Sherds and Shotgun Shells

Culture clash in the Picacho Mountains.

Arizona Alligator

Arizona Alligator Lizard (Elgaria kingi nobilis) in the foothills of the Galiuro Mountains.

Esoterizona Stones 26

Fluorescent Minerals

 This rock appears to be composed of three tungstate minerals: scheelite, powellite, and wolframite.  The scheelite fluoresces an electric blue ring around crystalline yellow powellite in the center, both in response to shortwave UV.  Photo overexposed so the camera could capture both colors. (Pinal County)

The black wolframite is non-fluorescing.  Unfortunately the mine dump looked like it had been graded by heavy machinery, and this 1"x1.5" piece was about the largest found.

Bright green fluorescent chalcedony (opal) - purchased in bulk from a rockshop going out of business.  Probably from AZ, CA or NM, but there's really no telling. Shortwave UV. 3"x2"x2"

Same under white light.

These next three photos are all the same rock, also part of the bulk purchase.  Although no provenance was given for this material either, it is one of a number of pieces that appear to be from the fluorescent localities Franklin and Sterling Hill mines in New Jersey.

Calcite (red), willemite (green), and hydrozincite (blue).

Calcite and willemite in a pattern characteristic of the area.

White light.  Rock still needs a washing.  3"x3"x2"

Bee Swarm

A swarm of Africanized bees (Apis mellifera spp.) taking a pit stop on the limb of large eucalyptus tree.  The swarm remained overnight and departed mid-morning, leaving behind a black, waxy stain on the branch.

Sacred Datura

Sacred datura (Datura wrightii) growing in a canyon in the Galiuro Mountains.  Its luxurious blossom and alluring aroma belie the fact that it contains some of the most powerful and least understood hallucinogenic plant alkaloids known to us.

Ilimaussaq Complex

These fluorescent rocks come from the Ilimaussaq Complex, Greenland, a remote and rugged area of mountains and fjords along the southern coast of the island.

Bright orange sodalite under longwave UV. 3"x3"x2"

The purple in the photo is reflection from the lamp.

This is orange sodalite, pink-red tugtapite, and a fluorescent green that could be natrolite or another uranium activated mineral.  Shortwave UV. 3"x2"x1"

Tugtapite turns from pink to bright orange under longwave UV.

White light.  The hints of purple are an example of tenebrescence, a phenomenon by which certain minerals show a change in color after exposure to UV light.

Specimens purchased from Polman Minerals.

Foreign Fluorescents

Recently acquired some new fluorescent specimens not native to Arizona.

This is calcite from the Little 38 Mine in Terlingua, TX.  First picture shows response to shortwave UV.  Second picture is white light.  Under longwave UV the calcite glows rosy pink (not pictured).  2.5"x2"x1"  The calcite also attractively phosphorescent:

This is fluorescent red halite:

Also know as salt; from the Salton Sea, CA.  SWUV.  3"x2"x1"

Specimens purchased from Polman Minerals.