There are some people, known as mineral collectors, that hunt for the most unique and beautiful mineral specimens in the world… and Tasmania has two of these world renowned and highly sought-after minerals in our own backyard; crocoite and stichtite. Minerals are naturally occurring substances that make up rocks. Geologists (specifically mineralogists) study and admire them, however, their beauty is…
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Tasmania sure does pack-a-punch when it comes to geological oddities. One of the strangest I would argue is the bizarre spotted granites on the west coast. Clustered within certain areas of the granite are orbs containing tourmaline, quartz and other minerals. The sight of them is spectacular, and their formation is still enigmatic! We ventured over to the west coast…
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When in Peru, do what the tourists do, right? Well, most tourists aren’t on the tail end of a several week intensive geology short course on ore deposits and mines of Chile and Peru I guess… but I still had to do it. Machu Picchu is considered one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and it is consistently on…
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While Chile may be well-endowed in giant copper mines, Peru has a more golden flavour to its country-side. After my travels in Chile we flew to the northern Peruvian region of Cajamarca. The main town is also called Cajamarca. From here it was off to the golden hills where hidden over 3,000 metres above sea level are some of the richest gold deposits…
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Chile is one of the best countries in the world for geology and metal deposits. Its elongated western margin is bounded by an earthquake-inducing, mountain-building, ore deposit-forming subduction zone. I was part of a field course run by our university that explored the northern-region of the country where the Atacama desert and some of the largest copper deposits in the world…
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There is something special about mountains when you are a geologist (i.e. a person who spends a good chunk of the time thinking about rocks). Their prominent peaks seem to allure and beg to be reached. Growing up in Canada I’m used to being surrounded by gorgeous glacier-caped mountain. Sadly, these are missing in Australia. However, here in Tasmania there are…
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Unsuspectingly lurking next to the massive metropolis of Melbourne, Australia, is a region of young and active volcanoes! This volcanic province covers an area >23,000 km in the southern state of Victoria. The volcanoes here are dormant, but still active, with the last eruption ~5000 years ago at Mt. Gambier. The landscape is flat due to extensive plains of basalt,…
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An island off an island off an island; welcome to Maria! I recently jumped aboard the opportunity to go on a weekend field excursion run by Geological Association of Australia (GSA) and the university to this wonderful little island off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The whole island is a protected national park, and not only is it home…
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There is a giant rock that you can’t ignore along the famous Sea to Sky highway in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada, called “the Chief”. What’s pretty cool is it is actually a glacially exposed ancient magma chamber! The Chief is well known to the locals in Squamish, B.C., which was my home town. Thus, when I recently came back to Canada for the…
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One day hopefully, I will get there… but for now, I am starting this post with the truth. No, I have not been to Antarctica (yet!), but by a random chance of events I find myself the owner of a collection of rocks from Antarctica. How? Well, long story short… on the plane ride to the gold mine I am…