The Granitic Tarryall Mountains, power lines and road signs. |
I began my vacation by driving to Tarryall, to look for some Topaz that was rumored to be around these parts. The granitic mountains here are very pretty, and the scar of the massive Hayman fire that ripped through here years ago is beginning to heal. I spent the afternoon hiking the region accessible from Spruce Campground (or something like that), and looking at a lot of granite. Topaz crystals form in granite pegmatites, which are known to be found (in abundance) in the region.
A rundown on pegmatites:
As a large body of granite is cooling (granite by definition cools very slowly), it is changing from a liquid to a solid. Large crystals are forming as the rock cools, but in a certain sequence of the available minerals. All materials melt at different temperatures, thus they will crystallize and come out of solution in the opposite order. As the rock is cooling, minerals that remain in solution tend to be rare earth minerals, and concentrate along with quartz, which has a very low melting/crystallizing temperature and form pegmatites. Beryl (aquamarine), Tourmaline, and Topaz are all examples of the gemstones that can form from the extremely slow cooling pegmatites.
A perfect example of a meandering river, with some geese standing on rocks most likely moved by glaciers |
The hole in which the barite was found. For scale, the green screen in the upper part of the picture fits snugly inside the top of a 5 gallon bucket. It was kinda nice to get out of the wind. |
In the same day, I drove to Nathrop by Buena Vista, and in the whipping winds and ocasional flurries of snow went searching for garnets and yellow topaz that was rumored to occur there. It was so cold, so I practically ran to the top of the mountain that is of a certain rhyolite that is quite distinguishable. I looked all along the way, but only found one small crystal that I think has a chance of being a topaz because it is squarish and yellow/brown. I found out later that you need to split lots of rocks to find the gems, which I didn't split a single one. Regardless it was beneficial just to look at the geology of the area that they occur in, and now I know just where to go and what to do when I return this summer.
After and exhausting two days (and with a large oncoming storm front) I drove back to Boulder, ready for warmth. When I got there, I sat down, and wished I was still digging in a hole somewhere.
I guess thats just how it is.