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Gem & Mineral Bulletin Articles
Listed below are a selection of articles which have been published in the pages of amateur gem and mineral society bulletins. Click on the title of any article to read it. To return to this page after reading an article, either click the "Back" button on your browser or click the "Return to Article Index" button at the bottom of the article.
- Agricola Quincentennial:
On Georgius Agricola, the "Father of Modern mineralogy."
- And You Thought That Your
Field Trip Was Bad:
A description of the disasters that befell the Fourth Field
Conference of the New Mexico Geological Society.
- Bang! Splat! Tunguska!:
A discussion of the possible cause of an horrendous
explosion which occurred in the sky above the central
Siberian wilderness in 1908.
- Book Review: Amber -- The
Golden Gem of the Ages (Patty C. Rice, Ph.D.):
A review of a reference book on amber.
- Book Review: Dinotopia
(James Gurney):
A review of the children's fantasy book.
- Book Review: Dinotopia:
The World Beneath (James Gurney):
A review of the sequel to the children's fantasy book.
- Book Review: Emeralds and Other
Beryls (John Sinkankas):
A review of John Sinkankas' reference on beryls.
- Book Review: Exploring and
Mining Gems & Gold in the West (Fred Rynerson):
A review of Fred Rynerson's book which describes his
life mining gems in southern California during the first half
of the twentieth century.
- Book Review: Field Collecting
Gemstones and Minerals (John Sinkankas):
A review of the popular book.
- Book Review: A Field Manual For The
Amateur Geologist (Alan M. Cvancara):
A review of a good introductory book about field geology for
serious amateurs.
- Book Review: Gem Trails of ...:
A review of the series of Gem Trails books.
- Book Review: Geology Underfoot
in Southern California (Sharp and Glazner):
A review of a new book which describes twenty geological features
in southern California.
- Book Review: The Lost World
(Michael Crichton):
A review of the sequel to Jurassic Park.
- Book Review: Minerals of
California (H. Earl Pemberton):
A review of the most recent reference work in the Minerals
of California series.
- Book Review: People of Darkness
(Tony Hillerman):
A review of a murder mystery with mineralogical overtones.
- Book Review: Roadside Geology
of ...:
A review of the Roadside Geology series of books.
- Book Review: Rocks From Space
(O. Richard Norton):
A review of the 1994 book on meteorites.
- Book Review: Straight
(Dick Francis):
A review of a gemological murder mystery.
- Book Review: Wonderful Life:
The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History (Stephen Jay
Gould):
A review of Gould's exposition on the Burgess Shale, the
Cambrian Explosion, and the diversity of prehistoric life.
- "But ... The Rocks Are All Wrong":
On the geological errors which have appeared in television
shows, movies, and books; with emphasis on Jurassic
Park;
second place winner in the 1993 adult article competition
(American Federation of Mineralogical Societies).
- California Mineral Trivia:
Learn about the California State Mineral, Gem, Rock, and Fossil.
- Catch A Falling Star:
A description of a meteor which skipped off the Earth's atmosphere,
circled the planet, then impacted in eastern central California on
October 3, 1996; second place winner in the adult article
competition in the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
- Cleaning Native Copper:
Various methods for removing corrosion from native copper specimens.
- Collecting Micrometeorites:
How to collect micrometeorites in your own backyard.
- The Corundum Conundrum:
A mineralogical murder mystery.
- Dendrite Mineralogy:
On the composition, origin, and identification of dendrite minerals.
- Domenigoni Valley Reservoir:
A description of the paleontological discoveries at the site of
Domenigoni Valley Reservoir in southern California.
- Federal Government to License Rock Picks:
On the new federal law requiring registration of rock hammers -- an
April Fool's joke.
- High Magmafication:
Making granite in song.
- I Am a Rockhound:
Chuck Weber's lifetime of experience as a rockhound;
first place winner in the adult article competition in the
California Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
- Is It Amber or Is It Fake?:
A compendium of amber tests; first place winner in the adult
advanced-technical article competition in the California
Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
- KeyMap -- Less Than Zero:
A product review of the KeyMap computerized road atlas.
- Kilauea Volcano:
On the eruption history and stratigraphy of the popular
Hawaiian volcano.
- Lava Unlocks Subterranean Mysteries:
How lava provides clues to geological processes taking
place beneath the surface of the Earth. Discusses the
petrochemistry of magma emplacement, especially at Kilauea.
- Moganite: A New Mineral -- Not:
A "new" mineral is probably not so new after all.
- No Relief for the Earth:
On the relative smoothness of the surface of the earth.
- On Red Variscite:
First place winner in the junior article competition in both the
California Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
- Opal Lore:
A compendium of information on precious opal.
- Optical Properties of Opal:
A description of how precious opal produces its fire;
first place winner in the 1995 adult article competition
(California Federation of Mineralogical Societies).
- Origin of Desert Varnish:
An analysis of the composition and origin of desert varnish.
- Our Field Trip to Boron:
A description of a successful collecting trip to Boron, California.
- Quartz Discredited:
The original version of the April Fool's hoax that was heard
around the world.
- Quartzsite:
The history of the town of Quartzsite, Arizona -- rockhound
mecca.
- Radiation, Heat Improve Nature's Gems:
How radiation and heat can be used to improve gemstone color.
- The Round River:
The history, geography, and hydrology of the Round River; an
April Fool's joke which appeared in the newsletter of the U.S.
Department of the Interior (who says the Government doesn't
have a sense of humor).
- The Salton Sea
(Now You "Sea" It -- Now You Don't):
On the geology and recent history of the Salton Sea -- a
"here today, gone tomorrow" lake located in southern California;
first place winner in the adult advanced-technical article
competition in the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
- Selenium Never Forgets:
On the electrostatic properties of selenium, and its use
in photocopiers.
- The Sudbury Structure:
A description of the origin of an enigmatic geologic
feature of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and the formation of
Ontario's nickel-copper sulfide deposits.
- The Temecula Trough:
On the geology of the Temecula Trough -- a sediment-filled
graben located in southern Riverside County, California;
first place winner in the adult advanced-technical article
competition in the California Federation of Mineralogical
Societies.
- A Thanksgiving Collecting Trip:
A couple of FGMS members collect hematite, epidote, trilobites,
and more, in southern California, during their Thanksgiving
Holiday.
- True or False LithoQuiz:
Test your knowledge of things lithospherical.
- You Might be a Rockhound:
The original Internet collaboration which provides a tongue-in-cheek
description of what it takes to be a rockhound.
- Zion National Park -- A Tweak of History and a Tweak of Geology: An introduction to the history and geology of Zion National Park; third place winner in the adult article competition in the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
Last updated: 11 February 2010