Membership Library
Gem Hunter’s Guide
A complete state-by-state directory to tested digging sites. Easy-to-understand instructions for recognizing rock formations: glossary. How to identify gem minerals and judge their value.
Roadside Geology of Utah
No one can ignore the colorful rocks of Utah: the Vermilion Cliffs of Wingate sandstone, the snow white and salmon pink bluffs of Navajo sandstone, or the yellow and pink rhyolite of Big Rock Candy Mountain. Roadside Geology of Utah is a riveting account of the forces that made the brilliant cliffs, mountains, and canyonlands we see today. The author's smooth prose brings the rocks of Utah and their long history into sharp and enjoyable focus.
The Rockhound’s Guide to New Mexico
More than one third of New Mexico is public land holding huge amounts of mineralogical treasure. Find unusual mineral displays, fossils, jasper, agate, petrified wood, and more obsidian than one rockhound could collect in a lifetime. The array and quality of material found in New Mexico are almost mind boggling. The Rockhound's Guide to New Mexico describes 75 of the state's best rockhounding sites, covering the popular and commercial sites as well as numerous little-known areas. This handy guide describes where and how to collect specimens, includes maps and directions to each site, and provides recommendations for accommodations, camping, and other special attractions. The Rockhound's Guide to New Mexico offers a complete introduction to the many-faceted hobby and is an outstanding guide and sourcebook.
Prospecting for Gemstones and Minerals
Loaded with information about how, where and why mineral deposits form, Prospecting for Gemstones and Minerals is the perfect primer for the new collector. This essential guide features expert advice on where to find deposits, what they contain, and how to remove crystals from the ground. It also covers maps, how and when to use certain tools, and provides an excellent general introduction to the geology of deposits. Illustrated with photographs and line drawings, this book is a must-have for the amateur field collector.
Gems and Minerals of the Southwest
The spectacular terrain of the American Southwest contains some equally spectacular gems and minerals. Jennifer Sano provides an easy-to-read resource for identifying more than 80 minerals, including both real gold and "fool's gold," familiar gems such as opal and garnet, and more surprising specimens like hairy blue-green cyanotrichite, fluorescent purple fluorite, petrified wood, and talc. 100 color photos
Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country
With more than 10,000 geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots, as well as cubic mile upon cubic mile of once-incendiary rhyolite, the landscape of Yellowstone Country vividly displays its fiery past and present. The region contains 1/5 of the world's geysers, including the most famous of them all, and is the setting of some of Earth's most destructive volcanic eruptions. The 19 road guides in Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country fully explore this volcanic pedigree while also delivering you to sites that have recorded the region's broad and deep geologic story, which includes exquisitely preserved, 50-million-year-old petrified trees buried in conglomerate; mountain-sized blocks of rock that slid more than 50 miles in a massive debris avalanche; the glacially carved craggy peaks and U-shaped valleys of the Beartooth Mountains and Absaroka Range; and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the excavation of which is still a mystery. This completely revised second edition reexamines the region using the latest scientific thinking and now includes stunning full-color photos, maps, and diagrams.
The Obsidian Cliff Plateau Prehistoric Lithic Source, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
An archaeological reconnaissance of the Obsidian Cliff plateau in Yellowstone National Park was conducted in 1989, the spring following the Wolf Creek fire of 1988 which burned over 90 percent of the plateau. This first archaeological survey of this renowned geological feature and prehistorically quarried landscape was designed to provide data in support of a National Historic Landmark nomination by the National Park Service.
Rockhounding New Mexico: A Guide to 140 of the State’s Best Rockhounding Sites
More than a third of New Mexico is public land that holds untold quantities of mineralogical treasure. With this book anyone can learn where to find unusual mineral displays, fossils, jasper, agate, petrified wood―not to mention more obsidian than one rockhound could possibly collect in a lifetime. The array and quality of such materials just waiting to be found in New Mexico are almost mind-boggling. Rockhounding New Mexico describes 140 of the state's best rockhound sites, covering popular and commercial sites as well as numerous little-known areas. This handy guide describes where and how to collect specimens, includes maps of each site as well as directions, and provides reliable recommendations for accommodations, camping, and other special attractions. It is, in short, a complete and outstanding introduction to the many sides of a fascinating hobby.
The Complete Book of Micromounting
The beauty of the mineral kingdom is most exquisitely demonstrated in the smallest specimens, those requiring optical magnification to be best appreciated. Collecting these microcrystals and mounting them for easy handling and storage is a fascinating and satisfying hobby combining the keen observational powers of the scientist, with the fine eye and delicate craftsmanship of the artist. In this book Quintin Wight, a widely known and respected micromounter, author, lecturer, and member of the Micromounter’s Hall of Fame, brings together the many diverse facets of mineral collecting at the microscopic level. Chapters cover the history of micromineral studies and collecting from the 17th century to the present; trading and field collecting methods; specimen preparation, identification, mounting and conservation techniques; microscopes; micromineral photography; micromounting symposia worldwide; The Micromounter’s Hall of Fame; and a wide range of tools and equipment useful to the micromounter. Also included is a color album of 165 beautiful micromineral photographs taken by some of the world’s most talented and skilled specialists. These portraits amply demonstrate the unique allure of Nature’s tiny mineral masterpieces. This book was in preparation for over 20 years by the leaders in the field. Work on it was begun by Neal Yedlin (1908-1977) around 1972, and was continued by Paul Desautels (1920-1991) following Yedlin’s death. After Desautels’ death it was continued and finally brought to completion by the current author, and the album of micromineral photography was assembled for it by the Mineralogical Record. We can truly say that it is the “bible” of its field, and will most likely never be surpassed.
Roadside Geology of New Mexico
The "Land of Enchantment," New Mexico is as varied in its scenery as its nickname suggests. With desert lowlands in the south and high, hoary peaks in the north, with rugged volcanic uplands and colorful plateaus, with high plains along its eastern border, and with a great rift valley that quite literally slashes the state in two, New Mexico presents many faces to its residents and visitors. Faces that in large part can be laid at the doorstep of the state's varied geology.
