The Georgia Mineral Society, Inc.
4138 Steve Reynolds Boulevard
Norcross, GA 30093-3059

GMS Field Trip November 2021

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GMS Field Trip
Agate, Jasper, Fossils, Oolite in Alabama
Saturday, November 6, 2021
Saturday, November 13

This trip was so popular we had to schedule two trips! Both days had gorgeous weather for collecting gorgeous rocks! Blue skies, clear, crisp breeze – couldn’t ask for better. Members had the good fortune of exploring a massive pile of gravel. Since it is an active quarry, the pile is continuously changing, so the gravel was different from what we were looking at last year. We had barely arrived when members began finding some beautiful agates. There were plenty of jaspers to be had too, but the trick is finding a color and pattern that you like. I concentrated on oolites and had great success finding some fascinating specimens. The best fossils we have seen yet from this location were popping out, including petrified wood, a crinoid stem with well-preserved details, a stunning gastropod, a surprise coral, and some brooksellas!

The quarry people were very kind and welcoming. Everyone had a great time on both days and we are looking forward to future trips. Many thanks to the quarry personnel and to Charles for setting up these fun trips!

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

Photo by Lori Carter

A nice agate that was found within minutes of hitting the gravel pile!

Photo by Lori Carter

Another one of the first agates found

Photo by Lori Carter

Attendees were thrilled to find pretty agates!

Photo by Lori Carter

Can you find the agate in the gravel?

Photo by Lori Carter

There it is!

Photo by Lori Carter

And here it is on the way to its new home

Photos by Lori Carter

Here's how an agate looked straight off the gravel
Then with a little water on it to show the details better.

Photos by Lori Carter

Charles' favorite agate for the day as found then cleaned up a bit later

Photos by Lori Carter

A last minute agate found on the way out

Photos by Lori Carter

This rock is chock full of agates!
(Top) As found (Bottom) with some water on it

Photos by Lori Carter

Another agate dry then wet

Photo by Diana Poppelreuter

Potato-sized agate!

Photo by Diana Poppelreuter

Two juniors with some of their favorite finds -- a pretty jasper on the left and an agate on the right

Jaspers

Photo by Lori Carter

Pretty little banded jasper

Photo by Charles Carter

Jasper with several colors

Fossils

Photo by Lori Carter

Beutifully detailed petrified wood

Photo by Lori Carter

Another nice piece of petrified wood

Photo by Charles Carter

Big piece of petrified wood from day 2 (Charles' toes for scale)

Photo by Tom Faller

A couple of pieces of petrified wood that exhibit good grain structure

Photos by Lori Carter

This rock is so full of fossils you can see something different everywhere you look!

Photos by Lori Carter

This crinoid stem has well preserved details

Photo by Lori Carter

Pretty little shell impression

Photo by Lori Carter

When it was dirty, I thought this was oolite (see the Oolite section below),
but after I washed it, I could see it is coral -- the first we know of from this location!

Photo by Diana Popplereuter

A brooksella!

Photo by Charles Carter

Another brooksella!

Photo by Bob Jarrett

Photo by Charles Carter

Gorgeous gastropod!

Oolite

Oolite is pronounced oh-uh-lite. It refers to a sedimentary rock that is composed of ooids (oh-ids). The term oolith (oh-uh-lith) can refer to the rock or the individual ooids. Ooids are not fossils. They are tiny concretions that can be formed by back and forth wave movement in a shallow marine environment. Ooids commonly consist of layers of calcium carbonate that builds up little by little. In the oolites we found on this field trip, the calcium carbonate has been replaced by silica.

Photos by Lori Carter