Definition: freak |frēk| noun

a very unusual and unexpected event or situation

Definition: geological |ˌjēəˈläjikəl| adjective,

the science that deals with the earth’s physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it.

Cape Fear Arch – The Geological Freak

The Cape Fear Arch is a geological uplift of sand and limestone. It started rising 35-45 million years ago and it’s still coming up, a centimeter or two per year. The sand and limestone deposits have led to a unique diversity of plants and animals. Plants such as the Venus flytrap are endemic to this region, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world.

Another way to say geological freak is to say geological aberration.

Definition: aberration |ˌabəˈrā sh ən| noun a characteristic that is a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected.

In other words, something VERY SPECIAL.

Lots of pushing and shoving going on

The arch acts like a wedge pushing aside sediments that are deposited on top of it. The arch is tectonic, and that means seismic (see definitions below). Charleston, is in a “hinge zone” of the arch. This is the point where its push tends to meet the shove of other features underground. Upthrust of land from the ocean rather than from river sediments cause the Arch to be home to dry, sand-based soils that harbor dozens of plants and animals found in few, if any, other places. These are called endemic species because they are native to a

particular geographic area. This is what makes them freakish or special.

Some like it Wet

Everything on Earth lives in a biome. A biome is an area of land with special climate, soil, plants, and animals. A wetland is one kind of biome. The wetland biome contains special plants and animals that, over time, have grown together to help each other live in that particular environment.

A wetland biome is an area of land where soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish (semi-salty). Wetlands have a large number of plant and animal species living with them. For this reason, they are considered “biologically diverse of diverse”.

Wetland Types:

Swamp - A Wetland where trees and shrubs grow on land that is flooded

throughout most of the year.

Bottomland - Wetlands along streams and rivers that experience both wet and

dry periods during the year. Bottomlands or Lowlands are often

forested.

Marsh - Marshes are the wet areas filled with a variety of grasses and rushes.

They can be found in both freshwater areas and in the saltwater areas

near our coast.

Pocosin - Pocosins are wet areas with evergreen trees and shrubs growing on

peat or sandy soils. Peat is a spongy-feeling material made up of

rotting plants. The word pocosin comes from the Algonquin Indian

word meaning “swamp on a hill.”

Wetland plants and animals can’t live in a place that is all wet, such as a pond, or all dry, such as a meadow. The water and soil mixture has to be just right for a wetland to be a good home for wetland species (plant and animal types). Wetland species have some special adaptations. For example, some wetland birds’ beaks are just the right length to dig for bugs and worms that live in the mud under shallow water

More Reasons Why Cape Fear Arch is Special

22 endemic species of plants

19 endemic species of animals

100% of the world’s native Venus flytraps

© 2009 by the Cape Fear Arch Conservation Collaboration

Copies can be made for educational purposes only

Developed and Produced by the  Cape Fear Arch

Conservation Collaboration

Malachite is a very popular mineral with its intense green color and beautiful banded masses. The banded specimens are formed by massive, botryoidal, reniform, and especially stalactitic Malachite that are dense intergrowths of tiny, fibrous needles. Dense banded specimens are often sliced and polished to bring out their beautiful coloring. The bands may consist of concentric rings with interesting patterns; such specimens are highly sought after. These concentric banded specimens are most commonly from African sources. Polished, banded Malachite has been carved into ornaments and worn as jewelry for thousands of years, and in some ancient civilizations it was thought to be a protection from evil if worn as jewelry.

Malachite is generally found together with blue Azurite, and sometimes the two may occur admixed or banded together, forming what is commonly known in the gem and mineral trade as “Azure-Malachite“. Malachite may also replace Azurite crystals, retaining the original Azurite shape but chemically altering it.

Stanley Rehder, affectionately called “The Flytrap Man,” passed away early Monday morning at Davis Health Care Center in Wilmington.  He was 90 years old.

Rehder was best known over the years as the owner of Will Rehder Florist, a company started by his family in 1872.Rehder had a deep love for the venus flytrap and became a national spokesperson for the carnivorous plants, even appearing on NBC’s Today Show. Well into his 80s, Stanley Rehder cruised around Wilmington, NC in a Jeep with the personalized license plate “FLYTRAP.” For many in the Cape Fear area, Rehder was “The Flytrap Man,” a jovial spokesman and advocate for the region’s carnivorous plants.

Although the Venus Flytrap has captivated people across the world, the plants actually grow in an incredibly small geographic area. In the wild, they are found in a 700-mile region along the coast of North and South Carolina. Within this area, the plants are further limited to living in humid, wet and sunny bogs and wetland areas. Because Venus Flytraps are so scarce, some early botanists doubted their existence, despite all the stories spread about a flesh-eating plant.

The Name Game

So, how did the plant end up with the intriguing name of Venus Flytrap? It’s not too hard to imagine how ‘Flytrap’ might relate to its insect-catching abilities, but ‘Venus’ is less clear-cut. According to the International Carnivorous Plant Society, the origin of the name is quite lurid. The Venus Flytrap was first studied in the 17th and 18th centuries, when societal mores were a bit more puritanical than they are today, and were somewhat obsessed by human urges and sins. Women in particular were often portrayed as temptresses, greedy for power. The botanists of this time apparently found a parallel between the trap of the plant — capturing and digesting insects — and certain aspects of female anatomy and behavior. Thus, the story goes that they named the plant after Venus, the pagan goddess of love and money.

Where was the first gold deposit in Canada located?

Madoc, Ontario. The Madoc area of Ontario had the first gold mine in Canada, but there was so little gold that the mine was

never very large, and gold in the Madoc area ‘ran-out’ before 1900.

komatiitic volcanic flows. Magmatic nickel-copper deposits are only found within these four deposit sub-types. Komatiitic volcanic flows is not a common sub-type in the world.

nickel, copper . The Thompson district of northern Manitoba is well known for its vast quantities of nickel and copper, and it is one of the largest deposit of its kind in the world.

Cu-Co-Ag-Au. This is a common mineral-metal assemblage, with copper being the most abundant metal.

Windy Craggy . This deposit, the largest of its kind in the world at 300 Million tonnes of metals, was prematurely shutdown in 1995 because of environmental concerns. Many of the environmental problems discerned by the environmentalist groups could have in fact been solved, and thus there should be mines in this region today. However, there never will be, because the region (and deposit) is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lead and zinc. These two metals are the two main metals found in any Mississippi Valley Type deposit. They are what define the deposits themselves.

Mississippi Valley Type. This mine is now shutdown (a fairly short time ago), but played an important role in Canada’s yearly production of zinc and lead.

Yes . Contrary to common belief, the ores of the Sudbury are not located in the Sudbury Igneous Complex, rather they are located in the offset dikes, which rim the rocks of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. Most of the Sudbury mines are located in these offset dikes, with a few being located in the Sudbury Igneous Complex itself.

volcanogenic massive sulphide. The Kidd Creek deposit also plays a very important role in Canada’s yearly copper, zinc, and lead production. It is considered a Giant deposit, and the shafts of the mine run very deep into the ground.

manto type, lode gold deposit. The Hemlo deposit is one of the richest and most well-known gold deposits in Canada, and the mines at Hemlo play a very important role in Canada’s yearly gold production.

founder of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonite was named after John Smithson, an Englishman who donated funding for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution.

During the day Dr. Rocks teaches the wonders of geology to college students. But come night fall the Crystal Cathedral is filled with the sounds of  younger  geologists.   Dr Rocks and his trusted assistant Daniel Five Toes spent last evening aiding a troop of scouts earn their badge in geology.

If your class or group would like to schedule a visit from Dr. Rocks, please contact us at pgarwood@cfcc.edu or call 910-431-1162

Our intrepid explorer Dr. Rocks will travel the globe and beyond in search of new wonders to share. Stay tuned for updates of his adventures from the Crystal Cathedral.

Cerro del Mercado mine, Durango Mexico
Specimen size: 4×3.3×2 cm
Description: A 3.2×1.5 cm green-yellow crystal is intergrown with a breccia-matrix containing quartz, calcite, apatite fragments and pyroxene partly replaced by yellow nontronite. The transparent  crystal has a good lustre but also many internal fractures. It is mounted on a wooden base.

Can you name this gem?

In Greece, people think if wine is poured into the cups made of amethyst, one does not get drunk after drinking that.

It is believed that a turquoise gifted to a friend or a lover turns his or her life into one of happiness and good luck.

In Germany, the garland of amber is hung around the necks of the infants, so that their teeth might come out without much trouble.

In Rome, a talisman having coral pieces is considered very auspicious to quell the bad spells of evil look. The Romans were in the habit of hanging chains made of ancient coral pieces from the cradle of the infants to protect them from evil effects.

It is said about turquoise, that when the stone changes its color into yellow, it actually signals bad times to the person who wears it.

Education is just one facet of Wilmington gemologist’s work

Gemologist Ben Smith uses a faceting machine to facet a smoky quartz at T.S. Brown’s in Wilmington on Jan. 13.

Buy Photo Photo by Matt Born

By Cece Nunn
Cece.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com

Published: Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 11, 2011 at 9:02 p.m.

Gems that twinkle in the cases of jewelry stores don’t start out as the sparkly pieces people wear.

Facts

Learn more

To find out more about gems, minerals and gemology, visit the website of the Southeastern Federation of Mineralogical Societies, www.amfed.org/sfms/

Shaping amethysts, rubies, emeralds and other natural beauties into creations that fit into pendants, rings, earrings, bracelets and more takes special skill and knowledge, the kind Wilmington resident Ben Smith has acquired over the years.

Born in South Carolina and a Port City resident for more than 60 years, Smith, 85, is a gemologist who earned the honor of being a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Great Britain in 1963. He demonstrates his skills of faceting gems Tuesdays and Thursdays at T.S. Brown Jewelry in the Cotton Exchange.

Facets are flat faces on geometric shapes, and faceting is the practice of grinding and polishing those faces. At T.S. Brown, Smith uses a faceting machine made at Fac-Ette Manufacturing Inc. in Leland and explains his craft to interested customers, visitors and school groups.

He’s also promoting gem education by donating parts of his gem and mineral collection to the Cape Fear Community College’s geology department.

“I realized we’re eventually going to a retirement home,” said Smith, referring to himself and his wife, Susan Smith. “We don’t have room for all this stuff. I wanted to put it where it would be used for educational purposes.”

For the rest of the story please go to:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110212/ARTICLES/110219894