringers to large dikes with bulges nearly 100 feet thick. Similar mineral aggregates occur in the central parts of many dikes, where they generally corrode the surrounding pegmatite zone. These centrally-disposed units, which often contain residual masses of earlier minerals, include much of the district's "pocket pegmatite," a rock type composed mainly of fine- to coarse-grained quartz, albite, orthoclase, microcline, muscovite, lepidolite, and tourmaline. All the gem tourmaline and beryl, as well as the commercial concentrations of lepidolite, occur in so-called "pocket pegmatite." Such rocks actually contain very little open space, although some cavities are partly or completely filled with a clay through which gem crystals are scattered. Adapted from Gem-and lithium-bearing pegmatites of the Pala district, San Diego County, California, by R. H. Jahns and L. A. Wright (1951). State of California, Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Mines ShippingDomestic shipping via USPS priority flat rate, international shipping is available at cost. For smaller items, I can usually get economy shipping if you ask. I do not currently ship to China or Italy without special arrangements. About me My name is Jason Utas and I have been collecting and hunting for meteorites since 1998. I am currently a graduate student studying geochemistry at UCLA. Thanks for looking! Click here to view my other items.
Price: 64 USD
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
End Time: 2024-11-16T20:59:28.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Shape: Natural
Country/Region of Manufacture: Argentina
Modified Item: No
