John Cornish's Photo Gallery
3R7-J04Crocoite PbCr6+O4
A fantastic new crocoite specimen fresh from the pocket! Measuring approximately 30 by 30 inches, this was not the biggest of the specimens we collected, but it certainly was my favorite! Collected in November of 2012, this is so fresh, it hadn't even seen the light of day yet! A magnificent collector's dream moment and specimen!
Digging in the guano!
Ah, the romance of mining! Can you see my smile behind my respirator? This is what it was like collecting gemmy glowing golden calcite crystals, digging through bat guano and animal feces. In the foreground, you can see groups and singles already recovered. A glorious time!
KN1-1UTQuartz SiO2
This is an incredible Japan-Law twinned Quartz collected by my friend Rosie Johnson several decades ago. It is a smoky phantomed twin an inch and a quarter thick by 5 inches in its longest dimension. Heart shaped twins are also known from this wonderful deposit.
V9Y-DJKCalcite CaCO3
This is a display case filled with some of my finest self collected specimens, all gemmy glowing golden calcite crystals, many which are twinned. The display is 3 feet across and about 20 inches deep. This display was offered in 2009 at the Kitsap County Gem and Mineral Society's annual show, Kitsap County, Washington.
4XW-Q8XCalcite CaCO3
This is one of my finer self collected specimens, a large matrix covered in gemmy glowing golden calcite crystals, many which are twinned. The specimen is 11 inches across and 14 inches long. It is photographed here on display in 2009 at the Kitsap County Gem and Mineral Society's annual show, Kitsap County, Washington.
EKV-2YPCalcite CaCO3
This is one of my finest self collected specimens, a large matrix slab covered in gemmy glowing golden calcite crystals, many which are twinned. The specimen is 14 inches across and 19 inches long and has no damage. It is photographed here on display in 2009 at the Kitsap County Gem and Mineral Society's annual show, Kitsap County, Washington.
DTM-12HCalcite CaCO3 , Stilbite Subgroup M6-7[Al8-9Si27-28O72]·nH2O
This is a wonderful specimen of light-yellow calcite wreathed by colorless stilbite crystals from the Beaver Valley Quarry in Shine, Washington. The scale of the photo is about 4 cm. This specimen was recovered from the upper pit and aptly demonstrates the perfection seen within premier specimens recovered from this small somewhat obscure Olympic Peninsula locality exploiting Eocene Crescent formation basalt. With work, specimens like this can still be found today!
GMJ-J5JOpal SiO2·nH2O
Dimensions: 6 cm x 4 cm x 3 cm
This specimen of Opal after Quartz is accompanied by a signed Martin Ehrmann label. While unconfirmed, it is believed that this effect is created by overheating Brazilian geode amethyst and is thus manmade. The specimen is a single quartz crystal approximately 6x4x3 cm.
Martin Ehrmann signature label
N3R-Y6XCalcite CaCO3
Dimensions: 45 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm
This 18 kg calcite, 45 x 30 x 30 cm, comprised the back wall of a 2 meter pocket Wes Gannaway and I collected several years ago. The most extraordinary feature of this specimen, other than its monstrous size, is the 2.5 cm wide channel, 7.5 cm long, which underlies one of the main crystals. Within it freely travels a 2.5 cm bubble!
Several other calcites from this find also contained multi-phase inclusions, though this was the largest and most dramatic.
Coming from the dark cool confines of the pocket, I've always been amazed that this specimen never exploded, especially as we were collecting during the height of Summer in the blazing sun. Thankfully the care we showed in immediately wrapping the specimen and storing it in the shade paid off. This is the largest fine calcite group I've ever seen from the state of Oregon.
This specimen can be seen at the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, in the Northwest Gallery, where it is on long term loan.
My two nieces for scale.
