 | Washington Pass, Okanogan County, Washington |
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LOCALITY IMAGES
GEOLOGY
Golden Horn Batholith - Tertiary. The Golden Horn Batholith is a highly evolved alkaline (Sodium rich) granite that contains a high concentration of REE (rare earth elements) and other incompatible elements (such as zirconium). During fractional crystallization of the magma, the residual liquid became increasingly enriched in these incompatible elements as the rock-forming mineral phases that were crystallizing rejected them. Late stage volatile rich fluids carrying this highly fractionated chemistry precipitated a suite of rare minerals in miarolitic cavities within the alkaline granite. The Golden Horn Batholith is the type locality for three of these rare mineral species, zektzerite- NaLiZrSi6O15, the REE mineral, okanoganite- (Na,Ca)3(Y,Ce)12Si6B2O27F14 and calciohilairite- CaZr[SiO 3]3·3H2O. Over 50 mineral species have been identified at this locality, with a great potential for new mineral discoveries.
Collecting is within the Okanogan National Forest. The host granite covers a vast area of of alpine terrain.
MINERALS (complete list) CLICK for PHOTOGRAPHED
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Aegirine1
Aenigmatite1 Agardite-(Y)1 Albite1 Allanite-(Ce)1 Anatase1 *Arfvedsonite1 *Astrophyllite1 *Bastnäsite-(Ce)1 Biotite1 Calciohilairite2 Calcite1 'Ca-Catapleiite'1 Cerussite1 Chamosite2 |
Chevkinite-(Ce)1
Chrysocolla1 Clinochlore1 Elpidite1 Epidote2 Euxenite-(Y)1 Fayalite2 Fergusonite-beta-(Y)1 Ferrohornblende2 Ferrorichterite1 Fluorite1 Gadolinite-(Y)1 Gagarinite-(Y)1 Galena1 Goethite1 |
Hematite1
Kainosite-(Y)1 Löllingite1 Magnetite1 Malachite1 Masutomilite2 *Microcline1 Molybdenite2 Monazite-(Ce)1 *Okanoganite-(Y)1 Orthoclase2 Parisite-(Ce)2 Pharmacosiderite1 Polylithionite1 Prehnite2 |
Pyrite2
*Quartz1 *Riebeckite1 Scorodite1 *Siderite1 Sogdianite1 Sphalerite2 Synchysite-(Ce)1 Thorianite1 Titanite1 Wulfenite1 Xenotime-(Y)2 *Zektzerite1 *Zircon1 |
* photographed
Smoky QUARTZ with ARFVEDSONITE inclusions |
MICROCLINE, ARFVEDSONITE |
ZIRCON in miarolitic cavity |
Gemmy smoky QUARTZ |
Smoky QUARTZ with ASTROPHYLLITE inclusion |
ARFVEDSONITE |
MICROCLINE, ARFVEDSONITE |
ZEKTZERITE |
RIEBECKITE |
ZEKTZERITE |
OKANOGANITE, ZIRCON |
ARFVEDSONITE |
BASTNAESITE-(Ce) |
SIDERITE |
