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Vernal Mesa Quartz Monzonite, Black Canyon of the Gunnison River, Montrose County, Colorado, USAi
Regional Level Types
Vernal Mesa Quartz MonzonitePluton (Paleo feature)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison RiverCanyon
Montrose CountyCounty
ColoradoState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 34' 22'' North , 107° 41' 50'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
38.57281,-107.69740
GeoHash:
G#: 9wg7mmcnu
GRN:
N26W61
Area:
8.0 km2
Type:
Pluton (Paleo feature) - last checked 2019
Age:
1600 to 1000 Ma
Geologic Time:
Mesoproterozoic
Reference for age:
Hansen, Wallace R. (1965), Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Today and Yesterday. U.S Geological Survey Bulletin 1191, 76 p.
Köppen climate type:
Dfb : Warm-summer humid continental climate
Mindat Locality ID:
159391
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:159391:7
GUID (UUID V4):
0
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Vernal Mesa Granite


A monzonite occurrence located on National Park Service land (Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park). This locality is not listed in the USGS MRDS database. Collecting is absolutely prohibited.

The Vernal Mesa Quartz Monzonite was named by Hunter in 1925. Subsequent work and mapping by Hansen in the 1960s and 1970s located and described the geologic units in the area in detail.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List


7 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Albite
Formula: Na(AlSi3O8)
ⓘ Albite var. Andesine
Formula: (Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
ⓘ 'Biotite'
Formula: K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
ⓘ Epidote
Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
ⓘ 'Limonite'
ⓘ Microcline
Formula: K(AlSi3O8)
ⓘ Muscovite
Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite
Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
ⓘ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
ⓘ Titanite
Formula: CaTi(SiO4)O
ⓘ Zoisite
Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘTitanite9.AG.15CaTi(SiO4)O
ⓘEpidote9.BG.05a(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
ⓘZoisite9.BG.10(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
ⓘMuscovite9.EC.15KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
ⓘvar. Sericite9.EC.15KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
ⓘMicrocline9.FA.30K(AlSi3O8)
ⓘAlbite9.FA.35Na(AlSi3O8)
ⓘvar. Andesine9.FA.35(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
Unclassified
ⓘ'Biotite'-K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
ⓘ'Limonite'-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Hⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Hⓘ MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Hⓘ Zoisite(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Hⓘ Muscovite var. SericiteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ AlbiteNa(AlSi3O8)
Oⓘ Albite var. Andesine(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
Oⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Oⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Oⓘ MicroclineK(AlSi3O8)
Oⓘ MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Oⓘ Zoisite(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Oⓘ Muscovite var. SericiteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
FFluorine
Fⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
NaSodium
Naⓘ AlbiteNa(AlSi3O8)
Naⓘ Albite var. Andesine(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
MgMagnesium
Mgⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
AlAluminium
Alⓘ AlbiteNa(AlSi3O8)
Alⓘ Albite var. Andesine(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
Alⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Alⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Alⓘ MicroclineK(AlSi3O8)
Alⓘ MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Alⓘ Zoisite(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Alⓘ Muscovite var. SericiteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
SiSilicon
Siⓘ AlbiteNa(AlSi3O8)
Siⓘ Albite var. Andesine(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
Siⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Siⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Siⓘ MicroclineK(AlSi3O8)
Siⓘ MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
Siⓘ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Siⓘ Zoisite(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Siⓘ Muscovite var. SericiteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
KPotassium
Kⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Kⓘ MicroclineK(AlSi3O8)
Kⓘ MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Kⓘ Muscovite var. SericiteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
CaCalcium
Caⓘ Albite var. Andesine(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]
Caⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Caⓘ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
Caⓘ Zoisite(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
TiTitanium
Tiⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Tiⓘ TitaniteCaTi(SiO4)O
FeIron
Feⓘ BiotiteK(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2
Feⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
USA

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Hunter, J.F. (1925), Precambrian rocks of Gunnison River, Colorado. USGS Bulletin 777, 94 p.
Hansen, Wallace R. (1965), Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Today and Yesterday. USGS Bulletin 1191, 76 p.
Hansen, Wallace R. (1971), Geologic map of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River and vicinity, western Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map 1-584, scale 1:31,680.
Hansen, Wallace R. (1987), Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Depth. Tucson, AZ: Southwest Parks & Monuments Association, 58 p.
Eckel, Edwin Butt , Cobban, Robert R., Mosburg, Shirley K., Foord, Eugene E. (1997) Minerals of Colorado. Fulcrum Publishing.
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