GMS Field Trip

GMS Field Trip
Agate in Georgia
Saturday, March 11, 2017

The location we visited is known for an agate called Savannah River Agate. It is mostly brown with some reds and yellows, plus some white inclusions. The agate takes a nice polish and is known to have been used by Native Americans for arrowheads and spear points.

This trip was small and it was perfect weather for collecting so everyone got some nice pieces. I got 2 different samples of sand, one gray and the other orange. David Bruce found some banded agate with nice fortifications. Daniel Miller found what appears to be a small echinoid fossil and junior member Nathaniel found some shells! Daniel also found a vug with an as yet unidentified mineral. Everyone found plenty of material for cutting and polishing.

After we were loaded up, some people headed up to Augusta for the Aiken-Augusta Rock Show. Daniel and I visited a coaling tower still standing from steam locomotive days. The tower had a hopper where a train would drop a load of coal. The coal was then augered to a conveyer that lifted it to an overhead hopper. We figured out how the hopper was weighed from some scale remnants we found. Another train would be positioned under the hopper and the coal was dropped into the train's coal bin. There may even have been a sand loader. Sand was, and still is, used to provide traction for train wheels on a slippery track or steep grade.

After enjoying a step back into history, we went to the Augusta show. it was a great show! We had a lot of fun there too.

Many thanks to field trip chair Charles Carter for arranging this wonderful trip, and to Daniel Miller for helping manage the trip at the collecting site.

Lori Carter
On behalf of Charles Carter, GMS Field Trip Chair
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