Flatrock Quarry, Waterford, New London County, Connecticut, USA
Black, tabular allanite-(Ce) crystals in gneiss matrix (aegirine-augite, quartz, albite). Former Ed Force collection.
© 2020 Harold Moritz
Field of View is 1/2" diameter. A typical envelope shpaed titanite crystal found with pyroxene and microcline in pegmatic veins penetrating the Joshua Rock member of the New London Gneiss. The Gneiss was a granitic gneiss quarried here in the Flatrock Quarry. This was collected by Fred Schuster in the late 1980"s during Mall construction.
© FAS
Black davidite-(La) with typical red stain in orthogneiss
Black aegirine and brown titanite in albite, quartz, magnetite, biotite matrix.
Field of view is about 5mm x4mm. To the right center is an octahedral crystal of magnetite. This was collected by Fred Schuster from the pegmatitic rock containing titanite, during Mall contruction in the 1980's
Field of view is about 1/2" diameter. This is a black prismatic crystal of a pyroxene group mineral in the pegamatite associated with titanite, magnetite and microcline. To the top left is a small brown titanite crystal.
Partial crystal; Davidite is very rare in the USA. This specimen was in the collection of Tony Albini. It's mildly radioactive at 70 CPM on a Radalert 100. Collection of Rudy Bolona.
Brown titanite crystals in albite, quartz, aegerine-augite, magnetite, biotite matrix.
Two small zircon crystals on quartz. Former Ed Force collection.
Black davidite-(La) crystals in characteristically red-stained, granular albite and quartz matrix. Former Ed Force collection.
Dark green aegirine-augite in microcline and quartz matrix. Former Ed Force collection.
Brown titanite crystal in aegirine-augite and quartz matrix. Former Ed Force collection.
Black davidite-(La) in orthogneiss. Former Ed Force collection.
Reverse side from parent photo showing interior of black davidite-(La) crystals in characteristically red-stained, granular albite and quartz matrix. Former Ed Force collection.
Striated octahedral magnetite crystal. Former Ed Force collection.
This photo is looking at the east wall of the Crystal mall parking just before Rt 85. Notice the layers of New London Gneiss. This photo was taken in between 2007-2008 not sure of the exact year. There were pegmatites intruding this. During the Crystal mall construction the old Flatrock granite Quarry was obliterated.
This is another photo of the East Wall of the Crystal Mall parking and was photoed the same day as the first Wall photo. Notice the white pegmatite intruding a darker phase of the New London Granite (amphibolite?).
Resinous, lustrous brown substance in the middle of a zone of brown-stained quartz/microcline matrix that is labeled as betafite (now pyrochlore supergroup) but clearly needs substantiation. I was probably at least checked with a scintillometer to get this potential ID. Former Ed Force collection.