[Fiction question] I need a rock collector or geologist now. Can you just find a chunk of beryl or quartz lying around on the ground?
Asked by
Jeruba (
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November 24th, 2009
Let’s say you’re in a meadow in the Concord, NH, area. This piece of land has never been cultivated, being rather rocky and hilly, but it abuts farmlands. At the upper end of the clearing there is a large granite outcropping at the edge of the woods. Not far from the outcropping, a shallow grave was recently dug. You are an experienced rock collector, and you are walking up the sloping meadow toward the granite outcropping, passing near to the shallow grave. Could you happen to find a good-size chunk of collectible rock just lying there visible on the surface, or even just sticking up a little bit so that you could see it and dig it out?
If this would be a little bit of a stretch, but could still happen, please tell me it’ll work.
In that case, what kind of rock, and could it be a chunk big enough to serve as a weapon in a few more minutes?
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8 Answers
I don’t know about New Hampshire, but I know that in Arkansas and Missouri, it is entirely possible to be walking along in certain areas and basically stumble over a hunk of quartz crystal.
I realize this is only so helpful—I can say that in some places the premise works. I just don’t know if NH is one of those places.
In Arkansas, there is a diamond mine that looks like an open muddy field where you pick up rocks, and try to guess what rock they are. Some of them are diamonds, others are pieces of quartz. So my answer is the same as EmpressPixie’s. I don´t know if the same applies to NH. Maybe you can google it.
Thanks! I always try Google first. I have been prowling around rock and mineral sites for New England and found some great information (which is why I specified beryl and quartz), but so far nothing that answers my question.
Okay, so I did a search for a quartz mine in New Hampshire. There is an area an hour and forty-five minutes from Concord called Crawford Notch. This was found in a landslide area there. It looks like smokey quartz is quite common in New Hampshire. Edited to add: It is the official state rock of New Hampshire.
But in 45 minutes you can also get to “Logs of Fun” a campground that also has gemstone mining—specifically, quartz is naturally occurring in the area.
Will report back if I find out more!
I’d like to add that you can find a chunk of quartz even here, in the SW.
Smoky quartz looks perfect! I imagine he might see a little bit of it sticking up in the field and notice it because he is a collector. He gets a shovel and digs it out. It is an exceptionally fine specimen, with nice sharp jagged crystals, a piercing tip, and a good heft to it. Maybe it’s about 6 or 8 inches long? It’s about to split someone’s skull. Thanks, guys.
Yes, you can find quartz on the ground – I’d found lots as a kid rock-collector and amateur spelunker. Now all the spellunking is done on my behind – as I await further surgery on my hemmoroids which are painful and making me scream as I write this – standing up of course.
Cool-so on fluther one can help write a mystery story…that’s exciting.
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