Del–Air Rockhounds Calendar of
Upcoming Events
Feb 2016
04:
General Meeting: 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room
14:
Valentine’s Day: Remember your Sweetheart!
15:
President’s Day: 3 Day Weekend…Woo Hoo!
18: Board Meeting: 7:30
pm at TBD’s home
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General Meeting: Thursday Jan 07, 2016
The meeting begins at 7:30 pm
in our regular meeting room at:
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Feb 2016 Program: California's Fossil Whale Bone
Presented by: Keri
Dearborn
You found fossil
whale bone on our January field trip, but what kind of whale bone are you
really holding in your hand? Club member Keri Dearborn is a naturalist and
environmental educator. She has taught marine mammal zoology and participated
in local marine mammal research. We'll look at our local fossilized whale bone
with an emphasis on its geological and historical significance and we'll
connect it to modern whale populations. Are whales more closely related to
wolves or deer? Is your whale bone fossil from a predator or prey animal? What
makes whale bone easily identifiable from other mammals? California's coast has
been populated by whales for millions of years and continues to be home to one
of the world's most robust whale and dolphin populations. How is your piece of
fossil whale bone a link to the past and the future? Emmy Silverman, Program Director
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Support our hobby.....attend a local show....
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February 12 - 21: INDIO,
CA
San
Gorgonio Mineral & Gem Society
Riverside
County Fair & National Date Festival
82-503
Highway 111
Hours:
10 - 10 daily
Contact:
Bert Grisham, (915) 849-1674
Email:
bert67@verizon.net
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February 20 - 21:
ANTIOCH, CA
Antioch
Gem Club
Contra
Costa County Fairgrounds
1201
West 10th Street
Hours:
10 - 5 daily
Contact:
Brenda Miguel, (925) 301-6957
Email:
brenda.miguel@yahoo.com
Website:
www.antiochlapidaryclub.com
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February 27 - 28:
VALLEJO, CA
Vallejo
Gem & Mineral Society
Solano
County Fairgrounds,
Mc
Cormack Hall
900
Fairgrounds Drive
Hours:
10 - 5 daily
Contact:
Dan Wolke, 707 334-2950
Email:
dncwolke@sbcglobal.net
Website:
www.vjgems.org
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March 4 - 6: NEWARK, CA
Mineral
& Gem Society of Castro Valley
Newark
Pavilion
6430
Thornton Avenue
Hours:
Fri & Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 5
Contact:
Cathy Miller, (510) 887-9007
Email:
showchair@mgscv.org
Website:
www.mgscv.org
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March 5 - 6: ARCADIA, CA
Monrovia
Rockhounds
Los
Angeles Arboretum-Ayres Hall
301
Baldwin Avenue
Hours:
9:00 - 4:30 daily
Contact:
Jo Anna Ritchey, (626) 358-1624,
Email:
joannaritchey@gmail.com
Website:
www.Moroks.com
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March 5 - 6: VENTURA, CA
Ventura
Gem & Mineral Society
Ventura
County Fairgrounds
10
West Harbor Blvd.
Hours:
Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
Contact:
Show Chair, (805) 312-8467
Email:
info@VGMS.org
Website:
www.vgms.or
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March 12 - 13: SAN
MARINO, CA
Pasadena
Lapidary Society
San
Marino Masonic Center
3130
Huntington Drive
Hours:
Sat 10 - 6, Sun 10 - 5
Contact:
Marcia Goetz, (626) 260-7239
Email:
joenmar1@verizon.net
Website:
www.pasadenalapidarysociety.org
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March 12 - 13:
SPRECKELS, CA,
Spreckel's
Veterans Hall
5th
& Llano Streets
Hours:
10 - 5 daily
Contact:
Karin Salomon, (831) 375-5233
Email:
kcbakes27@yahoo.com
Website:
www.salinasrockandgem.com
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Go to www.cfmsinc.org for more show information.
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February 2016 “Something of the Month”
"Thundereggs"
A thunderegg is a nodule-like
rock, similar to a filled geode. Thundereggs are rough spheres, most about the
size of a baseball though they can range from less than an inch to over a meter
across. They usually contain centres of chalcedony, agate, jasper or opal either
uniquely or in combination. Also frequently encountered are quartz and gypsum
crystals, as well as various other mineral growths and inclusions.
Thundereggs usually look
like ordinary rocks on the outside, but slicing them in half and polishing them
may reveal intricate patterns and colors.Thunderegg is not synonymous with
either geode or agate. A geode is a simple term for a rock with a hollow in it,
often with crystal formation. A thunderegg on the other hand is a specific
geological structure. A thunderegg may be referred to as a geode if it has a
hollow in it, but not all geodes are thundereggs because there are many
different ways for a hollow to form.
Thundereggs are
found in flows of rhyolite lava. They form in gas pockets in the lava, which
act as molds, from the action of water percolating through the porous rock
carrying silica in solution. The deposits lined and filled the cavity, first
with a darker matrix material, then an inner core of agate or chalcedony. The
various colors come from differences in the minerals found in the soil and rock
that the water has moved through.
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January Field Trip Report – Fossil Whale Bone Hunt
Jan 23, 2016 – 12:00 noon @ Refugio State Beach
It was an absolutely beautiful day at Refugio State Beach. We could not have asked for better weather. There were perhaps 20 surfers and 8 rockhounds at the beach that day. The 8 rockhounds were club members Jeff Dengrove, Chris Ward, Bob Knox, Richard, Emily & Nicolas Haering and guests Iris Delarosa and her friend Marilyn. We all arrived right around noon and immediately went on the hunt. Not only was there a multitude of whale bone to be found but also many marine fossils, agate, petrified palm root, jasper and sea sponge. All eight of us brought lunches and drinks and enjoyed a mid-afternoon picnic on the beach. After lunch it was back to the hunt. Jeff Dengrove drove down the road to check out Gaviota but returned advising the rest of us the beach over there was covered in sand. All 8 of us stayed at Refugio the entire time and did not leave till the sun went down….and all went home will multiple bags of beach found treasures. I think this was the best hunt in the 10 years I have been attending this event.
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