Quartz mine (Judd's Bridge kyanite locality), Washington, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Quartz mine (Judd's Bridge kyanite locality) | Quarry (Abandoned) |
| Washington | Town |
| Litchfield County | County |
| Connecticut | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
41° 35' 56'' North , 73° 20' 11'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Quarry (Abandoned) - last checked 2023
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 3,466 (2017) | 4.2km |
| New Milford | 6,523 (2017) | 6.5km |
| New Preston | 1,182 (2017) | 8.6km |
| Bethlehem Village | 2,021 (2017) | 12.0km |
| Woodbury | 9,755 (2017) | 12.2km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Danbury Mineralogical Society | Danbury, Connecticut | 25km |
| Bristol Gem & Mineral Club | Bristol, Connecticut | 33km |
| Lapidary and Mineral Society of Central Connecticut | Meriden, Connecticut | 45km |
| New Haven Mineral Club | New Haven, Connecticut | 47km |
| Mid-Hudson Valley Gem and Mineral Society Inc. | Poughkeepsie, New York | 50km |
The kyanite locality is in the southern part of the Steep Rock Association preserve, along the power lines. It is about 50 meters east of the wooden power line pylon nearest the old railroad bed, adjacent to a small, sloping outcrop of schist. The main opening is a partly flooded pit at the foot of the schist outcrop. The pit is about 6 meters square and is flanked by dumps up to about 1 meter high. The degree of work indicates it was opened long ago with heavy equipment.
Although it is in the Town of Washington, the closest village is Judd's Bridge, which is a little further south in the Town of Roxbury. Kyanite from "Judd's Bridge" appears to be first mentioned by Schairer (1931):
About a mile north of Judd’s Bridge…is a quartz vein which has been opened. Blocks of quartz and rock contain beautiful long blue blades of cyanite [sic], black ilmenite crystals, rare andalusite, and tourmaline.
Earlier documents may mention minerals occurring in the town of Washington but give no specific locality nor mention the name Judd's Bridge. Januzzi (1959) provides the most details on the minerals from the kyanite locality, later works mostly repeat his list or paraphrase his text.
Notice that Schairer, who is the first to describe what was already by 1931 an abandoned location, did not say it was prospected for kyanite. The locality was mostly a mass of solid milky "bull" quartz, mostly removed and very little of it is in the dumps. The other minerals occur only along the contacts and are what was put on the dumps. This locality is actually one of many small quartz mines found in western Connecticut (two others are nearby to the northeast). The erroneous idea that this was a prospect for kyanite evolved from repeated descriptions over decades of this aesthetic contact zone mineral in collecting guides and locality summaries (see references) that long post-date the mining. Quartz mining in western Connecticut was only slightly documented in an obscure publication by Bastin in 1908, ended in the 1920s and was very quickly forgotten.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
10 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Andalusite Formula: Al2(SiO4)O Description: "E. S. Dana reported that good crystals of andalusite could be found altered to kyanite and mica at Judd’s Bridge" (Januzzi, 1994). References: |
| ⓘ 'Biotite' Formula: K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 Description: anhedral grains in the host schist |
| ⓘ Clinochlore Formula: Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 Habit: fine anhedral grains Colour: dark green Description: Forms fine-grained masses at the contact between the quartz mass and the host schist. References: |
| ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite Formula: (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 Habit: fine anhedral grains Colour: dark green Description: Forms fine-grained masses at the contact between the quartz mass and the host schist. References: |
| ⓘ Corundum ? Formula: Al2O3 Description: Januzzi (1959) states "Corundum has been reported from the Judd’s Bridge kyanite locality at Washington, Connecticut, or in the near vicinity by J. D. Dana." Dana's System of Mineralogy only references the town, not the specific locality, which does not appear in print until Schairer, 1931. All references after Januzzi (1959) provide no confirmation, but merely repeat his list of minerals or paraphrase the quoted text. References: |
| ⓘ Fluorapatite Formula: Ca5(PO4)3F Colour: pale to medium green Description: "Crude, pale green crystals and masses occur in quartz", Januzzi, 1959. References: |
| ⓘ Ilmenite Formula: Fe2+TiO3 Habit: tabular Colour: black Description: "commonly associated with kyanite at Judd’s Bridge.", Januzzi, 1959. References: |
| ✪ Kyanite Formula: Al2(SiO4)O Habit: elongated, flattened prisms and subparallel aggregates Colour: blue Description: As beautiful blue, bladed crystals and crystal aggregates in milky quartz veins and in host schist associated with ilmenite, staurolite, apatite, and damourite plus the host schist's rock-forming minerals. Blades can be singles or in subparallel aggregates, reaching about 15 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. References: |
| ⓘ Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 Habit: anhedral scales, pseudomorphs after kyanite Description: "as pearly scales in quartz and as more compact talc-like masses that are apparently pseudomorphs after kyanite", Januzzi, 1959. References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 Description: As massive white "bull" quartz. |
| ⓘ Staurolite Formula: Fe2+2Al9Si4O23(OH) Habit: prismatic Colour: dark brown Description: Prismatic crystals to 4 cm in host schist (hiding under lumps in the foliation), but typically partially altered to chlorite and mica and so do not make good specimens. References: |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| ⓘ | Corundum ? | 4.CB.05 | Al2O3 |
| ⓘ | Ilmenite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2+TiO3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates | |||
| ⓘ | Fluorapatite | 8.BN.05 | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Andalusite | 9.AF.10 | Al2(SiO4)O |
| ⓘ | Kyanite | 9.AF.15 | Al2(SiO4)O |
| ⓘ | Staurolite | 9.AF.30 | Fe2+2Al9Si4O23(OH) |
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | var. Damourite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Clinochlore | 9.EC.55 | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| ⓘ | var. Ripidolite | 9.EC.55 | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Biotite' | - | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| H | ⓘ Clinochlore | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| H | ⓘ Staurolite | Fe22+Al9Si4O23(OH) |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Andalusite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| O | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| O | ⓘ Clinochlore | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| O | ⓘ Corundum | Al2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| O | ⓘ Ilmenite | Fe2+TiO3 |
| O | ⓘ Kyanite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| O | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| O | ⓘ Staurolite | Fe22+Al9Si4O23(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| F | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Mg | ⓘ Clinochlore | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| Mg | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Andalusite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| Al | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Clinochlore | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| Al | ⓘ Corundum | Al2O3 |
| Al | ⓘ Kyanite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Al | ⓘ Staurolite | Fe22+Al9Si4O23(OH) |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Andalusite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| Si | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Clinochlore | Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| Si | ⓘ Kyanite | Al2(SiO4)O |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Si | ⓘ Staurolite | Fe22+Al9Si4O23(OH) |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Damourite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Ti | ⓘ Ilmenite | Fe2+TiO3 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Ilmenite | Fe2+TiO3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Clinochlore var. Ripidolite | (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8 |
| Fe | ⓘ Staurolite | Fe22+Al9Si4O23(OH) |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Piedmontia DomainDomain
- Taconic ArcVolcanic Arc
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Quartz mine, Washington, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA