Rock Talk Library
Read about iridescent Fire Agates, Dinosaurs, the Dugway Geode Beds, Petrified Wood, Devil's Slide and much more! You may want to bookmark the Rock Talk Library to come back again and again!
Reclaiming Rock Saw Oil
With the increased cost of saw oil, it is all the more important to reclaim the dirty oil in your saw, as well as an ecological imperative to minimize this type of waste. As we know, oil doesn’t wear out, so if we keep it clean, it will last indefinitely. Here are a couple of
Riverview Kids Rock Out to Unique Project Murray
Riverview Junior High has become the School of Rocks. But there’s nary an instrument to be seen, unless you count the black light. A project to preserve the lifetime rock collection of the late Olivia McHugh, an optometrist whose family has Murray roots, has students creating a catalogue of rocks, entering that catalogue into a
Rules and Regulations Regarding Rock, Mineral, & Fossil Collecting in Utah
by Geologic Information and Outreach Staff Utah Geological Survey Utah’s rock, mineral, and fossil collectors must adhere to rules and regulations established by owners or managing agencies of the lands on which they wish to collect. Prior to collecting, rockhounds should determine ownership of the lands they intend to visit and familiarize themselves with the
Safety Kit for Outdoor Rock Hunting
Sun screen lotion Antiseptic salve Insect repellant Band Aids – Elastic bandages, gauze, adhesive tape Antiseptis soap – Rubbing alcohol disinfectant Pins, scissors, tweezers Aspirin or other pain killers Tums, koapectate, or other indigestion remedy Chapstick or other lip balm Premoistened wipes Thermometer Red Cross First Aid Manual Blanket
Smokey Quartz & Feldspar Crystals
at Rock Corral Canyon in the Mineral Mountains, Beaver County Geologic information: The Mineral Mountains, located in Beaver County, make up the largest exposed plutonic body in Utah. Rock compositions range from quartz monzonite in the northern half of the pluton to granite around Rock Corral Canyon in the south. Excellent crystals of smoky quartz and
Sunstones
at Sunstone Knoll, Millard County Geologic information: Sunstone Knoll is formed of volcanic vents that erupted during the early Pleistocene (1.6 million years to about 750,000 years ago). These eruptions left deposits of basaltic lava and volcanic breccia (angular, broken rock fragments held together in a matrix of finer grained material). Sunstone is a transparent, yellowish
Tiny Dinosaur ID’d in Canada
A claw of a pint-sized cousin of velociraptor is small enough to rest on a Canadian coin. The dinosaur was about the size of a chicken. Washington ~ Imagine a vicious velociraptor like those in “Jurassic Park,” but only as big as a modern chicken. That’s what Canadian researchers say they have found, the smallest
Topaz & Other Minerals
Found at Topaz Mountain, Juab County Geologic Information: Topaz, Utah’s state gem, is a semiprecious gemstone that occurs as very hard, transparent crystals in a variety of colors. The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite, a
Tumbling Tips From Paul Curtis
We had some requests to put Paul Curtis’s Tumbling Tips on the website after he shared lots of information with us at one of our meetings. I went down and visited with Paul for a while the other day and he handed me this book and said that anything you need to know about Tumbling
Turquoise: The Embodiment of Color
Some say that in the thirteenth century, turquoise was named in the mistaken belief that it came from Turkey. That may be true or it may be that the name comes from the Persian word for turquoise, firouze, since Persia has been a major source of this gemstone for thousands of years. In any case, the blue of