Peanut Wood from Western Australia. It is petrified wood. It was driftwood that sank to the floor of a shallow sea. Then it was set upon by a bivalve called, Teredo or shipworm. It was covered with mud and the borings were filled with sediment which are the white areas. Formed during the Cretaceous Period, 120,000 million years ago.
Photos by Dan Snow
The Spring 2017 Gem and Mineral Show was very successful. The parking lot was filled to capacity and we made over $3000 for the scholarship fund. I think it helped that it was so cold on Saturday, because people wanted to do something indoors. Here are some of the highlights.
My favorite exhibit: The Earth’s Rainbow by Maple Woods Community College. It shows minerals of every color and how they get their colors. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Geological features of Missouri made out of minerals by Susan Judy (Stone Quilt Design) Unfortunately, it was already sold when I saw it. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Mr. Bones was wondering what was so interesting on this person’s phone. Photo by Stephanie Reed
David and Stephanie Reed showing off the new Association banner. Photo by Bob
Cretaceous fossils from Kansas, displayed by KU. The iridescent baculite is especially nice. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Selenite crystal from Kansas. I sold it at the Association Booth. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Shea Oak slab in UMKC’s petrified wood exhibit. This specimen usually lives at the Sutton Museum at UMKC. Photo by Stephanie Reed
A blue morpho butterfly seen at Butterflies by God. Photo by Stephanie Reed
The Bead Society had a lot of great cases. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Keshi pearls (i.e. non-nucleated pearls) from Avian Oasis. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Jeanna and Jim in foreground, Chet and Bob in background. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Agatized Dinosaur bone from the Morrison Formation in Utah, seen at Science Leads the Way. We met the person who found it. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Australian Boulder Opal cabs from Dreaming Down Under. Photo by Stephanie Reed
This otherworldly glass sculpture was at Madagascar Gemstones. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Photo by David Reed
Everyone had a great time visiting the Sutton Museum on our last field trip. Valerie just reminded me that I should be posting some photos from the museum so I will over the next week or two. When you come in the door of the museum, the first thing you will notice is this giant piece of petrified wood. A person is standing next to it for scale, so you can see it is about 2 feet tall. Much bigger than the other big petrified wood I wrote about last year.
Photo by Stephanie Reed
This is a cross-section of a fossilized sweet gum tree from the Hampton Butte in Crook County, Oregon. We saw it at the Rice Museum in Hillsboro, Oregon where it is in the petrified wood room. I hardly ever see petrified wood that is green like this; usually it’s red, orange, or brown. Anybody know what makes it green?
Photos by Stephanie Reed
Two Show-Me Rockhounds members who are very much in love took a trip to Hot Springs, AR. While they were there they stopped at a rock shop, of course, and these carved hearts caught their attention. Stephanie was drawn to the gray and black petrified wood heart because she thought it looked like a charcoal drawing. David was drawn to the blue sodalite heart because the blue color reminded him of lapis.
What kind of rocks catch your attention, and why?
You’ve heard of petrified wood, but have you heard of petrified palm? It’s made from trees of the extinct genus Palmoxylon, which were very similar to palm trees. The process is the same: when the palms died, sometimes they would be covered by water or dirt before they rotted. Then, as groundwater flowed across the ground it carried dissolved silica which would fill the xylem and phloem inside the palm. The result is solid silica in the same shape as the plant. They usually turn out much smoother and more uniform than other types of petrified wood, and petrified palm can be cut, polished, and used as a semiprecious gemstone. It’s mostly found in the Catahoula Formation, Texas, and Louisiana (where it’s the state fossil).
Amy O’Connell’s Petrified Palmwood sold at http://lapidaryart.com/amy.html
As you can see, petrified palm’s distinctive round spots make great cabochons.
Photo by Stephanie Reed
A nice big chunk of petrified wood from the personal collection of David Reed, one of our members. It weighs over 100 pounds.
Show-Me Rockhounds Kansas City 