+ Marks the Spot for Garnets in Leakin Park

After my earlier expedition, last July, to Leakin Park in search of garnets, I returned on December 28th, with expert help from my geology guru, Ira. He knew what to look for, and he knew that garnets can appear in ways I did not recognize. The schist garnets in Leakin Park are often very small and even the larger ones are very dark in color, almost black, due to iron in their chemical makeup. After we spoted the best examples of garnets, I noticed that someone had previously marked the spot with a cross or + sign on the boulder where we found garnets. Look closely at the photo and you will see the + carved into the face of the rock, which Ira is standing next to. So, treasure hunters and rock hounds, there is your clue

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.

Baltimore Rocks!

Yes, Baltimore does rock, but there is no verb in the title. Talking about geology here. Went this evening to a talk by geologist Ira May at the Loch Raven Branch of the Baltimore County Library. It was an excellent presentation about geology and the history of mining in Baltimore County. Learned a lot about copper mining in Mount Washington (Bare Hills) under Smith Avenue, chromium mining at Soldiers Delight (those stunted scrub oak and pine trees are because of magnesium in the soil). and limestone mining at Cockeysville, aka Texas, Maryland. And who knew that Leakin Park has an outcropping of schist (often associated with granite) that is studded with visible red garnets. Hey, schist happens. Isaac Tyson, Jr., of Baltimore held a virtual world monopoly on chromium in the nineteenth century thanks to his chromium mines at Soldiers Delight in Baltimore County and other mines in Pennsylvania. Motivation for several hikes and photo opportunities, which I will document here in the future.