Marian V. Lupulescu

Diagenetic Uvite with Overgrown Dravite Bigelow, St. Lawrence County, New York

found in New York State demonstrates that much remains to be learned from their study. An ongoing survey of these tourmalines has uncovered species new to the state, such as rossmanite and olenite from Newcomb in Essex County (Lupulescu and Rakovan 2008) and species potentially new to science. These include the fluorine-dominant analog of dravite from a road cut north of Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County (Lupulescu 2008; Chamberlain, Lupulescu, and Rowe 2008), the fluorine-analog of feruvite from the Jayville iron deposit in St. Lawrence County, and the hydroxyl-dominant analog of uvite from a road cut on Interstate 81 southwest of Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County and from the Wight mine–Arnold pit in St. Lawrence County (Lupulescu 2008). Virtually all of the specimens studied in detail have come from Precambrian terrain in either the St. Lawrence Valley or Orange County. However, one tourmaline locality in the Village of Bigelow in St. Lawrence County (fig. 3) stands out as significantly different from most of the others. Here, large brown-to-green aggregates of tourmaline crystals developed in an unsorted sandstone filling paleokarst cavities in a Grenville-age marble body. At this occurrence tourmaline, rutile, and other minerals probably formed in the Cambrian Period because the Cambrian-age Potsdam Sandstone is the only sedimentary cover of the Precambrian metamorphic rocks in this region.

Amphibole-Group Minerals from New York State

that the amphiboles are sufficiently spectacular and interesting to be collected, studied, and displayed for public delight in museums, that the use of the new amphibole nomenclature is really not so complicated, and that the new names and prefixes relate closely to the environment where the amphiboles are found. The names of the mineral species listed below, and their prefixes, are in accordance with IMA amphibole nomenclature (Leake et al. 1997; Leake et al. 2003; Burke and Leake 2004; Bayliss, Kaesz, and Nickel 2005). The New York State Museum has a large and beautiful collection of amphiboles from across the state, exhibited in the “Minerals of New York” section of the Museum’s Adirondack Hall (fig. 1). Presentation of the finest amphibole specimens from this collection is the main focus of this article. The mineral species were identified by their chemical compositions as determined by electron microprobe.

The Rose Road Localities, Town of Pitcairn, St. Lawrence County, New York: Part 1—History

Crystals of lustrous green diopside, clove-brown titanite, tan wollastonite, bright blue fluorapatite, and white albite from Pitcairn, New York, are widely represented in major mineral collections worldwide. More recently, a second locality was discovered nearby that is producing sharp crystals of scapolite; translucent, purple diopside crystals; transparent, amber-colored phlogopite; and a host of accessory minerals. Both of these sites are open to collectors as fee localities and continue to produce excellent specimens. There is little in the way of published information on this important East Coast locality. This and succeeding articles will provide a detailed history of collecting at the localities, their geology and origin, a comprehensive description of mineral species found at each, and a description of fluorescent minerals, twins, and pseudomorphs found at each. The Wollastonite Skarn (WSK) and the Purple Diopside Mound (PDM) are located in the Town of Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County, New York, south of Rose Road and west of NY Route 3 at GPS 44°12 2.3 N, 75°13 59.7 W and 44°12 5.3 N, 75°14 2.7 W, respectively (figs. 1 and 2). Despite the common assumption that the name of the town, and the nearby village of Pitcairn, might be named for Pitcairn Island, this is not the case. Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 and named after a fifteen-year-old midshipman, Robert Pitcairn,

New Danburite Locality Discovered in the Town of Macomb, St. Lawrence County, New York

As an article on the classic danburite locality near Russell, New York, was going to press (Chamberlain, Lupulescu, Bailey 2015), another danburite occurrence was discovered farther to the west, in the Town of Macomb. This locality has similar mineralogy but a very different geological origin than the Russell occurrence. The purpose of this brief article is to report this second occurrence of danburite in St. Lawrence County, New York. ANDREW SUTHERLAND 146 McKinley Court Massena, New York 13662 ajsminerals@hotmail.com

The Cicero Clay Pits, Onondaga County, New York

For at least fifteen years, concretions in the old clay pits near the village of Cicero in central New York State produced micro-sized specimens of eight common minerals in exquisite crystals. The many habits of calcite and goethite are particularly noteworthy. Material from this locality is familiar to micromounters, and large quantities of specimens were produced. Beyond mention in a few mineral club bulletins, however, nothing about this locality has appeared in the literature. Beginning in 1983, the locality was obliterated by a subdivision of houses. Here we document this interesting locality before the information is lost forever.

Minerals of the Scott Farm Pegmatite near Fine, St. Lawrence County, New York

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Steven C. Chamberlain of specimens from his collection Dr. Steven C. Chamberlain, a collector specializing in the minerals of New York State, is the coordinator of the Center for Mineralogy at the New York State Museum. Dr. Marian Lupulescu is curator of geology at the New York State Museum. Dr. David G. Bailey is an associate professor of geoscience in the geosciences department at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and a research associate at the New York State Museum. Minerals of the Scott Farm Pegmatite