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THE PACIFIC MINERALOGIST 11

THREE THOUSAND MILES TO
COLLECT MINERALS
By A. J. McARTHUR

Through the assistance and ad- es for reduction of sodium and pot-
vice of the following committee: ash chemicals and descrbied several
Dale Meyers, Ernest Chapman, Roy of the rare minerals found in Searles
Martindale, George Craighead, Henri Lake. Mr. Don Mulvey added color
Withington, 0. U. Bessette and Dick to the evening by showing several
Mitchell, the LAMS society enjoyed reels of colored pictures.
a successful year of field trips in Sunday morning there was a min-
spite of much rainy weather. Al- eral swap between the members of
together the society covered a total the Los Angeles Mineralogical Soc-
of approximately 3,000 miles. There iety and the Searles Lake Society,
doesn't seem to be any limit as to followed by a trip to Panamint Val-
how far a Rock Hound will go to pick ley collecting chrysoprase in bas-
up a pretty rock. anite, stibnite and onyx. Collected
The following field trips were out- at Trona were hanksite, hopper hal-
lined by the committee and success, ite, pirssonite, trona, gay-lussite and
fully carried through: other soda and potassium minerals.
Sunday, Dec., L 1940. Red Rock The members of the Searles Lake
Canyon and Inyokern, meeting at Society are to be very highly com-
Ricardo at 9:30 A.M., collecting zeo- mended for their hospitality.
lites, sand crystals and jasper. At March 29-30, 1941. Coyote Wells,
Inyokern, wollastonite and gros- Saturday noon. Visited Yuha Mesa,
sularite garnets. We were met at collecting petrified wood, limonite,
Ricardo by members of the Searles pseudomorph ·after pyrite, and the
Lake Society who joined us on our oyster beds near the Yuha wash,
trip. collecting ostrea henmani, ostrea
Sunday, Dec. 29, 1940. The trip to iridescense, osttea vespetina, and
Palos Verdes hills was called off ostrea veachii, (the last two named
on account of rain. being the same).
Sunday, Jan. 26, 1941. Alpine, (on These fossils are tropical Atlantic
highway 80), 30 miles east of San and are called middle miocene or
Diego. Here we collected sillimanite approximately 12 million years old.
and dumortierite. Started for Julian The ostrea vespetina has just recent-
and Banner mining district but were ly been found living in the Gulf of
stopped by rain. California.
Saturday, Feb. 22, 1941. 12 noon, Camping in S he 11 Canyon the
Trona, Calif. Overnight trip. A tour group collected the following known
of Searles Lake Potash and Soda fossils: Brain coral (Solemastra fair-
works by courtesy of the American banks) and lucina acutilineata. The
Potash and Chemical Company brain coral is also found in the Ba-
occupied the afternoon. We at-tend-· hamas Islands. The lucina acutili-
ed a banquet Saturday night ar- neata is found living on the sea coast
ranged by Mr. Henri Withington of of Southern California today. Other
the Searles Lake Society. The prin- fossils were found but have not as
cipal speaker of the evening was yet been identified. This is one of
Mr. W. A. Gale, Director of Research · the largest fossil areas in the United
of the American Potash and Chemi- States covering approximately 250
cal Company who outlined process- square miles.