Microcline with Albite

specimen number:
8911091

location:
Lake George, Park Co., Colorado, USA

description:
Colorless non-lustrous opaque blocky crystals of microcline measuring to 4.5 x 4.0 x 3.0 cm in size very nice across the top of a white bladed albite crystal matrix. In great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection, as well as a second label noting that the piece was collected by Megan Ragias.

The Lake George area in Park County, Colorado, is world-famous for its complex granitic pegmatites associated with the Precambrian Pikes Peak Batholith, which intruded regional igneous and metamorphic rocks around one billion years ago. During the late stages of magmatic cooling, fluid-rich pockets known as miarolitic cavities developed, allowing large, exceptionally well-formed mineral crystals to grow undisturbed. Mining and specimen collecting in the region began during the late nineteenth century and expanded through the twentieth century as prospectors recognized the rich miarolitic pockets exposed along weathered granite ridges. Today, private claims like the Crystal Peak district near Lake George are actively worked by field collectors and professional miners using hand tools to carefully extract specimens. The Lake George pegmatites are renowned for producing world-class specimens of deep blue Amazonite feldspar intimately associated with lustrous dark smoky quartz, along with notable crystals of fluorite, topaz, and goethite.

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