Dark Red Grains - GEO 014

GEO 014

Garnets

Class: Mineral

Location: Wingdale, NY

Details: many small pieces

The first specimen from the geological collection is actually a collection of small garnets. I got this small bag of garnet grains for free a few years back at a Mineral, Fossil, and Gem show in Syracuse, New York. Its chemical formula is Fe₃AL₂(SiO₄)₃, making it a silicate. You can clearly see the distinctive red color that garnets are so well known for, in the photo above. It was collected in Wingdale, Dutchess County, New York by Wingdale Materials. I got it a few years back so it was probably collected around 2007-2009, 2009 is the most likely.

More Information

EDIT: So I found a label card for these garnets from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The back reads:

"The name garnet comes from the Latin for pomegranate, due to the resemblance of some varieties of garnet to red pomegranate seeds. Their use as gems has a history that goes back to the ancient Egyptians. The primary use of garnet is as an industrial abrasive suitable for lens grinding, metal and glass polishing, and sanding leather, wood and plastic.

New York State's garnets come from one of the largest garnet deposits in the world, located near Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks. This deposit is a complex of metamorphic rock consisting principally of hornblende and garnet. Garnet crystals about three feet in size have been found at Gore Mountain, although most often the crystals are only about five inches."