Apr 2016
07: General Meeting: 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room
14: Education Outreach Event: Tarzana Elementary (see article)
15: Education Outreach Event: Chatsworth Elementary (see article)
16: Education Outreach Event: Lorne Street School (see article)
21: Board Meeting: 7:30 pm at Chris Ward’s home.
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General Meeting: Thursday April 07, 2016
The meeting begins at 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at:
April
2016 Program:
Meteorites
Presented
by: Mike Havstad
Mike Havstad graduated from U.C. Santa
Cruz in 1971, earning a BA degree in Earth Science. Since college he has had
many interesting jobs, first working at the Tourmaline Queen Mine and their
lapidary shop for 1½ years, then a 3½ year stint teaching the sciences at
California Preparatory School, a private high school in Encino, California. His last mini-career was a very rewarding and
enlightening 7½ years with the Gemological Institute of America, as a
photographer. Mike has an impeccable collection of meteorites. His display won
1st prize at the most recent CFMS annual show & competition. Mike is going
to share with us his expertise on meteorites, a fascinating subject in the rock
hounding community.
Emmy Silverman, Program Director
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Support our Hobby....Attend a Local Show
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April 2 - 3: CHICO, CA
Paradise
Gem & Mineral Society
Silver
Dollar Fairgrounds
2357
Fair Street
Hours:
10 - 5 daily
Contact:
Kevin Wright, (530) 534-8364
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April 2 - 3: TORRANCE,
CA
South
Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society
Ken
Miller Recreation Center
3341
Torrance Blvd (entrance on Madrona Ave)
Hours:
Sat. 10 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4
Contact:
Larry Hoskinson / Leslie Neff, (310) 318-2170
Email:
lesneff@aol.com
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April 8 - 10: VISTA, CA
Vista
Gem & Mineral Society
Antique
Gas & Steam Engine Museum
2040
North Santa Fe Avenue
Hours:
9 - 5 daily
Contact:
Ray Pearce, (760) 726-7570
Email:
raysrocks@cox.net
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April 9 - 10: MARIPOSA,
CA
Mariposa
Gem & Mineral Society
Mariposa
County Fairgrounds
5005
Fairgrounds Road (south of Mariposa on Hwy49)
Hours:
Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 4
Contact:
Martin Fodin, (209) 742-4036
Email:
martin@safarigold.com
Website:
www.camineralmuseum.com
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April 16 - 17: SAN JOSE,
CA
Santa
Clara Valley Gem & Mineral Society
Santa
Clara County Fairgrounds
344
Tully Road
Hours:
10 - 5 daily
Contact:
June Harris, (408) 265-1422
Email:
info@scvgms.org
Website:
www.scvgms.org
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April 16 - 17: THOUSAND OAKS, CA
Conejo Gem & Mineral Club
Borchard Park Community Center
190 Reino Road at Borchard Road
Hours: 10 - 5 daily
Contact: Robert Sankovich, (805) 494-7734
Email: rmsorca@roadrunner.com
Website: www.cgamc.org
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April 23 - 24:
ESCONDIDO, CA
Palomar
Gem & Mineral Club
California
Center for the Arts
340
N. Escondido Blvd.
Hours:
Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
Contact:
Gayle Hamilton, (760) 726-0131
Email:
gemshow@palomargem.org
Website:
www.palomargem.org
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April 23 - 24: PASO
ROBLES, CA
Santa
Lucia Rock Hounds
Paso
Robles Event Center
2198
Riverside Ave.
Hours:
Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 – 4
Contact:
Mike Judy, (805) 238-4469
Email:
mrhaludy@gmail.com
Website:
www.slrockhounds.org
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Visit www.cfmsinc.org for more show information
***************************************************************April 2016 Something of the Month: “A Brief History of Meteor Crater”
Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 37 miles east of
Flagstaff and 18 miles west of Winslow in the northern Arizona desert. Because
the United States Board on Geographic Names commonly recognizes names of
natural features derived from the nearest post office, the feature acquired the
name of "Meteor Crater" from the nearby post office named Meteor. The
site was formerly known as the Canyon Diablo Crater and fragments of the
meteorite are officially called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite. Scientists refer
to the crater as Barringer Crater in honor of Daniel Barringer, who was first
to suggest that it was produced by meteorite impact. The crater is privately
owned by the Barringer family through their Barringer Crater Company, which proclaims
it to be the "best preserved meteorite crater on Earth".
Despite its importance as a geological site, the crater is not protected
as a national monument, a status that would require federal ownership. It was
designated a National Natural Landmark in November 1967.
Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of about 5,710 ft above sea level. It
is about 3,900 ft in diameter, some 570 ft deep and is surrounded by a rim that
rises 148 ft above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled
with 690–790 ft of rubble lying above crater bedrock. One of the interesting
features of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by
existing regional cracks in the strata at the impact site
The crater was created
about 50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch, when the local climate on
the Colorado Plateau was much cooler and damper. The area was an open grassland
dotted with woodlands inhabited by woolly mammoths and giant ground sloths. The
crater was over 10,000 years old when the first humans saw it, at the earliest,
40,000 years ago.
Since the crater's
formation, the rim is thought to have lost 45 to 60 feet of height at the rim
crest due to natural erosion. Similarly, the basin of the crater is thought to
have approximately 90 feet of additional post impact sedimentation from lake
sediments and of alluvium. These erosion processes are the reason we see very
few remaining craters on Earth, since many have been erased by this geological
process. The relatively young age of Meteor Crater, paired with the Arizona
climate, has allowed this crater to remain as we see it today. The lack of
erosion that preserved the crater's shape helped lead to this being the first
crater recognized as an official impact crater from a natural celestial body.
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