Vermont Rocks! is CANCELLED
Fri, Jan 10
|Sharon Woods Park Visitor Centre
This illustrated lecture will explore the development of Vermont geology and share the history of major mining operations in Vermont with special emphasis given to the collector-friendly Lowell/Eden quarries at Belvidere Mountain well known for a host of minerals, but especially for grossular garnet
Time & Location
Jan 10, 2025, 7:50 PM – 9:20 PM
Sharon Woods Park Visitor Centre, 11450 Lebanon Rd, Sharonville, OH 45241, USA
About the event
Speaker: Ken Carlsen
Topic: Vermont Rocks!
The catchy title of his talk comes naturally to a retired high school teacher who was instrumental in having grossular garnet become Vermont’s state gemstone; talc the state mineral; and slate, granite, and marble as Vermont state rocks.
About 550 million years ago, a large volcanic island arc began to form. 450 million years ago, a proto-North American plate collided with that island arc. This collision, known as the Taconic Orogeny, formed the Taconic Mountains and was the beginning of what we call Vermont.
Fast forward to around 1824, when loggers began finding a cotton-like rock on Belvidere Mountain in Lowell and Eden Vermont. This strange rock would develop into one of the more important industrial products of its day. While collecting this ore, miners found amazing crystals, some of which have become world famous.