Epidote with Quartz

specimen number:
2102180

location:
Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, USA

description:
A fine cluster of large thick deep green blocky crystals of epidote with minor quartz. Very minimal damage present, I feel that this piece is in good condition.

The Prince of Wales Island, specifically the Green Monster Mountain locality in the Ketchikan District of Alaska, is a world-class site for exceptional epidote crystals. Geologically, the deposit is a contact metamorphic skarn formed where Cretaceous-aged granodiorite intruded into Paleozoic limestones and marbles. This intense heat and chemical exchange created large pockets filled with high-quality minerals, where the epidote occurs as lustrous, deep green to nearly black, tabular crystals that are often doubly terminated. Historically, the site was first explored for copper and gold in the early 1900s, but its significance as a specimen locality was realized later in the mid-20th century. Most dedicated mineral mining occurred sporadically from the 1960s through the 2000s under various small-scale claims. The crystals recovered from this rugged, high-altitude terrain are considered among the finest in the world, frequently associated with sharp quartz crystals and dark green uralite.

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