Meeting Time: 11:00 am (location will be sent to you once you register)
Cost: $40/student; parents free, sibling and scout discounts - please email for details.
Hi everyone, we are so pleased to offer a unique rock and mineral collecting opportunity for our participants! Our objective is a very exclusive, hard-to-get-into working mine. Don't miss out on the treasure trove of rocks and mineral available at this outstanding site!!
We will visit an operating quarry at Vanderbilt Mineral's famous Glendon quarry, where there will a chance to collect unique specimens including pyrophyllite (a rare, valuable talc mineral), spectacular pyrite crystals, chlorite, fluorite, barite, calcite, siderite, quartz and sericite. We will see and can collect a suite of volcanic and metamorphic rocks with cool textures and banding.
Pyrophyllite, a very valuable economic mineral is mined here and used to manufacture many products we use every day: ceramics, firebricks, paints and many various agricultural and construction materials.
On this trip, we will be taking a close look at the amazing rocks of the Carolina Terrane. These rocks record a time in North Carolina's past when there was active volcanism, hot springs, geysers, calderas, mega-earthquakes, catastrophic eruptions of pyroclastic flows and the emplacement of mineralized veins rich in metallic ores and unique minerals. Through observation and discussion, we will learn about the geologic history and the special economic importance of these rocks and how geology is integral in our lives.
The bedrock of the area formed more than 600 million years ago, in the center of a large and extensive chain of islands composed of actively erupting volcanoes. Geologists call this area the Glendon Pyrophyllite District located in the Carolina Terrane. Geologic features we will observe and explain include: high-angle reverse faulting, footwall, hanging wall, hydrothermal alteration, sulfide mineralization, mineral formation & structural faulting and folding.
Don't miss a great opportunity for rock and mineral collection.
We'll follow our quarry adventure with an optional stop to see a unique, nearby cultural treasure - the House in the Horseshoe. This site includes structures and a history dating back to before the Revolutionary War. We will enjoy a special program at House in the Horseshoe, courtesy of their expert staff. This is a great place to enjoy a late picnic lunch or a snack break. We will have time here for an informal rock and mineral identification session. You are welcome to bring any specimens you have for curation.
We expect this trip to fill quickly and we will need an accurate 'head count' for the quarry, so please let us know as soon as you can, if you will be attending and how many will be in your group.
You can pay (register) in two ways:
1) Send your payment to Pay Pal - rgreen08@gmail.com. - or -
2) Mail a check to:
Rob Greenberg
2218 Esther Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
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