Provenite

Strickland Quarry (Collins Hill, Portland)

QuarryClosedDraft data

41.5725° N, 72.6406° W · ± 10 km

Aquamarine and Beryl from Connecticut, United States, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

AquamarineBeryl

Aquamarine at Strickland Quarry (Collins Hill, Portland)

Old aquamarine specimen about 6.8 cm from the Strickland Quarry, Portland, Connecticut.
Old aquamarine specimen about 6.8 cm from the Strickland Quarry, Portland, Connecticut.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Sharp blue-green beryl (aquamarine) crystal about 7 cm with a little muscovite from the Strickland Quarry, Connecticut.
Sharp blue-green beryl (aquamarine) crystal about 7 cm with a little muscovite from the Strickland Quarry, Connecticut.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
Morphology
Sharp prismatic crystals
Typical size
About 7 cm
Color / luster
Translucent blue-green, lustrous
Associated minerals
Muscovite
Availability
No longer available
History
Old-time specimens from the feldspar-mica quarry

Sources: SRC-770 SRC-771

About Aquamarine →

Beryl at Strickland Quarry (Collins Hill, Portland)

Fully terminated yellow-green beryl crystal from the Strickland Quarry, Collins Hill, Portland, Connecticut.
Fully terminated yellow-green beryl crystal from the Strickland Quarry, Collins Hill, Portland, Connecticut.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Translucent heliodor crystal from the Strickland Quarry, Portland, Connecticut.
Translucent heliodor crystal from the Strickland Quarry, Portland, Connecticut.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
Morphology
Prismatic terminated crystals
Typical size
About 4.5 cm on the pictured specimens
Color / luster
Yellow-green (heliodor-like), also pink and aquamarine-blue; gemmy to translucent
Associated minerals
Microclinealbite (cleavelandite)muscovitelepidolitetourmalinespodumenecolumbitequartz
Availability
No longer available
History
Quarry opened by 1840; gem beryl crystals of this size have not been found there in decades according to the dealer

Sources: SRC-712 SRC-711

About Beryl →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Granite pegmatite intruded into and folded with the Bolton schist
Host rock
Granite pegmatite
Region
Connecticut
Country
United States

Coordinates are the town of Portland from Wikipedia; the quarry is on Collins Hill a few km from the town centre, so the point is only good to about 10 km. Opened by 1840 for feldspar.

Sources: SRC-713 SRC-712

Sources

  1. SRC-713 · Website
    Portland, ConnecticutWikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
  2. SRC-712 · Article
    Mineral Localities in the Vicinity of Middletown, ConnecticutFoye, W.G. · 1922 · American Mineralogist 7, 4-12 (MSA Collectors Corner reprint)
  3. SRC-770 · Database
    Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), WFS feature query - Portland, Middlesex County, ConnecticutU.S. Geological Survey · USGS
  4. SRC-771 · Website
    File:Beryl-75442.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons
  5. SRC-711 · Website
    File:Beryl-225159.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.