Stilbite

specimen number:
2102207

location:
Upper New Street Quarry, Paterson, New Jersey, USA

description:
Lustrous crystals of stilbite to 1.0 cm in size across the top of matrix. In good condition. Nice for this American classic. Calcite present as well.

The Upper New Street Quarry, located in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, is a world-renowned mineral locality famous for its exceptional zeolite specimens. Geologically, the site is situated within the First Watchung Mountain, an Early Jurassic basalt flow that is part of the Newark Basin. The minerals formed as hydrothermal fluids circulated through gas vesicles and fractures in the cooling basalt, precipitating a diverse array of species including prehnite, datolite, pectolite, and various zeolites like heulandite and stilbite. Historically, the quarry was part of a larger complex of trap rock operations in the Paterson area that provided crushed stone for road construction and railroad ballast during the industrial expansion of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While small-scale quarrying occurred earlier, the most significant period of operation and mineral discovery spanned from the early 1900s through the mid-20th century. Although the quarry is no longer active and much of the site has been reclaimed for residential or commercial use, it remains a classic American locality, with its specimens represented in major museum collections globally.

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