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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 12, 2011 - 01:58am PT
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Serpentinization, the hydration of olivine and pyroxene minerals at moderate temperatures [100 to 300C], generates heat, hydrogen and other materials relevant to supporting and possibly originating life. Olivine and pyroxene make up > 50% of the earth's mantle. These are primordial minerals that are present on the moon, mars, meteorites, etc.
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/2005.pdf
The Cedars are located in Sonoma County, north of Cazadero, in the headwaters of Austin Creek and in the Central Belt Franciscan Complex. It is a serpentine mountain range with perennial mineral springs, travertine deposits and chromium ore.
USGS Sonoma County Geologic Map (sp=serpentine)
Generalized USGS cross-section through the Cedars
Serpentine mountains.
Outcrop of cataclastic (cata- for catastrophic and -clastic for fragmentation)serpentine.
Biogeochemists and microbiologists from JPL and NASA have been studying the chemistry and bacteria in the highly alkaline (pH=10-12), highly reducing, oxygen-depleted, hydrogen-rich mineral springs and consider these springs to be a Martian analog.
"Wedding Cake" travertine deposits
Some great swimming holes too.
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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Feb 12, 2011 - 02:05am PT
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very cool.. where's that swimming hole?
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 04:07am PT
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"That is weird, wild, stuff."
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Feb 12, 2011 - 04:24am PT
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Thank you Johny!
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 08:08am PT
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Pretty cool! I've seen some other wedding cake formations like that, much bigger iirc, north of Lake Sonoma as well. Haven't been there for years.
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tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 10:35am PT
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I used to go to scout camp off Austin Creek. You weren't supposed to do it, but there was a great jumping rock into the creek that was probably some type of serpentine. We'd swim there everyday, and once the officials left, we'd jump off the cliffs.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 11:02am PT
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TFPU
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2011 - 11:48am PT
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DMT: thanks for that link to the McLaughlin mine. I'm going to check that place out some time.
Here's a link to a UC Davis website. Click on the sidebars if you are interested in the isotopic analysis of the mineral springs.
http://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/%7egel281/F04/index.html
There's also several photos like this one...
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Feb 13, 2011 - 08:51pm PT
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Cool Stuff.
Zander
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 13, 2011 - 11:31pm PT
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another photo of a travertine deposit where an alkaline mineral spring discharges from fractured serpentine
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Man, TFPU! I don't know how I missed this...now I have some fun reading tonight!!
When I lived in Soulsbyville we'd do this bike ride over to Tuolumne City and cross through a cool serpentine zone, I have a cool shark fin shape specimen from there in my collection.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Tradster, Totally awesome content! California is as beautiful and cool below the surface as it is at the surface. You folks really do suffer from an embarrassment of riches.
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 1, 2017 - 08:42am PT
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I'm glad you guys enjoyed it...here are some more photos...
An entire mountain range of Serpentine. When you realize that these rocks have travelled 10s of kilometers from the earth's upper mantle to where they crop out today is remarkable, to say the least...
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Really cool stuff, thank you. A whole mountain made of our state rock, didn't know this area existed.
Doesn't serpentine contain asbestos? Don't breathe the rocks!
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 1, 2017 - 08:54am PT
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Yup...
http://geology.com/minerals/serpentine.shtml
Use of Serpentine: Asbestos
Some varieties of serpentine have a fibrous habit. These fibers resist the transfer of heat, do not burn, and serve as excellent insulators. The serpentine mineral chrysotile is common, found in many parts of the world, is easily mined, and can be processed to recover the heat-resistant fibers.
The use of chrysotile and other serpentine minerals with an asbestiform habit as insulators has been widespread. They were widely available, effective in their applications and inexpensive to produce. By the middle of the 20th century, they could be found in most buildings and vehicles. They were used to make wall and ceiling tiles, flooring, shingles, facing material, pipe insulation, stoves, paints, and many other common construction materials and appliances.
After they were discovered to be connected to lung and other cancers, their use was mostly discontinued, and a campaign to remove them from many of their uses began. Removal programs have been ongoing for decades and are still being done today. It has been one of the most costly removal programs in history.
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Red Mountain, in the Siskiyou Mountains west of Mt. Ashland in southern Oregon, is made of serpentinized peridotite (i.e. serpentine), and has great outcrops exhibiting radial mineral formations of chrysotile. I went there for U. of O. Geology Field Camp back in the 70's.
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 1, 2017 - 05:04pm PT
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Cool stuff DMT!! Mention of the Great Valley Sequence, Coast Range Ophiolite, Franciscan Complex Coast Range Thrust (<=> Stony Creek Fault), etc got me excited ;-)...
This is an interesting compilation of evidence and differing interpretations over the past ~ 20 years RE the regional structural relationships
http://www.colorado.edu/geolsci/Resources/WUSTectonics/CACoastRanges/websiteberlin.html
Tectonic Wedgie? or NOT?
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ChrisS
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 18, 2017 - 02:01pm PT
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Neat post and photos, Vic!
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