April 2019 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 1 Volume 54, Number 4
Monthly Bulletin of the West Seattle Rock Club, Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Website: http://www.westseattlerockclub.org
Our Club: Practices the Rockhound Code of Ethics
Meetings: Visitors are always welcome!
WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS
Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116
email: [email protected]
April 2019
Happy Easter April 2019 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 2
WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB, INC. Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 16145, Seattle, WA 98116
The purpose of this Club is to promote the study and enjoyment of the Lapidary Arts with good Rock- hounding and good fellowship; and to further education and lapidary skills for all; to conduct field trips for exploration and collection of minerals, gems, rocks and fossils; to promote shows and displays; to publish a monthly periodical known as West Seattle PETROGLY PHS relating to club activities.
**************************************************************************************** OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2019):
President Brooke Babcock (360) 305-8106 Vice President Annette Nelson (206) 379-3677 Secretary Sue Fox (206) 835-0774 Treasurer Audrey Vogelpohl (206) 932-3292 Federation Director Audrey Vogelpohl (206) 932-3292 Director at Large Ken Schmidt (206) 932-3626 Mineral Council Reps (Open) Newsletter - Editor Mike Wall (206) 476-6471 Current Past President Scott Ryan (206) 354-2101
**************************************************************************************** COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS (2019):
Show Co-Chairs Sue Fox (206) 835-0774 Annette Nelson (206) 379-3677 Programs
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AFFILIATED WITH: Northwest Federation & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee Washington State Mineral Council ALAA – American Lands Access Association
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Meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month, except for November which can be on the THIRD or FOURTH Wednesday depending on Thanksgiving and no meetings in July and December The meetings are held in Adams Hall of the Tibbetts United Methodist Church 3940 41st S.W. (corner of 41st S.W. and S.W. Andover Street) Seattle, WA 6:15 PM – Junior Meeting 7:00 PM – Adult Meeting Dues are: $20.00 first year (including name badge), then: $10.00 per adult member per year or $15.00 for 2 adults in same family, $3.00 per junior member per year
VISITORS ARE INVITED AND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALL MEETINGS
All material in this Bulletin may be reprinted if properly credited - Exchange Bulletins are most welcome. April 2019 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 3
CLUB CALENDAR We'll be having a bbq on Friday night for the vendors and club members. There will be a sign up sheet for sides to bring. The club will April 24, 2019 supply the hotdogs, hamburgers and buns and Junior Meeting — (6:15 pm) Rich will bbq. See everyone soon.
Program: Leadership Badge and Junior Brooke Babcock Liaison Discussion WSRC President
General Meeting (6:45 pm)
6:45 - Meet, Greet, Snacks & Drinks NEW MEETING 7:00 - Business Meeting Start Time START TIME Program: Filling grab bags & Video
supplied by the Vogelpohls Shown-n-Tell: What did you get at our 6:45 PM last show (or any previous show) (Don’t be late) April 26, 2019 Setup — all day starting around 10:00 Dinner — ~6:00 pm WHAT’S INSIDE April 27/28 2019 - The Big Show Rocks, Rocks & more Rocks — both days Take down — ~5:00 pm Club Calendar 3
President’s Message 3 PRESIDENT’S New Meeting Start Time 3 MESSAGE What’s Inside 3
WSRC Mar. General Meeting Minutes 4 Hello everyone,
Welcome to rainy April, but it’s our Show 2019 Refreshments 5 Month! I can't wait for the show, there will be lots to see and we would love for every- 2019 Dues are Past Due 5 one to come and participate. We are in need of volunteers so please sign up for a Annual Donation 5 shift. It's a lot of fun and we get to talk about our hobby with the community. Asteroid Impact Craters—Part 2 6
We'll be filling rock bags at this month's Apocalyptic Asteroid Impact meeting to sell at the junior’s station. If Craters — Part 3 7 you are crafty and want to make some bags to fill with rocks, feel free and bring them 2019 Field Trips 10 to the next meeting. They only need to be about 6x6 inch squares that close/tie on the 2019 Shows 10 top. April 2019 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 4 WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB – GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
March 27, 2019
Business: The meeting was called to order by President Brooke Babcock. 20 adult members, 6 junior members and 7 guests present. Members Rich Babcock, Robert Cooper, Zoe Ryan, and Maggie Babcock won the door prizes. No new members to welcome, however some of the guests have picked up applications. No changes reported to the February meeting minutes.
Committees: Junior Advisor Coordinator (Annette Nelson): Brooke Babcock led the junior meeting, topic was “Brainstorming show cases and junior activities” Seattle Regional (Lyle Vogelpohl): Show case trailer has up-to-date licenses and insurance. Some power strips are missing from the trailer, we may need to buy some. Northwest Federation (Audrey Vogelpohl): Mid-year meeting is June 1 in Coeur D’Alene, ID. Annual meeting is in October in Lewiston, ID. Check out the March/April newsletter for information on the Junior achievement essay application Editor's report (Mike Wall): Newsletter content deadline is the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Washington Mineral Council (Kat Koch): no update, not in attendance Librarian (Erin Thompson): the library case wasn’t available this month; check it out next month. Refreshments for the meetings (Sue Fox): April snacks = Erin Thompson and drinks = Jess and Don MacDonald and Matt Roberts. May snacks and drinks = Mike Wall. Historian (Audrey Vogelpohl): adding photos to the tri-fold panel, in preparation for the show Field Trips and Shows: see Petroglyphs (last page)
Old Business: 2019 Show, April 27-28: (co-chairs, Annette Nelson and Sue Fox) set-up day and POTLUCK dinner is Friday, April 26th; Rich and Brooke Babcock have volunteered to coordinate. Volunteer sign-up sheets were routed – we need LOTS of help! Video Booth: received confirmation that Ron Nims will do the video booth this year (and 1 case) Flyers and Posters are available – help us advertise Door prizes: Does anyone have items to donate? Idea: offer one year’s membership (either individu- al or family) as a door prize. Show Banner: Rich Babcock will get new dates printed Club T-Shirts: Decision was made not to order new t-shirts since we had so many of the old ones left Donating $ to non-profit organization Audrey Vogelpohl moved that we donate $100 to a non-profit organization; Seconded by Bo Jeffers. No discussion, motion carried. Outgoing president Scott Ryan will select a recipient.
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(Continued from page 4) New Business: Next Board Meeting: FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH, next one = April 3rd, 7pm, at the Bab- cock’s house. Diane Christensen provided contact information for an “amethyst guy” in Tacoma that we can buy direct from if we arrange to go with the Shelton club
Program: How to set up a display case (presenter = Rich Babcock).
Show and Tell — “Show-Worthy Rocks”) Lyle Vogelpohl - a thunderegg from Oregon (which will be the displayer’s prize) Brooke Babcock – calcite with quartz, stalactite Ezra Babcock – double terminated quartz, fossil, 2 geodes Zoe Ryan – a piece of a geode Guest Devin O’Reilly – pyrite with quartz from the east Duwamish greenbelt Maggie Babcock – petrified wood from Saddle Mt. Erin Thompson – mystery rock from a garage sale (chrysocolla? Amazonite?) Robert Cooper – jasper with druzy Dave Clausen – turquoise, crystal, carnelian agate, fossil shell, ruby (Dave won the displayer prize) Ken Schmidt – tumbled rock Scott Ryan – told a story about how being a rockhound and having rocks in your pocket to share can help you “land” a new house!
Raffle
The meeting was adjourned; Respectfully Submitted by Sue Fox, WSRC Secretary
2019 2019 DUES REFRESHMENTS ARE PAST DUE
Note: The signup sheet is available at our meetings. If you have not paid your 2019 dues yet, please see Please signup. There are still spots available for the Audrey at the next meeting to bring your membership remainder of the year. Thanks to everyone for bring- up to date. The dues amount are listed on page 2. ing refreshments!
This Month — April ANNUAL DONATION
Snacks: Erin Thompson (30-40) Regarding the club's annual donation to a rotating charity of the outgoing president's choice, this year, Drinks: Jess & Don MacDonald (30-40) let's go with the Washington State Mineral Coun- cil. The advocacy work by the likes of Ed Lehman to ——————————————————- keep wilderness areas open for rockhounding benefit Follow-on month reminder: every Washingtonian, possibly for generations.
May Scott Ryan 2018 Past President Snacks: Mike Wall (30-40)
Drinks: Mike Wall (30-40) April 2019 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 6 ASTEROID IMPACT CRATERS — PART 2 by Kat Koch, Cascade Mineralogical Society
Large to Larger Impact Craters on Earth.
Eastern Russia’s Lake El’gygytgyn Lake El’gygytgyn rests inside a 3.6-million-year-old meteorite impact crater, and preserves the longest continu- ous climate record in the Arctic.
It’s about 15 kilometers (9 miles) across, the crater is surrounded by an uplifted ridge some 18 kilometers (11 miles) across. Outside the crater, the land slopes gently, but inside the crater, walls descend steeply to a fairly flat-bottomed bowl, now filled by Lake El’gygytgyn. Because the meteorite impact occurred in a region of the Arctic that escaped widespread glaciation during the Pleistocene Ice Age, the rocks in this area survived intact. As a result, the lake bed sediments contain a continuous record of past Arctic conditions, all the way back to the meteorite impact, making them extremely valuable to paleoclimate researchers.
By examining chemical compositions of cores extracted from lake bed sediments, scientists can piece together past climatic conditions of a given region. In November 2008, a drilling project began at Lake El’gygytgyn and was continued through the spring of 2009. The project’s ultimate goal was to use the lake bed cores to assemble the longest continuous record of climate change in the ter- restrial Arctic and to compare that record to records ex- tracted from lower latitudes.
Karakul Crater, Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan Karakul (Black Lake) Crater is an impact crater with a rim diameter of 32 miles. The crater/lake lies at an elevation of 12,990 ft. above mean sea level. A peninsula projecting from the south shore and an island off the north shore di- vide the lake into two basins: a smaller, relatively shallow eastern one, between 43 to 62 ft deep, and a larger western one, 221 to 725 to 755 ft deep. It lacks a drainage outlet so the water is brackish.
The Karakul impact structure was first discovered in 1987 by studying images taken from space. They estimate the age of the impact crater to be between 5.3 to 2.6 million years old.
Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona The Barringer Crater is one of the Earth’s best preserved craters. About 50,000 years ago a meteorite weighed 300,000 tons and traveled at a speed of 26,000 miles per
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(Continued from page 6) hour (12 kilometers per second). When it struck the earth in what is now northern Arizona, it exploded with the force of 2 million tons of TNT, or about 150 times the force of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Most of the meteorite was melted by the force of the impact, and spread across the landscape in a very fine, nearly atomized mist of molten metal.
The crater was approximately 1 km (.75 mi) wide and .25 km (750 feet) deep. The impact occurred during the last ice age, a time when the Arizona landscape was cooler and wetter than it is today. The plain around it was covered with a forest, where mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths grazed. The force of the impact leveled the forest for miles around, hurling the mammoths across the plain and killing or severely injuring any animals unfortunate enough to be nearby. Over time, the landscape recovered. A lake formed in the bottom of the crater, and sediments accumulated until the bowl was only 550 feet deep. Then, with the ending of the ice age, the climate changed and dried. The desert that we see today has helped to preserve the crater, by limiting the erosion that might otherwise have blurred or erased the traces of the ancient impact.
Gosses Bluff Crater, No. Territory, Australia Gosses Bluff Crater is located 160 km (99.4 mi) west of Alice Springs. The original crater is thought to have been formed by the impact of an asteroid or comet approximate- ly 142 million years ago in the earliest Cre- taceous, very close to the Jurassic- Cretaceous boundary. The original crater rim has been estimated at about 22 km (14 mi) in diameter, but this has been eroded away. The 5 km (3.1 mi) diameter, 180m (590 ft) high crater-like feature, now exposed, is interpret- ed as the eroded relic of the crater’s central uplift.
Australia is a very good place to observe and study impact craters. Much of the Australian surface is very old, so Australia has collected more impacts than many other parts of the world. Because of the dry climate, the craters haven’t weathered away, nor are they hidden by dense vegetation.
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APOCALYPTIC ASTEROID IMPACT CRATERS — PART 3 by Kat Koch, Cascade Mineralogical Society
Young Earth Craters These craters are less than 10,000 years old with a diameter of 100 m (330 ft) or larger. They may also be the reason for various myths and legends.
Henbury Craters, Northern Territory, Australia This is a group of impact craters created when the meteorite broke up just before it hit earth. There are 13 to 14 craters from 23 ft to 591 ft in diameter and up to a depth of 40 ft. This area is now a reserve located approxi- mately 90 miles south of Alice Springs. The impact is estimated to have occurred around 2200 BC or 4,200
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(Continued from page 7) years ago. It is one of the few impact events to have occurred in a populated area.
The Henbury crater field lies at the crossroads of several Aboriginal language groups, including Arrernte, Lurit- ja, Pitjantjatjarra, and Yankunytjatjara. According to scientists that have studied the area it is considered a sa- cred site to the Arrernte people and would have formed during human habitation of the area. Older Aboriginal people will not camp within a couple of miles of the Henbury craters. An elder Aboriginal man explained that Aboriginal people would not drink rainwater that collected in the craters, fearing the “fire-devil” would fill them with a piece of iron. The man claimed his paternal grandfather had seen the fire-devil and that he came from the Sun. An Aboriginal contact said of the crater field: A fiery devil ran down from the Sun and made his home in the Earth. He will burn and eat any bad blackfellows. This indicates a living memory of the event.
Campo del Cielo Craters, Provinces of Chaco and Santiago del Estero, Argentina This crater field (approx. 26 craters) is located 620 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The crater field covers an area 1.9 miles by 11.5 miles. The largest crater is 377 ft by 299 ft. The meteorite is estimated to have hit earth around 2000 BC or about 4,000 years ago. The craters and area around contain numerous fragments of an iron meteorite. The total pieces found so far is about 100 tons. The two heaviest pieces found intact are 37 tons and 30.8 tons.
To the pre-Columbian people the meteorites were an important part of the landscape. They were linked to pow- er and the people knew they came from the sky, even though they did not witness their impact. In fact, the in- digenous population understood the origins of the meteorites better than the conquistadors did. European scien- tists in the colonial age denied that these object could have fallen from the sky. They looked for other explana- tions, like the meteorites were an outcrop of silver from Potosi or volcanic rocks.
The Spanish conquistadors learned about Campo del Cielo from the natives. They believed the legend sur- rounding the Mesón de Hierro, a huge meteorite that was never found, despite several adventurers claiming to have seen it. The Criollos, South American colonists born to Spanish parents, viewed the meteorites as a source of wealth—rocks to mine for iron or silver or to serve as a tourist attraction.
Kaali Crater, Saaremaa Island, Estonia This is a group of 9 meteorite craters estimated to have formed about 1500 BC or 3,500 years ago. Again this meteorite fragmented before hitting earth. The largest crater is 360 ft with a depth of 72 ft.
The impact explosion removed approximately 2,900,000 cu ft of dolomite and other rocks and formed a 20,000 to 30,000 ft tall, ex- tremely hot gas flow. Vegetation was incinerated up to 3.7 mi from the impact site. The smaller craters range in size from 39 ft to 131 ft with a depth range from 3.3 ft to 13.2 ft. It also is one of the few impact events to have occurred in a populated area.
This is a picture of the main crater. It’s nearly circular. When the water level is low ricks can be seen in the middle of the crater.
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(Continued from page 8) Scholars maintain that the event figured prominently in regional mythology. It was, and still is, considered a sacred lake. There is archaeological evidence that it may well have been a place of ritual sacrifice. At some point during the early Iron Age, the lake was surrounded by a stone wall 1,540 ft long, with a median width of about 8.2 ft and an average height of 6.6 ft).
Finnish mythology has stories that may originate with the formation of Kaali. One of them is in runes 47, 48 and 49 of the Kalevala epic: Louhi, the evil wizard, steals the Sun and fire from people, causing total darkness. Ukko, the god of the sky, orders a new Sun to be made from a spark. The virgin of the air starts to make a new Sun, but the spark drops from the sky and hits the ground. This spark goes to an “Aluen” or “Kalevan” lake and causes its water to rise. Finnish heroes see the ball of fire falling somewhere “behind the Neva river” (the direc- tion of Estonia from Karelia). The heroes head in that direction to seek fire, and they finally gather flames from a forest fire.
According to a theory first proposed by Lennart Meri, it is possible that Saaremaa was the legendary Thule Is- land, first mentioned by ancient Greek geographer Pytheas, whereas the name “Thule” could have been con- nected to the Finnish word tule (“(of) fire”) and the folklore of Estonia, which depicts the birth of the crater lake in Kaali. Kaali was considered the place where “The sun went to rest.”
Wabar Craters, Saudi Arabia The vast desert wasteland of southern Saudi Arabia known as the Empty Quarter is one of the most desolate places on Earth. In 1932, Harry St. John “Jack” Philby was hunting for a city named Ubar, that the Quran de- scribes being destroyed by God for defying the Prophet Hud. Philby transliterated the name of the city as Wa- bar. Philby had heard of Bedouin legends of an area called Al Hadida (“place of iron” in Arabic) with ruins of ancient habitations, and also an area where a piece of iron the size of a camel had been found, and so organized an expedition to visit the site. After a month’s journey through wastes so harsh that even some of the camels died, on February 2, 1932 Philby arrived at a patch of ground about a half a square kilometer in size, littered with chunks of white sandstone, black glass, and chunks of iron meteorite. Philby identified two large circular depressions partially filled with sand, and three other features that he identified as possible “submerged cra- ters”. He also mapped the area where the large iron block was reputed to have been found. Philby thought that the area was a volcano, and it was only after bringing back samples to the UK that the site was identified as that of a meteorite impact by the British Museum.
Among the samples of iron, cindery material and silica glass that Philby brought back from the site was a 25 lb chunk of iron. Analysis showed it to be about 90% iron and 5% nickel, with the rest consisting of various ele- ments, including cop- per, cobalt, and 6 ppm of iridium, an unusual- ly high concentration. This siderophile ele- ment implied that the Wabar site was a mete- orite impact area.
The Wabar crater site consists of 5 craters covering about .31 miles by .60 miles ar- ea. The largest crater measures 380.5 ft by 210 ft. It is estimated the event occurred around 1800 AD making it about 200 to 225 years old. This is consistent with reports of a fireball passing Riyadh sometime between 1863 to 1891. Again the fireball fragmented before hitting earth and created the 5 craters.
Since Philby’s first expedition in 1932 there have been 8 expeditions to map and study the crater area. The shifting sands of the desert periodically cover and uncover the site.
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2019 FIELD TRIPS
Apr 20 Host: Darrington Rock Club Location: Racehourse Creek Meeting place/time: Hwy 542 @ round-about 10 miles from I-5 at 9:00 am Material: Fossils & Morell mushrooms Tools: Dig and light hard rock Contact: Ed Lehman [email protected] h# (425) 334-6282 c# (425) 760-2786
Apr 20-21 Host: All Rockhounds Pow Wow Location: Saddle Mountain—Mattawa Meeting place/time: Boat Launch @ 8:00 am Material: Petrified Wood Tools: Dig and hard rock Contact: Larry Vess [email protected] or (253)473-3908
————————————————————————————————————— See WSMC https://mineralcouncil.wordpress.com/ for additional field trips and detail updates— Always check with the trip contact a week before the trip to get any updated information
2019 SHOWS
Mar 30 10am-6pm Mt. Baker Rock & Gem Club—58th Annual Rock & Gem Show Mar 31 10am-5pm Bloedel-Donovan Park, 2214 Electric Ave., Bellingham, WA
Apr 13 10am-5pm Lakeside Gem & Mineral Club—Annual Rock, Gem and Mineral Show Apr 14 10am-4pm Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 South Oak, Kennewick, WA
Apr 27 9am-5pm West Seattle Rock Club — Annual Show Apr 28 9am-4pm Alki Masonic Temple, 4736 40th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA
————————————————————————————————————— See the Northwest Newsletter for additional show listings and times. Available online at: http://northwestfederation.org/newsletters.asp
How Can You Help
Your Federation: Save stamps and give to our club treasurer.
Your Hobby: Join ALAA. - Contact Lyle Vogelpohl
Other: Volunteer to teach beginners what you are good at.
To Learn More About ...
Cabbing … contact Lyle Vogelpohl … (206) 932-3292