MT. ANTERO, 14,269 FEET.
Mt. Antero, and neighboring Mt. White,
are two of the more spectacular mineral collecting sites in Colorado, and in
fact, in the entire U.S. Collectors, both amateurs and professionals, have been
chasing beryllium minerals, but especially aquamarines, for decades (at an
elevation exceeding 13,000 feet).
Several years ago, after first arriving
in Colorado Springs, I purchased at auction a bucket of material with an
included note labeled "Mt. Antero".
It appeared that the material had been screened since the largest size
particles were no longer than about 1.5-2.0 cm.
At any rate, I had not been to the Mt. Antero collecting sites at that
time so decided that the bucket should be mine.
Like many good projects, time became a
factor and I simply let the bucket languish in a garage storage area---until
this fall! One day I found the bucket,
took a quick look, and decided that I needed to do some picking. The results were: numerous small aquamarine
fragments [a blue variety of beryl: Be3Al2(SiO3)6],
fragments of goshenite [clear colorless beryl], a few small phenakites [Be2SiO2],
goethite after pyrite cubes, some terminated quartz crystals, lots of broken "milky"
beryl and feldspar fragments, and a couple of very interesting specimens.
One surprise find was the
appearance of a small broken crystal of heliodor, or yellow beryl. As I understand the situation at Mt. Antero, heliodor
is not all that common. This crystal is certainly not a gem piece as fractures
and etching are abundant; however, it is an interesting find. The yellow color seems due to the presence of
Fe+++ (ferric iron).
SMALL PARTIAL CRYSTAL OF HELIODOR. LENGTH ~ 1 CM.
The second surprise was a colorless,
striated, "flattened", prismatic crystal with one end
terminated. I did not have the slightest
idea about what name to give this enigmatic specimen. So, I begin a search for minerals that might
occur with beryl ruling out other clear minerals such as phenakite, quartz, topaz,
fluorite, and bertrandite. Finally, I
examined the "Mt. Antero" section of MinDat.org and looked closely at the mineral photos. Thus, I came upon a single photo of euclase
and "hit the winner". Although
it appears to be rare at Mt. Antero, it has been collected and photographed. I am far from a mineralogist; however, the
distinctive shape of the prismatic crystal, along with the striations, have
been imprinted in my mind!
TERMINATION OF EUCLASE CRYSTAL. WIDTH ~9MM.
I suppose euclase should not be
unexpected since it is a beryllium mineral [BeAl)SiO4)(OH)] and
closely related to beryl. In fact,
euclase is the product of decomposition of beryl.
Any day collecting at Mt. Antero
is a bonus day in your life and does not count against your life span! Just be aware that numerous active claims
exist, and afternoon storms, including lightening, are a distinct possibility. Flatlanders should always acclimate
themselves at a lower elevation before attempting the assent.
mike