[Rockhounds] Geology in Progress

[Lawrence Rush]

Nate mentioned some good collecting stories. Here is a minor one I 
experienced last week....

On a warmer (60 degrees F.) day last week, we took a day off from the 
holiday madness and went up to walk the deserted Rhode Island beaches. The 
day was cloudy and foggy there, but it was wonderful to walk and explore at 
a time when no one else was anywhere to be seen. At one end of the 
Charlestown Beach, near the breachway, the winter storms had winnowed great 
strands of Magnetite sand into long surf driven "windrows", several feet 
wide, about six inches deep, and hundreds of yards long. Pure, black, and 
striking. When I dug into it to find the depth, I found a band of Garnet 
just below it, also just as long and wide. Evidently these were separated by 
density with the high, strong surf this Fall and Winter. Not really unusual, 
but surprising to see so much of the minerals, originally derived from the 
New England hard rock highlands, concentrated like that. I have sometimes 
collected Magnetite from beach sands with a magnet, but this time a shovel 
would have given me all I could ever hope for.

Just to imagine the time involved to weather out these minerals from the 
granite, many miles away and hundreds of feet higher in altitude, then to 
have them transported by streams (and glaciers), down to the ocean, and 
ground up to be redeposited at my feet is to bring home Geology to be seen 
first hand!
Of course, the quartz beach sand underwent the same process, but we are so 
used to seeing that, it doesn't make much of an impression.

Not really a collecting trip, but interesting just the same, in Winter in 
New Engalnd!

Micromounts, anyone??

Larry