Latest Shoot: 650 Feet Below Kansas

 

 
We headed north for our latest shoot, all the way to the Sunflower State.  Kansas welcomed us back but it wasn't its flat plains we were looking for, it was underneath them.  Strataca, the Underground Salt Museum is a part of a still-working mine owned by the Hutchinson Salt Company and they were nice enough to let us come by and get some footage for EveryDay Earth!

 In addition to several tours, the underground museum has tons of exhibits on mining, history and science, all inside the old mine.   It only takes 90 seconds to descend the 650 feet into the mine/museum but hours to take it all in.  It was great to get shots of the walls of the historic tunnels.

There were also plenty of old mining equipment on display as well as tons and tons of empty dynamite boxes.  Apparently "what goes down into the mine, stays in the mine" including artifacts like old food packages, tools and even old footprints from the miners.

As you can probably imagine, the life of a miner was hardly glamorous.  The tours provided a good look into their working life including this seat of honor, left untouched for years.  Again, "what goes down into the mine, stays in the mine."  Due to the nature of the enclosed mine, everything inside it is well-preserved. 

And because of this, lots of old films and stored here as well as famous film costumes and props.  Our favorite was "Dorothy II" from the movie "Twister" but there were plenty of other stuff from movies like "Batman & Robin," "The Matrix, " and others.

Those were great but we were there for the rocks, of course.  We were able to get some great shots that will end up in future Missions of EveryDay Earth, so soon you'll be able to virtually experience Strataca yourself.

Devin Does Reno

Recently Devin hopped on a plane to do some good old fashioned crystal diggin'.  Today he tells his tale:

My latest rockhounding hunt took me to Reno, NV, the Biggest Little City in the world!  I had the opportunity to do some crystal digging at a private, commercial mine.  The target: quartz scepter crystals!

Before I even headed out to the mine I found my first rock: a Carboniferous limestone sample that just happened to a piece of the actual Blarney Stone from Ireland.

After a quick rub for luck it was time to head to the mine to hone the fine art of "scepter" finding.  We loaded up the 4x4 and headed out to the classic locality of Hallelujah Junction, very near the California/Nevada state line.

After a rough and woolly 4x4 drive up a few desert hills to get the blood pounding, we came to the mine.  Not open to public (no trespassing!) – this is an active, federally permitted open pit mining operation, complete with excavator and a fantastic and educational team of professional diggers and rockhounds.

All of these amateur and professional geoscientists and collectors were here, picking through weathered granite rocks, to seek “the prize” - large smoky quartz crystals of a first generation fluid, growing from the walls of pockets weathered into the local granites by hot hydrothermal fluids. They form the unique “scepter” shape to make the holder feel like, well, a king.

What makes these crystals special is what happened next.  2nd, 3rd and even 4th generations of fluids moved through the pockets, and like lollipops, deposited layers of different quartz minerals onto the existing dark crystals.  The result are beautiful clear amethyst and quartz crystals growing like helmets on the smoky quartz.

These are rare – only a few places on Earth exist known where the ingredients came together to make this particular mineral form. After many hours shoveling broken rock, chain gang style, I was able to gently prod and poke these pockets with heavy duty chopsticks.  Sometimes the chopsticks would penetrate far into the wall of the mine.  A pocket!  If lucky, in a few minutes you are cleaning off great beautiful crystals.

           

Enjoyed my two days of digging, and was sore and happy when I got home.  I had plenty of smoky quartz and a few small scepters for my collection. The one large one above was so nice, the mine kept it to sell in trade for some other minerals. But boy was that one nice!

Geo-RoadTrip 2013: I am Iron Man!

If and when you find yourself driving into Chisholm, Minnesota you'll be greeted by the town's ambassador: The Invincible Iron Man!  Here's a look at his impressive stats:

As a monument to the area's iron mining industry and the men who worked the mines, he stands atop  a striking stack of iron girders with his trusty shovel and pickaxe.  Any resemblance to Robert Downy Jr. is purely coincidental (and probably imaginary):

Video coming soon!