Geologizing

The Prospector's Dilema

The second leg of this morning's hike in Leakin Park, the leg south of Windsor Mill Road on the east side of the Gwynn's Falls was a prospecting expedition. I was looking for an outcrop of schist rock studded with garnets, which I heard about at a presentation I attended a few weeks ago. My mission was an epic geological fail. Ok, not epic. I found outcrops, but did not see or recognize any garnets, I am not even sure if the outcrops were schist or some other kind of rock, such as gneiss or granite or a combination of the three. So, like many prospectors before me, I know that there are garnets (undoubtedly industrial grade, so don't get all excited) in them thar hills, but I could not find them. Or worse, I found them, but did not recognized them. This calls for a return trip with my rock guru, Ira, preferably in the late fall, when the leaves are off the trees and vines that cover a lot of the rocks. My experience is that when looking for structures (natural or man made) in a forest, I am more likely to find them in winter when the trees and vines are bare. There are more photos of the rocks I saw here.

p.s. Unpon review of the photos, Ira said I was in the schist, but agreed that closer inspection should wait until the end of fall when the rocks are clear of leaves.