NY Route 28 passes through some very old rocks, among them the Cambrian age (roughly 540-485 million years ago) Little Falls dolostone (a magnesium-rich “limestone”). Between Herkimer and Middleville a driver passes through a zone of rocks with Herkimer “diamonds.” The “diamonds” are more a curiosity than they are a valuable. They are quartz crystals known for a clarity that makes them appear as cut diamonds.
Herkimer diamonds formed in vugs, or solution cavities. Dolostone can dissolve like its weaker cousin limestone as groundwater carries carbonic acid into small and large fractures. It is in limestones and sometimes in dolostone that we find cavities, and in the former some quite extensive and large enough for tourists to explore, such as Mammoth Cave. In contrast, Herkimer’s vugs are little caves just centimeters across. And because of the magnesium in the rock, they are hard to expose. Those who seek the “diamonds” prudently wear goggles to protect their eyes from flying stone chips violently released as gem hunters pound rock hammers on hard boulders.
Regardless of their relative economic value—or lack thereof—the crystals always seem to elicit surprise and joy in the gem-seeker. The rather dull grayish dolostone serves as a contrast for the newly exposed “diamonds” that lay hidden for hundreds of millions of years in their little prisons. The lucky discoverer finds a reward in seeing the “diamonds” sparkle at their first exposure to sunlight—ever. The crystals formed in the vugs in the darkness of the rock.
Although the Herkimer diamonds do not carry the value of real diamonds, they carry a value in their unique clarity, the satisfaction of discovery, and their addition to a personal rock and mineral collection proudly displayed on some game room mantle or shelf. Herkimer finders are generally Herkimer keepers though mineral shop owners do offer them for sale.
Like so many others, I have pounded a rock hammer on Little Falls dolostone to expose a vug and discover long-hidden crystals. Unlike others, I have no idea where I put them. Nevertheless, I still value the missing crystals for what they gave me: A momentary reward for hard work in the joy of discovery. Breaking the hard rock to expose the vug and its crystals was the gem I carry on the shelves of memory.
Through our lives all of us encounter those moments when our hard work exposes a small gem whose discovery engenders joy because our efforts have been successful. Not every discovery or goal has to be the equivalent of Mammoth Cave with untold miles of emptiness through which tourists can walk and crawl for hours, finding as they go more emptiness. Discovering brilliantly clear quartz crystals in a small vug in dolostone can be, as it was for me, memorable.
As one who has walked through the impressive but already explored sections of Mammoth Cave and who has also discovered a small vug with Herkimer diamonds that no one in a half billion years ever saw, I can say that the joy of discovery increases as required effort increases. I wish I could say that the value of any sought after entity, once discovered, increases also, but having long ago misplaced my Herkimer diamonds, I would elicit doubts about my contention. Did I give them away or just lose them? The memory of their discovery has endured; the memory of their loss hasn’t.
Herkimer diamonds formed in vugs, or solution cavities. Dolostone can dissolve like its weaker cousin limestone as groundwater carries carbonic acid into small and large fractures. It is in limestones and sometimes in dolostone that we find cavities, and in the former some quite extensive and large enough for tourists to explore, such as Mammoth Cave. In contrast, Herkimer’s vugs are little caves just centimeters across. And because of the magnesium in the rock, they are hard to expose. Those who seek the “diamonds” prudently wear goggles to protect their eyes from flying stone chips violently released as gem hunters pound rock hammers on hard boulders.
Regardless of their relative economic value—or lack thereof—the crystals always seem to elicit surprise and joy in the gem-seeker. The rather dull grayish dolostone serves as a contrast for the newly exposed “diamonds” that lay hidden for hundreds of millions of years in their little prisons. The lucky discoverer finds a reward in seeing the “diamonds” sparkle at their first exposure to sunlight—ever. The crystals formed in the vugs in the darkness of the rock.
Although the Herkimer diamonds do not carry the value of real diamonds, they carry a value in their unique clarity, the satisfaction of discovery, and their addition to a personal rock and mineral collection proudly displayed on some game room mantle or shelf. Herkimer finders are generally Herkimer keepers though mineral shop owners do offer them for sale.
Like so many others, I have pounded a rock hammer on Little Falls dolostone to expose a vug and discover long-hidden crystals. Unlike others, I have no idea where I put them. Nevertheless, I still value the missing crystals for what they gave me: A momentary reward for hard work in the joy of discovery. Breaking the hard rock to expose the vug and its crystals was the gem I carry on the shelves of memory.
Through our lives all of us encounter those moments when our hard work exposes a small gem whose discovery engenders joy because our efforts have been successful. Not every discovery or goal has to be the equivalent of Mammoth Cave with untold miles of emptiness through which tourists can walk and crawl for hours, finding as they go more emptiness. Discovering brilliantly clear quartz crystals in a small vug in dolostone can be, as it was for me, memorable.
As one who has walked through the impressive but already explored sections of Mammoth Cave and who has also discovered a small vug with Herkimer diamonds that no one in a half billion years ever saw, I can say that the joy of discovery increases as required effort increases. I wish I could say that the value of any sought after entity, once discovered, increases also, but having long ago misplaced my Herkimer diamonds, I would elicit doubts about my contention. Did I give them away or just lose them? The memory of their discovery has endured; the memory of their loss hasn’t.
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