Quartz

specimen number:
2102174

location:
Deer Hill, Stow, Oxford Co., Maine, USA

description:
Dark smoky purple large thick glassy and mostly gemmy cluster of quartz crystals with little attachment on the bottom side. Slight micro-damage present as seen. Quite choice for this locality. Beautiful when backlit as shown in the picture and at the end of the video.

Deer Hill, located in Stow, Oxford County, Maine, is one of the most famous public mineral collecting sites in New England. Geologically, the locality is situated within the Deer Hill Pluton, featuring granitic pegmatites that intruded into the surrounding metamorphic schists during the late Paleozoic Era. The amethyst occurs within hydrothermal pockets and cavities where iron-rich silica solutions crystallized into deep purple quartz, often exhibiting scepter growth habits and smoky quartz phantom inclusions. Historically, the site gained prominence in the mid 1900s and was famously operated for specimens by the Inter-State Mining Company in the 1950s. Today, the area is managed by the United States Forest Service as part of the White Mountain National Forest, allowing for seasonal amateur collecting. It remains a classic locality for Maine mineralogy, prized for producing amethyst with a distinct, saturated color that rivals many professional mining operations.

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