It's Easier in the Rain

Just home from two weeks in California, and a rainy afternoon gave me a brief opportunity to scour the beaches I have not seen for a while. The rain broadens my access by revealing colors and patterns of rocks across the entire beach, rather than just in the surf zone. This one was high on the beach, and at almost 6" long, jumped out at me.

The one below will almost certainly NOT take a polish, but it might be pretty striking anyhow once it's tumbled a bit.

Good to be back!

Geology 101 Redux

Variolite "Cross-section" - Elwha River

One of my favorite finds from my search for variolites on Sunday was this fellow. About 6" inches long, it shows the distinctive feldspar "dots" of all variolites, but grading dramatically in size from the bottom to the top.  Varioites are believed to form inside "pillow lavas" or basaltic lava that erupts underwater, forming unmistakable round structures visible in many NW roadcuts (especially on the Olympic peninsula). My sources tell me that the smaller dots form as the edges of the pillows, which cool more quickly, while the larger dots grow in the slower-cooled, better-insulated interior of the rock.

This makes sense to me, but whatever the explanation, I thought this sample was particularly cool...

Oddballs and Snowcones

Jasper with graceful seam, Discovery Bay, WA

Sometimes, when walking the shoreline looking for rocks,  you stumble onto complete oddballs - rocks so weird that they just jump out at you. That was the case for this one. I was walking the western shoreline of Discovery Bay, a place I'd never been before, picking up odds and ends during a brief, but intense, hailstorm. I found lots of the usual: bits of quartz, agate, red jasper.
Then I came across this thing. I think it's a piece of jasper with a white quartz seam running through it, but not quite like anything I've ever seen before, sort of like a melting scoop of ice cream. The bold pattern jumped out at me, and it went straight into my collecting bag. Can't wait to polish it and see what that reveals.

Return of the River

Variolites,  Elwha River

One of the biggest things happening in the Northwest this year has been the beginning of two dam removals from the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula. It is a huge project, the largest dam removal effort ever undertaken in the US and promises to restore both a spectacular river and the salmon runs that used to inhabit it.  For more information on the project, see here.

I had a chance to visit a part of the river yesterday that has re-emerged from the lake that once covered it;  gravel bars have appeared that I have never seen before!  And those gravels were covered with a rock that I have been tracking for years - Variolites (see previous posts here). I have been convinced that one major source for this rock is in the Elwha Valley. Now after finding dozens within a small area, I am convinced of it. I guess the trick will be to travel upstream until I can't find them anymore - and then look in between!

These things have no gem value, or any other reason for being sought, other than personal obsession. Stay tuned.

Just Before Dark

The sun was shining today - a rarity in March! - which makes beachcombing difficult.  Everything is more reflective, and although glassy rocks like agates show up well, others do not. So after the sun went down I took a short walk on a nearby beach, and brought home just a pocket full: a couple of nice petrified wood and jasper pieces - and a spotted thing I can't identify.
I am heading away from familiar beaches tomorrow and looking for agates in the southwestern part of the state, which may involve a lot of probing and digging. We'll see how THAT goes...

A Morning's Work

Agate, Jasper and.....?

A half hour walk on the beach near my house proved very productive today - ending up with a bag I could barely manage to carry back to the car.  Some of the highlights are pictured here - a banded jasper, a moss agate, a petrified wood and some other things I wouldn't dare to name... All will go into the tumbler this weekend - and if I remember, I'll post the polished forms next week.

Hiding From The Wind

Polka Dot Jasper/Agate, Elliot Bay

The wind has been blowing A LOT lately, which makes collecting difficult along my close-by locations along eastern Puget Sound. Hard to see much, or stay dry, when waves are breaking along these normally-placid shores!  Happily, I know one secret cobble beach, on a protected shore of Elliot Bay, where I often find some interesting things.

So on a recent blustery day, I spent a few minutes picking along this quiet beach and found some nice things, including this unusual polka-dot jasper-agate. I've never seen anything like it in the area but, as  always, its actual provenance is a mystery.  But I'll certainly be on the lookout for more!