SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Meeting Time: 11:00 am
Meeting Place: Parking lot of the Museum of North Carolina Minerals
79 Parkway Maintenance RdSpruce Pine, NC 28777
Cost: $70/student; parents free, sibling discount - any additional child beyond the first will be charged $55. (Please contact rgreengeology@gmail.com if you have questions about discounts.)
We'll start our tour with a look at the hands-on, interactive exhibits that explore the creation of the Blue Ridge Mountains and a wide variety of minerals at the Mineral Museum.
Muscovite, feldspar and quartz pegmatite
After this orientation, our friend, a leader and career expert with decades of experience in Spruce Pine Mining District, will host us for a full day of collecting at sites, most of which are off-limits to the general public. The Hoot Owl Mine contains pegmatite deposits from which we can collect classic and unique 'book' specimens of muscovite mica, plus feldspar and quartz pegmatite. Graphic granite can also be found here.
Muscovite, feldspar and quartz pegmatite
Our next stop will be the dolomitic marble from the renowned Bandana Mine. This sparkly, coarsely-crystalline, pure-white marble resembles glacial ice! Wollastonite and sphene specimens can also be found here.
Wollastonite on white dolomitic marble
We hope to visit the Crabtree Emerald Mine as our third stop. Abundant minerals can be found here including: emeralds, tourmaline, quartz, feldspar and schorl.
 Emerald crystal in smokey quartz and mica matrix |
After these stops, if you are still hungry for more, join us at Emerald Village. Buckets of gemstones and mineral specimens are available to be panned on their sluice lines. Buckets start at $10 and up. We will be there to help you identify and put a name on your treasures.
You may decide to make a mountain getaway weekend out of it. You may be one of the lucky ones bringing home an emerald from this trip!
Easy to moderate hiking involved. You may tailor this trip to fit your schedule.
Here are some things to know about the trip.
- Wear sturdy shoes.
- Bring water, sunscreen and bug spray (yes, ticks can be out even in the early spring!)
- Bring plastic or cloth bags to take home your rock and mineral specimens.
- Bring rock hammers (if you have them), and protective eye cover. We will supply some for the group.
- Please be prompt. If you happen to run late, we can be reached at 919-270-0028.
We will send out another email to those signed up for this field trip in September. In that email we will include a description of the geology at the sites as well as driving directions.
Thanks so much for your time and for sharing your enthusiasm for geology with us!
Please feel free to forward this email to others who you think will be interested. We would love to grow our list of geology enthusiasts!
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