Let's Collect Rocks and Shells by Shell Union Oil Corporation
Let's Collect Rocks and Shells by Shell Union Oil Corporation
Let's Collect Rocks and Shells by Shell Union Oil Corporation
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Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG ETEXT LET'S COLLECT ROCKS & SHELLS ***
CONTENTS
COLLECTING SEASHELLS
SEASHELLS. . .WHAT ARE THEY?
THE SHELL AS AN ARCHITECT
LET'S MEET SOME SHELLS
WHERE TO LOOK
STARTING A COLLECTION. . .HERE'S HOW
COLLECTING ROCKS
ROCKS ARE MADE OF MINERALS
MAIN KINDS OF ROCKS
COLLECTING
GEMS FOR THE LUCKY FEW
INTRODUCTION
Shell has scientists who work with rocks all day and laboratories
filled with rock, mineral and crystal specimens. We are always
learning new things about them.
The pages that follow provide basic information about two subjects
that can be richly rewarding whether you follow them for profit,
as Shell does, or for pleasure, as millions of people around the
world do.
The two parts of a bivalve shell are like thin saucers, concave
inside, convex outside. The inside is smooth, polished. The outside
is rougher, sometimes with graceful ribs or concentric ridges or
combinations of both. Univalves are conical and spiraling, with
a series of whorls coming down like widening steps from the tiny
nucleus on top. Univalves may have spines on their shoulders.
The opening, called the aperture, has a delicate right-hand rim
called the lip and a heavy, left-hand edge called the columella.
[figure captions]
All these sea animals come from eggs, all different according to
species, but all laid in measureless abundance--sometimes released
into the open sea, sometimes protected in homemade nests, sometimes
encased in capsules strung like beads. Hatched, most baby mollusks
swim freely for a while, their tiny, transparent bodies almost
invisible to the naked eye. Then they start building a heavier
shell and sink to the bottom.
[figure captions]
There are shells named for people: CONUS JULIAE ("Julia's cone
shell"), PLEUROTOMELLA JEFFREYSII ("Jeffrey's Pleurotomella"),
and ACLIS WALLERI ("Waller's Aclis"). Many are named for the place
they were first discovered: UROSALPINX TAMPAENSIS, Tampa Drill;
and IPHIGENIA BRASILIANA, Brazil Clam.
[figure captions]
CONUS SPURIUS
"ALPHABET CONE"
CYRTOPLEURA COSTATA
"ANGEL WING"
TEREBRADISLOCATA
"ATLANTIC AUGER"
MUREX DILECTUS
"LACE MUREX"
EPITONIUM HUMPHREYSI
"HUMPHREY'S WENTLETRAP"
LYROPECTEN NODOSUS
"LION'S PAW"
FASCIOLARIA DISTANS
"BANDED TULIP"
DIODORA CAYENENSIS
"KEYHOLE LIMPET"
ANATINA PLICATELLA
"CHANNELED DUCK"
WHERE TO LOOK*
Knowing WHERE to look for shells you probably wonder WHEN is the
best time. The answer is ANYTIME. Mollusks know no season. Some
species appear suddenly for several days and then vanish; others
can be found almost anytime. Most mollusks appear at night, but
others work only in the daytime and go out of sight after dark.
The tides may have something to do with it. So does the weather--
it can be hot or cold, dry or rainy. While you won't find the same
shell at all times, you'll find a great variety at any time.
After you've had a good day's haul and a rest (you'll need one)
you must clean your shells. Put your tiniest, most fragile ones
in rubbing alcohol. Put the rest in a pot of fresh water and slowly
bring it to a boil. Let them cool in the water slowly to prevent
the glossy shells from cracking. When cool, your bivalves will be
gaping open; simply scrape them clean. Your univalves will be
more difficult; remove the animal with a crocket hook or other
piece of bent wire, turning it gently with the spiral; try to get
it out whole to save yourself trouble. Save the univalve's operculum
and slice it off the muscle that holds it. It will preserve
indefinitely and is a valuable part of the shell.
[figure captions]
GIG or fish spear (if you're going South) to keep pesky crabs,
sea urchins off. CLAM DIGGING HOE or trowel for burrowing shells.
CHISEL and HAMMER to get the clingers, spatula for frail limpets.
You may find other hardware handy, but these are basic.
The world contains more than 1,100 kinds of minerals. These can
be grouped in three general classes.
Many valuable minerals are found in veins running through rock. Veins
can be formed when: (a) mineral-laden ground water seeps into cracks,
evaporates, and leaves mineral grains that build up into a vein;
(b) hot water from deep within the earth fills cracks, then cools
and deposits much of the material in solution as minerals in a
vein--sometimes including metals such as gold and silver; (c) molten
gaseous material squeezes into cracks near the earth's surface,
then slowly hardens into a vein.
Other rock-forming minerals are the large family of micas, with names
like muscovite and phlogopite. There are the feldspars, including
albite and orthoclase. Others are amphiboles, pyroxenes, zeolites,
garnets and many others you may never find or hear about unless
you become a true mineralogist.
Many minerals take their names from a Greek word referring to some
outstanding property of the mineral. For example, hematite,
an oxide of iron, was named about 325 B.C. from the Greek HAIMA,
or blood, because of the color of its powder.
Some minerals are named for the locality in which they were first
discovered. Coloradoite was first found in Colorado. Benitoite
turned up in San Benito County, California. And so with labradorite
and brazilite.
Other minerals got their names from famous people. Willemite was
named in honor of Willem I, King of the Netherlands. The great
German poet-philosopher, Goethe, could turn up in your collection
as goethite. And there's smithsonite, named for James Smithson,
founder of the Smithsonian Institution.
[figure captions]
Rocks are the building blocks of the earth's crust. They may be
massive, as in granite ledges, or tiny. Soil, gravel, sand and clay
are rocks. THERE ARE THREE MAIN TYPES OF ROCKS.
3. METAMORPHIC rocks are those that have been changed from what
they were at first into something else--by heat, pressure, or
chemical action. All kinds of rocks can be changed. The result
is a new crystalline structure, the formation of new minerals,
or a change in the rock's texture. Slate was once shale. Marble
came from limestone. Gneiss (pronounced "nice") is perhaps
reworked granite.
[figure captions]
A Word On Fossils
Fossils can teach history. They tell us about plants and animals
that are now extinct--the dinosaur, for example. They can also tell
of ancient climates. Coral found in rocks in Greenland suggests it
must have once been warm. Remains of fir and spruce trees have been
found in the tropics.
How are fossils formed? Teeth, bone and wood don't last long in
their original state. However, buried materials decompose, leaving
a film of carbon as a fossil. This results in a leaf tracery, or
the outlines of some simple animal. On a gigantic scale, this process
of forming carbon has resulted in our great coal deposits.
COLLECTING
If you want to collect rocks and minerals just for the sake of
having them, you can buy specimens. Many can be purchased for
25 cents to $1 each, while a rare specimen can cost hundreds of
dollars.
The true pleasure is in finding your own samples. Later, when you
have a good-sized collection, you can fill gaps by buying specimens
or swapping extras with other collectors. You'll be amazed at the
number of amateur collectors. Perhaps no branch of science owes more
to the work of amateurs than mineralogy. Our great collection of
minerals in the U.S. National Museum in Washington, D.C., was
gathered almost entirely by two amateurs who devoted many years
and much money to their hobby.
Where To Look
Don't try to collect too much at once. Work early in the day or
late in the afternoon. A hot sun on bare rock can make you
sizzle--especially if you're loaded with equipment and samples.
Here's the equipment to take: newspapers for wrapping samples,
notebook and pencil, geologist's pick, cold chisel, magnifying
glass, compass, heavy gloves, a knife, and a knapsack. Later on,
you may want a Geiger counter for spotting radioactive rocks.
When you get home, clean specimens with soapy, warm water, applied
with a soft brush. Soluble minerals like halite can't be washed,
but should be rinsed with alcohol. A coat of clear lacquer will
protect some samples against dirt.
[figure captions]
A common rock
What Do I Have?
Get books and magazines on rocks and minerals. Many have colored
pictures that help.
But most of these are too complicated for the beginner. As you read,
look at pictures and samples, and talk with other rockhounds or
leaders of mineralogy clubs, you'll get better at identifying rocks.
Museum experts and your state's geologist can help, too.
[figure captions]
Blowpipe analysis
Diamonds are pure carbon, but did you know that rubies and sapphires
are corundum minerals--rare forms of alumina. In slightly different
form, they'd turn up on emery paper.
Other stones you might find are the quartz gems: rose quartz,
amethyst, rock crystal, agate, jasper, bloodstone. Or opaque gems
such as jade, moonstone, lapis-lazuli, obsidian, and turquoise.
You don't have to find them. You can buy gems in the rough or in
blanks, then cut and polish them to make your own jewelry or
decorations. This takes practice, plus a cutting and polishing
outfit, wood vise, maybe a diamond wheel. (Or you can join a
lapidary club that might already have the equipment).
[figure captions]
[BACK COVER]
A Brontosaurus
Revised 8/88
End of Project Gutenberg's Let's collect rocks & shells, by Shell Oil Company
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