The
other prospect is about 150 yards N. 15° W. of this place and is less
promising. About two dozen crystals have been picked up in an area
about 50 feet in diameter. The soil is dark greenish, resulting from
disintegrated coarse and medium-grained diorite, and contains many
blocks of this rock. Some of these amethysts have fairly good purple
color.
BERYL.
ALABAMA.
Golden beryl crystals have been reported from the region of Hissop, Coosa County, Ala., by George F. Kunz.1 This beryl is described as being light golden yellow and clear enough to cut into small gems.
Two
localities were examined, one on the Eliza Goggans place, three-fourths
of a mile southwest of Hissop, and the other on John H. Thomas's place,
1 mile northeast of Hissop. The prospects consist of small pits opened
by F. M. Dorsey a number of years ago. On the Goggans place the beryl
was found in a large outcrop of massive quartz, forming part of a
pegmatite ledge. Associated with the quartz is mica in rough
fishbone-shaped crystals 3 or 4 inches across, and decomposed feldspar.
Most of the beryls were found in the quartz. Two crystalsof about 1
inch in diameter were observed at the time of examination. These have a
pale yellowish-green to pale aquamarine color. They were so fractured
that they would not yield gems over one-third of a carat in weight.
Similar outcrops of quartz were observed on the S. Wade place adjoining
the Goggans place on the north, and beryl crystals were reported to
have been found here also. On the Thomas place the prospect was opened
for mica, but a few beryl crystals are reported to have been found.
Only yellowish-gray opaque crystals were seen. The country rock around
Hissop consists chiefly of biotite granite gneiss, with occasional
inclusions of mica schist. Outcrops of massive quartz, similar to those
found at the beryl localities, were observed at many places along the
road, and Mr. Thomas states that occasional beryl crystals have been
found in some of them.
CALIFORNIA.
Mr.
Joseph Ward, with headquarters at Barstow and Lone Pine, Cal., who has
prospected large areas of the desert between those places for gem and
other minerals, has submitted a number of rough beryl crystals to the
Survey. These consist of rough, hexagonal crystals ranging from small
size to over half an inch in diameter. They are pale to quite dark
blue, some of the darkest nearly resembling sapphire in color. All of
the specimens found at the time of discovery are opaque, but Mr. Ward
expects to prospect the locality more closely for gem varieties. The
beryl crystals are associated with such minerals as are found in
pegmatite or lining the walls of miarohtic cavities. The associated
rock is fine-grained biotite granite, and one specimen contains a vein
of the beryl crystals with intermixed quartz and feldspar about half an
inch thick. Another
1 Precious stones: U. S. Geo). Survey Mineral Resources U. S,, 1887, p. 59,1888.
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