Santa Lucia Rockhounds

#OceanPictureStone from British Columbia, Canada.

Discovered in January 1905 at the Premier Mine in South Africa, the Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered weighing 3,106ct and achieved instant notoriety across the globe. It measured 50 x 50 x 100mm and weighed a little over 600 grams. The rough stone was names after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the founder of Premier Mine, who just so happened to be visiting the mine on that day. https://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org//cullinan-rough-310/

In honor of this month's birthstone. Did you know that about 250 tons of earth is mined to produce a single one-carat diamond??

Today I led a field trip out to Shell Creek in eastern San Luis Obispo County for some mid-Miocene fossil-collecting and some Spring wildflower-viewing for whic...h this locality is locally legendary. However, nobody showed up for the first time since I began this weekly rockhounding campaign at the start of the year. Perhaps there is field trip weariness; perhaps everybody was over at Aaron Miller’s rock sale instead. Probably it being Easter weekend is the primary reason. In any case my hour round-trip seemed for naught and I was temped to feel peeved. I chose not to and instead appreciate the gorgeous drive out and back and turn it into a solo rockhounding adventure and see what happened and so can you if you click on each image and read its caption. See more

Rockhounding has been around for a little while......

Today I facilitated an ad hoc, unofficial field trip of the Santa Lucia Rockhounds and San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club to the Big Sandy State Wildlife Area a...t the mouth of Indian Valley adjacent to Camp Roberts near San Miguel in northern San Luis Obispo County. We hunted for jasper, chert, chalcedony, agate, petrified wood, coal, and Miocene marine fossils. On this day we found a decent amount of jasper and a large chunk of possible petrified wood. See more

New video taken this morning.

This crystal cave was only discovered 19 years ago just outside the town of Pulpi, Spain. Found beneath a silver mine scientists quickly realized this was not e...xactly a cave. At 160 feet deep it was determined that this egg shaped cavern was actually one of the largest geodes know to exist. The selenite crystals are believed to have started growing through a self feeding mechanism of salt provided by dissolving calcium sulphate. Geologists have yet to date the age of the crystals... See more

Rose quartz often has a soft, cloudy translucence that can resemble moonstone. Add a star and this gem becomes truly phenomenal. Research shows that rose quartz... owes its delicate pink color to microscopic inclusions of aligned silicate mineral fibers. Sometimes, light reflecting off these inclusions produces a six-rayed star if the gem is cut into a sphere or a cabochon that is correctly oriented. This stunning star rose quartz sphere weighs 6.15 pounds (2.79 kg) and has a diameter of 5 inches (12.7 cm). It is truly a stellar specimen! Learn all about rose quartz: https://bit.ly/38UBtqo Courtesy: Rocks for the Spirit See more

My accumulated finds of brecciated jasper with quartz/chalcedony/agate/carnelian in-fills from Prefumo Creek yesterday (Saturday).

Saturday, March 21, 2021, I facilitated another ad hoc, unofficial field trip of the SLO Gem & Mineral Club and Santa Lucia Rockhounds along with some non-membe...rs who are considering joining local clubs. There were 10 of us in total. We visited Prefumo Creek in the Irish Hills Natural Preserve on the west side of San Luis Obispo. What follows is a visual account of our adventure. See more

Courtesy of US Geological Survey via Twitter: "Try not to be hypnotized by its beautiful green glow, but it's quiz time! The emerald became the designated gemstone for this state in what year? A. Utah, 1969 B. Colorado, 1971... C. North Carolina, 1973 Happy #StPatricksDay