Directions: We visited Sites B and C. Mitchell’s directions to the sites are generally accurate, however there is no street sign for “Mactull Ave”. It is the road just across the highway from the Chambless Water Company. A couple of blue painted cairns have been placed to help mark the road to site C. Use discretion when driving up these roads. For site B you can drive well up, but 4WD is recommended after the first parking area. For Site C, park at the bottom.
Google Map
Date: February 2010
Notes: At Site B we obtained several pounds of magnetite from a huge exposed seam in the gully below the main hill. We also got specimens of garnet crystal clusters and brown and green epidote containing hematite seams. Both the garnet and the epidote specimens are comprised of very small crystal agglomerations. At Site C the shale deposits extend for hundreds of feet in depth. We worked high up the mountain side splitting shale at numerous locations without any success. As we were leaving, we saw a party of 5 hiking up a foot trail to the north of the parking area to a shale deposit much lower down. Perhaps they knew what they were doing.
Parked below dig in Marble Mountains
Garnet clusters, epidote & hematite
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
We have been to these spots numerous times. This included the classic Latham Shale trilobite site, where we have collected some beauties in past years. We visited again this last weekend after almost two years. The classic collecting spot has been massively excavated back into the more solid shale overlying the weathered, platy exposures that have most of the fossils. It will now take much more exploring and digging along the shale to find productive areas, but they are still there.
You must log in to post a comment.