GMS Field Trip

GMS Field Trip
Metagranite with Blue Quartz in Georgia
Saturday, April 14, 2018

Gilligan was recovering from oral surgery, so I was not able to attend this trip. However, I heard it was a lot of fun! The trip was limited to 40 people so there would be enough quarry personnel there to make sure everyone was safe, but everyone who wanted to go was able to get a slot.

The quarry is part of the Corbin Gneiss Complex. They are mining porphyroblastic granite gneiss, so the rock there has large crystals, e.g. quartz or feldspar. The rocks here are some of the oldest in Georgia - approximately 1.2 billion years.

The weather was perfect for collecting in a quarry -- not too hot and not too cold. A little water on the rocks really makes that blue quartz pop! I heard there were some large specimens of blue quartz extracted as well as several gorgeous yard rocks, even one for the GMS building. There was so much beautiful rock that everyone got their fill pretty quickly. A great day of collecting!

Thank you to Diana Poppelreuter and Randy Gentry who graciously took some great pictures in my absence. And many thanks to the quarry for allowing us to collect there.

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