[Rockhounds] Emailing: METEORITE ? FOUND IN FIELD IN ALPAUGH, CA

[VevaBailey at aol.com]

Thank you Kreigh, I never thought about Jerry's local rock club. 
I am knowledgeable about some minerals but I didn't see anything in this  
rock. I didn't have a magnet to test it with, so I didn't. 
Because of where Jerry found the rock and knowing there aren't rocks around  
there I was thinking that it could have been a meteorite.
The same night I saw a meteorite fall just north of the prison which is  
about 5 miles north of where Jerry lives. I thought about going and seeing if I  
could find it but thought better of going around a prison in the dark.  LOL.
 
Veva B
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 11/30/2008 6:06:33 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
Kreigh at tomaszewski.net writes:

Veva,

I'll start by saying most rocks found and thought to  be meteorites by 
the finder turn out not to be. Take the unknown rock to a  local rock 
club. If it is not a meteorite they will probably be able to  give it a 
positive identification. You can find a local rock club at  
www.amfed.org.

If the rock club is not able to give it an  identification, it could be 
a meteorite. You will need an expert, probably  using lab equipment, to 
give a positive identification of a meteorite. The  geology department 
at a local college or university should be able to  provide a positive 
identification of a meteorite. If it is a meteorite,  expect them to 
want to keep a portion for study; insist on credit for  finding it, and 
a copy of every paper they produce on it.

There are  a handful of rockhounds and dealers that specialize in 
meteorites that I  know of that could be trusted to give a positive 
identification. I think  the closest one to you is in Arizona.

Start with your local rock club.  If it turns out to be a meteorite in 
the end they will be the most excited  and turn you into a local hero. 
But don't get your hopes up, they are most  likely going to be able to 
identify it as something local.

My club  gets five to ten of these possible meteorites every year, with 
most  showing up at our annual club show. In the past five years we've 
been  stumped four times that I know of and referred them to an expert. 
Three of  them were negative, and we never heard back on the fourth.

But to be  fair, I know one rockhound/dealer who personally averages 
finding a  confirmed meteorite every other day.

Kreigh


On Sunday, Nov  30, 2008, at 19:44 America/Detroit, VevaBailey at aol.com 
wrote:

>  Hello List!
> My husbands cousin, Jerry, found this "rock" in Alpaugh,  CA while  
> plowing up
> a field. He said it was just laying  on top of the soil, not buried.
> There aren't very many rocks that are  natural in that area.
> Alpaugh is or was a lake bed many thousands of  years ago and is 
> completely
> flat. This field is used to grow  cotton and other crops.
> I don't know how to tell if the "rock" is a  meteorite or what, so 
> could  some
> of you give me some  input?
>
> Veva B.
>
>
>
>
>
>  The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link  
>  attachments:
>
> METEORITE FOUND IN FIELD IN ALPAUGH,  CA
>
>
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