Benitoite mine and Los Gatos Creek in Coalinga, California.

GEOLOGY 3: LAB/FIELD ASSIGNMENT

Late October• It took quite some time for me to decide where I wanted to head

out to so I could do this Lab/Field assignment. I finally decided on going just a few miles out of Coalinga to go to two different places.

• The California State Gem Mine

• Los Gatos Creek

• The California State Gem Mine is luckily co-owned by one of my best friends so he walked me through some of the camp, the history of the mine and camp, and showed me rocks such as Shist (aka Crossite) , Neptunite, and lastly, Benitoite.

• Los Gatos Creek is a recreational camp site roughly half an hour out of Coalinga. When I visited the camp site, the creek wasn’t as filled as it is at times, but there were quite as few trees that I was able to get pictures of.

Los Gatos Creek and Surrounding Areas• Los Gatos Creek in located in the Diablo Range just outside of Coalinga.

• Although it was quite challenging to find geological history of the creek, I did manage to find out Los Gatos Creek/Canyon was originally named Arroyo Pasajero.

• The Arroyo Pasajero was occupied by Native Americans called the Chane, and was later settled by Spanish and, then, Mexicans.

Los Gatos Creek

The Livestock Coalinga and its outskirts is

known for having many open spaces that is used for either farming or livestock.

These cows seem to be Angus considering their color, lack of horns, and habitat.

Originally, this type of cattle came from Northern Scotland and have apparently existed there before recorded history.

All cattle are believed to have evolved from Aurochs, an extinct breed which used to reside in Europe, the middle East, India, and North Africa.

Image Source Page:http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/united-

kingdom/scotland/map.html

Angus Scientific Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Mammalia• Order: Artiodactyla• Family: Bovidae• Subfamily: Bovinae

Image Source Page: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/12300/12371/aurochs_12371.htm

• Going up to Los Gatos Creek (also referred to as the canyon for places before or past the creek) there are mainly cattle and horses roaming around, so next I stopped to take a couple pictures of the horses.

Livestock continued

• When researching what type of breed these two horses could be, I came upon a difficult fact: there are many types of breeds which could be black in color—many of which only have slight differences.

• The origins of the black breeds varies from Russia, France, Czech Republic, and Italy.

• The earliest known horse is the Hyracotherium, which lived about 55 million years ago in the woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere.

Horse Scientific Classification• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Mammalia• Order: Perissodactyla• Family: Equidae• Genus: Equus

Image Source Page: http://nmfossils.org/Select_2O.asp

Wild Tarantulas On an earlier date before I

had began my lab, I was once again on the road out to the canyon when something caught my eye on the road.

There were about three wild Tarantulas on and on the side of the road.

These Tarantulas look to be the Hairy Tarantulas.

The evolution of spiders in general is not well known, but there has been only two specimens of mygalomorph spiders that can be linked to the Tarantulas.

Tarantula Scientific Classification• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Arthropoda• Class: Arachnida• Order: Araneae• Superfamily:

Theraphosoidea• Family: Theraphosidae

The California State Gem Mine

The California State Gem Mine was founded in 1907 by James Couch, but R.W. Dallas reigned control over the mine.During the years 1912-1920, the mine was no longer being worked on. Over the next decades, the mine was leased out to many owners until it was sold to Dave Schreiner in 2005.From then on, they mine one of they rarest gems, Benitoite, and other gems.

CA State Gem Mine

Benitoite, Shist (aka Crossite) , and Neptunite.• Benitoite is one of the rarest

and expensive gems, and is also the state gem. Sizes of the gem are usually small but are hexagonal. They are most common a sapphire blue or white, and very slimly pink. On the hardness scale the Benitoite is a 6-61/2. It’s fracture is conchoidal and glows underneath an UV light.

• The Benitoite is found within the rock Shist, but better known as Crossite. It’s a rock that is rough in texture and has many fractures in which the Benitoite and Neptunite are found.

• Neptunite is black in color and opaque. It is brittle and the fracture is also conchoidal.

Crossite

Benitoite

Neptunite

Los Gatos Creek trees.

Classifying the Trees• The first tree on the

previous slide I believe is a maple tree. The scientific classification for the maple tree is:

• Kingdom: Plantae

• Angiosperms

• Eudicots

• Rosids

• Order: Sapindales

• Family: Sapindaceae

• Subfamily: Hippocastanoideae

• Genus: Acer

• The following tree seems to look like an oak three. Its scientific classification is:

• Kindgom: Plantae

• Angiosperms

• Eudicots

• Rosids

• Order: Fagales

• Family: Fagaceae

• Genus: Quercus

• The last tree looks to be a pine tree. The scientific classification for the pine tree is:• Kingdom: Plantae• Division: Pinophyta• Class: Pinopsida• Order: Pinales• Family: Pinaceae• Genus: Pinus

THE CALIFORNIA STATE GEM MINE & LOS GATOS CREEK

Bibliography

• Cattle. (2008, November 14). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:41, November 4, 2011 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Cattle?oldid=852142.

• bovid. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76030/bovid

• Hairy Tarantulas: Facts, Prevention & Spider Control. (n.d.). Orkin Termite Treatment, Pest Control & Exterminator Service. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.orkin.com/other/spiders/hairy-tarantula

• Hyracotherium: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article. (n.d.). AbsoluteAstronomy.com. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hyracotherium• Black Horse Breeds. (n.d.). The Equinest - Online Horse Breeds and Equestrian

Advice. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.theequinest.com/black-breeds/

• Breeds of Livestock - Cattle Breeds. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle

• Evolution | Theraphosids of the World. Kepping and breeding in captivity. (n.d.). | Theraphosids of the World. Kepping and breeding in captivity. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.tarantulas.tropica.ru/en/node/564

Bibliography Continued…

• Horse Classification, History and Taxonomy. (n.d.). Information on all horse breeds from A to Z. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.allhorsebreeds.info/horse-classification.html

• Intensity(I/I. (n.d.). Benitoite Mineral Data. Mineralogy Database. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.webmineral.com/data/Benitoite.shtml

• Large Herbivore Network (LHNet) - independent international nature conservation NGO. (n.d.). Large Herbivore Network (LHNet) - independent international nature conservation NGO. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.lhnet.org

• Los Gatos Creek (Fresno County, California) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Gatos_Creek_(Fresno_County,_California)

• Mineralogy Database - Mineral Collecting, Localities, Mineral Photos and Data. (n.d.). Mineralogy Database - Mineral Collecting, Localities, Mineral Photos and Data. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.mindat.org

• Tarantula - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula#Fossil_record

Bibliography Continued…• bovid (mammal) :: Evolution and diversification -- Britannica Online

Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76030/bovid/283864/Evolution-and-diversification