Ankerite with Quartz

specimen number:
2063375

location:
Pedro Pipe Claim, King Co., Washington, USA

description:
An aesthetic thumbnail specimen for this locality, the specimen consists of a single terminated glassy colorless gem crystal of quartz, this hosting two crystals of rhombohedral siderite measuring to 0.8 cm in size. One crystal is attractively placed at the top of the termination. In great condition.

Located along the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River in King County, Washington, the Pedro Pipe claim sits within the Snoqualmie Batholith, a late Oligocene to early Miocene intrusive igneous formation associated with the Cascade Volcanic Arc. Geologically, the site is characterized as an elliptical tourmaline-bearing hydrothermal breccia pipe hosted in granodiorite and tonalite, created by explosive high-pressure fluids during magma cooling. Historically staked as a patented copper, gold, and silver prospect, the claim saw limited early mining exploration, but later gained renown among mineral collectors for producing exceptional aesthetic specimens from open vugs. Private field collecting on the claim has yielded sharp, highly lustrous quartz crystals, rare Japan-law twins, brightly iridescent chalcopyrite, and complex associated sulfides.

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