Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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Florida Calcite Fossilized Clam Crystals.
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Calcite crystals in fossilized clam shells are said to be the most collected Florida gems. I've talked about that and Ruck's Pit in previous posts but decided to make a few photos after finding one of my photos being used by Google or Bing or whoever it was describing fossilized shells. They didn't give credit either, so they used copyrighted material without any mention whatsoever of the source. But the photo was good, and evidently useful, so I thought I'd make a few more.
An internet search showed the photo below, which was originally posted in the above post. It was made using ultraviolet light to show the fluorescence. It wasn't an easy photograph to capture. I guess I'll have to learn to label my photos better.
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Fossilized Shell With Crystals Photographed in Ultraviolet Light.
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Geologyin.com says, The calcite geodes [at Ruck's Pit] were also of special interest, as they had formed as large aggregations of dogtooth spar growing inside fossilized clams (bivalve mollusks) and whelks (gastropod mollusks). As far as is known, this type of dogtooth spar geode is unique to the Fort Drum Mine. However, I've found them on Treasure Coast beaches. In fact, the one shown immediately above was found on South Hutchinson Island, and it is far from the only one that has been found there.
I even once showed crystals that formed in the hollow of a fossil bone.
Here is one more photo of a crystalized shell that I just took in natural light.
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Fossilized Clam Shell Crystals.
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Here is a link to a good article about the damage done by fish trawlers to shipwreck sites and the items that come up in the nets.
Here are just a couple examples from that article.
Not only do the trawlers bring up the kinds of things you might expect. like olive jars and pottery, but also heavy and large things like cannons.
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There is a fairly large statue of a mermaid in the Indian River that is not very recognizable because it is covered with oyster shells.
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Source: nhc.noaa.gov
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As you can see, there is a new system down by South America that could develop. It is that time of year.
On the Treasure Coast today the surf is very small - only one or two feet. The tides are not big, and the primary swell is ENE.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net