JGMS Field Trips

DMC Field Trip-Vulcan Quarry, Brooksville, Florida January 19th, 2008 Host-Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society
Sixty-one members from 9 clubs gathered outside the quarry entrance around 8:45am to get signed in and to wait for our guide for the day. It was a chilly, overcast morning but the forecast was for the rain to hold off until late afternoon. Our guide, Alan Pagels, arrived around 9:00am and gave us a short safety talk before leading us in to the collecting area. George Libby from GMS had planned and invited everyone for a trip to Honeymoon Island for the following day, but we had been informed that beach renourishment made collecting essential impossible. Alan was kind enough to grant access to anyone interested in coming back to collect at the quarry again on Sunday. After a short trip into the quarry, a large area in the bottom of the quarry made parking easy. As everyone scattered across the huge collecting area, mud soon gathered on everyone's boots making the hunt a good day of exercise.

DMC Field Trip-Vulcan Quarry, Brooksville, Florida
January 19th, 2008
Host-Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society

Sixty-one members from 9 clubs gathered outside the quarry entrance around 8:45am to get signed in and to wait for our guide for the day. It was a chilly, overcast morning but the forecast was for the rain to hold off until late afternoon. Our guide, Alan Pagels, arrived around 9:00am and gave us a short safety talk before leading us in to the collecting area. George Libby from GMS had planned and invited everyone for a trip to Honeymoon Island for the following day, but we had been informed that beach renourishment made collecting essential impossible. Alan was kind enough to grant access to anyone interested in coming back to collect at the quarry again on Sunday. After a short trip into the quarry, a large area in the bottom of the quarry made parking easy. As everyone scattered across the huge collecting area, mud soon gathered on everyone's boots making the hunt a good day of exercise.


61 attendees from 9 clubs ready to collect.	Alan Pagels discussing the quarry.


Alex and Kat Taylor from JGMS.	Lizabeth and Mickey McClain from GMS.

Looking for echinoid fossils.	A view of the quarry's limestone walls.

Although the day remained cloudy, it was relatively warm by the end of the day. It seemed that everyone found many echinoids and many people found sea urchins. Alan also allowed everyone to gather some nice gypsum that had been hauled in for their cement operation. Lizabeth McClain found the only shark tooth of the day, but a few other vertebrate fossils were found including dugong rib bones and vertebrae. Some very interesting sand concretion formations were found and the Florida Fossil Hunters Group were diligently working on some nice calcite vugs. To see a report from the Florida Fossil Hunters, check out Vulcan Mine (page 3).


Alan Pagels finds a dugong rib bone.	Charles Carter shows an echinoid sticking out of matrix.

Sea Urchins and spines collected by Charles and Lori Carter.(photo by Lori Carter)	Echinoids and other fossils collected by Charles and Lori Carter.(photo by Lori Carter)

Handful of echinoids	Few pieces of gypsum used in the concrete mix.

Sand concretions collected by Charles and Lori Carter.(photo by Lori Carter)	Other sand concretions.