The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct 2019
T h e N a r r o w s N e w s
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Meetings are held on the 2nd Friday of each Month Sept - May 7:30 PM TWIN LAKES TERRACE 1310 Murphy Rd, Sarnia ON
The Narrows News is published five times/year – Jan, March, May, Sept, Nov.
1 SRFC Meeting Information 6 Brad’s Bench Tips 2 SRFC Executive, Presidents Message 7 Upcoming Shows & Events 2 What Is A Ruby 8 Prehistoric Sea Monster Skeleton 3 Groups, Club News 9 Traverse City 6,000 B.C. 4-5 Ontario Geological Survey 10 Puzzle
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct 2019
President’s Message SRFC Executive Hi September already, where did the summer go. Hope everybody President: enjoyed the hot weather this year. For me I prefer it a little cooler. Ivan McKay Hope everyone got out and did a little rock hunting over the summer. I did get out to Hunger Hollow in July and found some small crinoid stem, Vice President: some pyritized and part of a trilobite. If you found something that you would
Mark Nilsson like to show please bring it to the Sept meeting. Hobbyfest was a great success this year. The weather was great and
lots of people stopped and visited our display, many of them taking our Past President information and an application form. Hopefully we will get some new Wayne Wilcocks members.
One problem we have with our club is finding a presenters to do a Secretary: talk at our meetings. If anyone knows someone or would like to do a talk Cathy Bathurst yourself, please let us know so we can schedule it into a meeting. Hope to see you all at our Sept & Oct meetings. Treasurer: Ian Clarke Ivan G McKay, President
(519) 287-2506 [email protected] Card Secretary: Sandi English
Publicity:
Mary Rastall
Bulletin Editor:
Ivan McKay WHAT IS A RUBY? Club Representative: Ivan McKay/Mary Rastall . A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide). The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin CCFMS Liason: for red. The color of a ruby is the result of the presence of chromium in the Ivan McKay crystal lattice. The quality of a ruby gemstone is determined by its color, cut, and clarity, along with carat weight, all of which affect its value. A cabochon-
cut gem ruby with needle-like rutile inclusions may show six-point asterism; Group Leaders: these are referred to as star rubies. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July. Gp1: Mark Nilsson Rubies have a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and crystallize
as six-sided hexagons. Gp2:
.Notable locations for fine ruby specimens include Mysore, India; star Children’s Program: rubies from Ceylon; sapphire/rubies from Madagascar; and watermelon rubies from Tanzania. Adam Wisniewski
Web Site http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/Sarnia/
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct 2019
MEETING GROUPS
At each meeting the people in each group are responsible to get a speaker or entertainment for after the meeting and before the social time. They are also responsible for any clean up that is needed. Group leaders are in BOLD.
Group 1, Feb, Apr, Sept, Nov Group 2, Jan, Mar, ,May, Oct Dec Alblas, Arie, Diana Ali, Bibi Pot Luck Christmas Baars, Mitchel Bathurst, Cathy, Charles Dinner Bly, Kevin Brzeznski, Betty Everybody bring Core, Bill, Lyn Clarke, Ian, Shirley something Jackson, Melanie Halbauer, Kelvin Levesque, Jacques Kennedy, Mike Marchl, Walter, Nancy McKay, Ivan, Eleanore Nilsson Mark, Sandra McLaren, Noel, Martha Perkins, Lee Rastall, Mary Smith, Barb, Dave Schneider, Walt, Sue Tuskin, Marie, Steve Wilcocks, Wayne, Dorothy Williams, Peter Wisniewski, Adam, Ethan
Club News
Our meetings are held on the 2nd Friday of each Month Sept - May 7:30 PM at Twin Lakes Terrace, 1310 Murphy Rd, Sarnia. Enter through the front door and turn right. The meeting will be held in the area off of the TV lounge.
Our Sept Meeting will be held on the 13th at 7:30 PM. There will be a show & tell and a silent auction Our Oct Meeting will be held on the 11th at 7:30 PM. Program pending.
New Members: New members have been assigned to either group 1 or group 2. Please check above to see which group you are in. Thank you
Remember, if the weather is bad outside; please bring some dry footwear to wear inside at the meeting
You can always check out the newsletter on our Web Page.
Our Display at Hobbyfest 2019, Gremain Park, Sarnia
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
Ontario Geological Survey
July 29 at 9:52 AM · One of the longest escarpments in North America is the Niagara Escarpment. It is a prominent landform more than 1,500 km long, extending from northwestern New York through southern Ontario and Manitoulin Island, across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and ending in southcentral Wisconsin. How was the escarpment created? The Niagara Escarpment has been eroding to its current position for over tens of millions of years, eroding from a more easterly location over present-day Orillia and Toronto. The escarpment is made up of layers of sedimentary rock which formed more than 427 million years ago. Harder rocks that are more resistant to weathering (like carbonates or dolostones) form a caprock landform above weaker, more easily eroded rock layers (like shales and shaly sandstones). The advance and retreat of glaciers over the past few million years has sculpted the escarpment face, creating large bedrock valleys and hundreds of glacial potholes on the top of the escarpment. Large rivers flowed from Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario in front of the escarpment, eroding the softer underlying shales and sandstones and forming water channels, which is how the escarpment’s many waterfalls were created. The geologic formations that make up the Niagara escarpment are visible at Balls Falls, a conservation area near Hamilton, Ontario. The Upper and Lower Falls at Balls Falls are located at two different levels of the Niagara Escarpment. The Lower Falls expose the different horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks, with the oldest rock at the bottom of the falls, and the younger rocks visible near the top of the falls.
Lower Balls Falls. The sedimentary rocks that make up the escarpment face at Lower Balls Falls are of Early Silurian age, 442 to 433 million years old. Twenty Mile creek flows over the resistant weathering carbonates (dolostones) that form the caprock of the Lower Falls plunge pool. The red, green and grey layers in the cliff face are sandstones, shales and carbonates that record the marine history of the Early Silurian Period in Southern Ontario.
Upper Balls Falls. The Upper and Lower Falls at Balls Falls are located at two different levels of the Niagara Escarpment and formed over millions of years. The last major episode of sculpting, physical and chemical weathering occurred during the Wisconsinan glacial advance 22,000 to 13,000 years ago. — at Ball's Falls Conservation Area.
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
A map showing the location of the Niagara Escarpment, which is more than 1,500 km long. It extends from east of Rochester, New York, through southwestern Ontario to Manitoulin and Cockburn Islands in northern Lake Huron, and through northern Michigan to southcentral Wisconsin.
A revised geological profile of the Niagara Escarpment in the Niagara-Peninsula or Frontier region, southwestern Ontario.
The brown and blue layers near the top of the diagram are the harder rocks which are resistant to erosion. The top of Upper Balls Falls is in the Eramosa, Goat Island and Gasport formations group
The multi-coloured layers near the bottom of the diagram are the softer rocks which are more prone to erosion. The Lower Balls Falls waterfall flows over the multi-coloured Irondequoit to Whirlpool formations.
Source: Brunton and Brintnell (2019). The figure is modified from Haynes (200
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
Brad's Bench Tips
FINISHING PIERCED PATTERNS
After sawing patterns there's always a little cleanup to do, and the smaller cutouts can be a challenge. Needle files (7-8 inches) can get into the larger areas, and escapement files (4 inches) can get into some of the corners.
But I often find myself wanting even smaller files. I couldn't find them even at a watchmaker tools supply company, so I had to try something else. I ended up grinding down the tip of a 4" barrette file using a separating disk (or cutoff wheel) in the Dremel or Foredom.
Be sure to wear your safety glasses when using this tool. A flake of steel in your eye makes for a bad day. ------
MAKING FILIGREE WIRE
Making wire for filigree is quite simple. Take a double strand of 24-26 gauge silver wire, twist it tightly, and then flatten it a bit. While the basics are straightforward, here's a few tips that will quickly make you an expert with filigree.
Filigree looks best when the wire has a very tight twist. The way I do this is to start with dead soft wire and twist it until it breaks. It always seems to break on one end or the other.
I like to use a screw gun, although a Foredom also works well. You'll need a small hook in the spindle, either a cup hook from the hardware store or a nail that has been bent into the shape.
Be sure to keep a little tension on the wires as you twist. Then to get a real tight twist, I anneal the wire and twist it a second time until it breaks.
The final step in prepping the filigree wire is to flatten it slightly with a planishing hammer or rolling mill. The amount of flattening is a personal preference. I like to reduce the diameter about 25%. The wire will be quite stiff at this point, so it's best to anneal it again before starting to make the filigree shapes. ------
Be More Productive With Brad's "How To Do It" Book Amazon.com/author/bradfordsmith
For more tips or to learn new jewelry skills see - Amazon.com/author/bradfordsmith
Quiz Where is the longest cave in Europe located
France Switzerland Ukraine Slovenia
Answer on page 8
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
Upcoming Shows and Events 2019
Sept Scarborough Gem and Mineral Club presents their 50th Annual Wonders of the Earth Gem and 21-22 Mineral Show and Sale. Note date change to one week later than usual. Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM, Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM. Don Montgomery Community Centre, 2467 Eglinton Avenue E., Toronto, near Kennedy Subway Station. Admission $5 Adults, $1 Kids. Oct Ancaster Gem, Mineral, Bead & Jewellery Show is a 3 day event being held October 4, 5 & 6, 2019 at 4-6 the Ancaster Fairgrounds in Ancaster, Ontario Canada. This event showcases products like an event which is related to rocks, minerals, fossils, jewellery, crystal materials and also free seminars & demonstrations. Sign up for a Jewellery making class. Free kids' activities on Saturday & Sunday, fun for the whole family. Fossil dig for kids - using tools, they can dig out a fossil fish from a piece of stone.
Oct Kingston Lapidary and Mineral Club's Annual Gem & Mineral 50th Annual Show and Sale FRIDAY OCTOBER 18 10-9 PM & SATURDAY OCTOBER 19 10-6 PM 18-19 BALLROOM, AMBASSADOR HOTEL,1550 PRINCESS STREET, KINGSTON ON Nov The London Gem and Mineral Show is back for 2019, and bigger than ever. Join us in the Agriplex at 15-17 the Western Fair District for three days of gems, minerals, fossils and jewellery, plus tons of activities for the kids. The first 500 people through the doors will receive a free mineral sample or gemstone, and everyone will have the chance to win an Amethyst Cathedral worth $1000.00. Here are just some of the things we have in store for you this year: Friday, Nov 15: 3pm - 9pm Saturday, Nov 16: 10am - 6pm Sunday, Nov 17: 10am - 5pm
Shows & Events 2019 If you are truly interested in Rock, Minerals, Fossils and Beads come and visit us at the following events or visit us in our showroom. Date of Event May 3 to 5, 2019 Spring Mineral Madness July 26 & 27, 2019 Giant Jewellery Yard Sale August 17, 2019 Rockhound Family Day October 4, 5 & 6, 2019 Ancaster Gem, Mineral, Bead & Jewellery Show October 18 & 19, 2019 "You Rock" Sale November 14 to 25, 2019 12 Days of Christmas (closed Sundays)
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
CANADIAN GEMSTONE MINERS DISCOVER PREHISTORIC SEA MONSTER SKELETON
Credit: Julio Lacerda
In a recent moment of genuine surprise, Canadian miners hunting for gemstones in Alberta discovered much more than the iridescent, opal-like gems prized by jewelers and collectors. Instead of unearthing the glittering ammolite stones, this lucky crew stumbled across the fossilized skeleton of a prehistoric sea creature!
This 70-million-year-old specimen of a marine lizard was immediately identified by paleontologists as a mosasaur of the genus Tylosaurus, an ancient beast that once prowled the Western Interior Seaway from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Sea when that region was underwater.
If the name of this aquatic apex predator sounds familiar, a larger mosasaurus was the star attraction in Jurassic World's pavilion feeding show scene from 2015 that shocked the crowd with its ravenous leap into the air to snatch a shark snack.
Credit: Julio Lacerda Enchanted Designs Limited miners digging at Alberta's Bearpaw Formation for rainbow- shaded ammolite gemstones, which are created by the fossilized shells of extinct marine mollusks called ammonites, discovered the nearly complete remains of the "T-rex of the Seas" in soft black- shale mudstone. The impressive specimen measured in at between 20 and 23 feet long.
"We've got everything from the head almost to the tip of the tail," Donald Henderson, of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, told Live Science. "We don't have much in the way of flippers. They were lost to decay, or maybe they were bitten off." All mosasaurs had a similar body style, with heavily muscled cylindrical bodies, elongated jaws, and a powerful tail for swift propulsion. Its limbs had evolved over the ages into efficient paddles used for steering around the primeval seaways.
Credit: Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology "These things tend to be big," added Henderson. "I think they had to be big to survive in that environment. Once they grabbed you with their main teeth and started to work you back, those teeth would keep the food from struggling out. So the only way you could slide was down the throat."
Answer to Quiz – Optymistychna Cave (Ukrainian meaning “optimistic”) is a gypsum cave located near the Ukrainian village of Korolivka. Approximately 230 km of passageways have been mapped within. As a result, it is the longest cave in Eurasia, the fifth-longest in the world and the longest gypsum cave in the world.
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
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The Sarnia Rock & Fossil Club (SRFC) Sept/Oct2019
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