Benson, Cochise County, Arizona, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Benson | City |
| Cochise County | County |
| Arizona | State |
| USA | Country |
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Type:
Occurrences near Benson.
Because of the discovery of Kartchner Caverns State Park a few years ago, Benson expanded its city limit boundary. The land is now close to double what it was about ten years ago. This expands the minerals which may be found within its city limits since the east slope of the Whetstone Mountains are now included in the city limits.
Most of the Benson area is alluvial and most of this comes from the Whetstone Mountains just to the Southwest of town.
Benson was also a site where a smelter was built in the late 1800's to process ores from the mines of Southeastern Arizona. The ores had been shipped in but the smelter was never brought online and the whole plant was sold to a company in Mexico and was moved.
There have been extensive fossils found in the Benson area, including several sites excavated within the Benson City Limits since the early 1900's. Several universities had digs in the Benson area and hundreds of species have been identified from the fossil beds in and around Benson from tens of thousands of years ago to up to 5 million years.
Because of the discovery of Kartchner Caverns State Park a few years ago, Benson expanded its city limit boundary. The land is now close to double what it was about ten years ago. This expands the minerals which may be found within its city limits since the east slope of the Whetstone Mountains are now included in the city limits.
Most of the Benson area is alluvial and most of this comes from the Whetstone Mountains just to the Southwest of town.
Benson was also a site where a smelter was built in the late 1800's to process ores from the mines of Southeastern Arizona. The ores had been shipped in but the smelter was never brought online and the whole plant was sold to a company in Mexico and was moved.
There have been extensive fossils found in the Benson area, including several sites excavated within the Benson City Limits since the early 1900's. Several universities had digs in the Benson area and hundreds of species have been identified from the fossil beds in and around Benson from tens of thousands of years ago to up to 5 million years.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities9 valid minerals. 1 erroneous literature entry.
Rock Types Recorded
Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 References: Rolf LuetckeIdentified by Rolf Luetcke: Visual Identification |
| ⓘ Graphite Formula: C Description: As graphitic clay. References: |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ Gypsum var. Satin Spar Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O References: |
| ⓘ Gypsum var. Selenite Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O Description: Crystals in red clay. |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 References: Rolf LuetckeIdentified by Rolf Luetcke: Visual Identification |
| ⓘ Hübnerite Formula: MnWO4 References: |
| ⓘ Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 References: Rolf LuetckeIdentified by Rolf Luetcke: Visual Identification |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 References: Rolf LuetckeIdentified by Rolf Luetcke: Visual Identification |
| ⓘ Formula: Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 Description: From Rolf Luetcke: "Tony (excalibur minerals) wrote that he didn't add the species himself but someone did from one of his old sales lists. The specimen came from the Forrest Cureton collection he purchased. The label for the piece came originally from Sid Williams. The label said "near Benson" but even Tony knew about Sid's way of not giving locations. Tony said near can be up to 25 miles, still near geologically. He said the material was listed as found with Sulfides in Quartz, definitely not something from here." References: |
| ⓘ Orthoclase Formula: K(AlSi3O8) References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony Formula: SiO2 References: Luetcke, Rolf (n.d.) Personal communication.Identified by Rolf Luetcke: Visual Identification |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Graphite | 1.CB.05a | C |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Neyite ? | 2.JB.25i | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Chalcedony | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| ⓘ | Hübnerite | 4.DB.30 | MnWO4 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ | var. Selenite | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ | var. Satin Spar Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Orthoclase | 9.FA.30 | K(AlSi3O8) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Gypsum var. Selenite | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| H | ⓘ Gypsum var. Satin Spar Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Graphite | C |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Hübnerite | MnWO4 |
| O | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Orthoclase | K(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum var. Selenite | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum var. Satin Spar Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Orthoclase | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Orthoclase | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Neyite | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum var. Selenite | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum var. Satin Spar Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Orthoclase | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum var. Selenite | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum var. Satin Spar Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Mn | Manganese | |
| Mn | ⓘ Hübnerite | MnWO4 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Neyite | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
| Ag | Silver | |
| Ag | ⓘ Neyite | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
| W | Tungsten | |
| W | ⓘ Hübnerite | MnWO4 |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Neyite | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
| Bi | Bismuth | |
| Bi | ⓘ Neyite | Ag2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68 |
Fossils
There are 28 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.
| Occurrences | 28 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest Fossil Listed | 1.80 Ma (Pleistocene) | ||||||
| Oldest Fossil Listed | 4.90 Ma (Pliocene) | ||||||
| Stratigraphic Units |
| ||||||
| Fossils from Region | Click here to show the list. | ||||||
| Fossil Localities | Click to show 1 fossil locality |
Other Databases
| Wikipedia: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson,_Arizona |
|---|---|
| Wikidata ID: | Q79672 |
| GeoNames ID: | 5553284 |
Mindat Articles
Detective Work on a Rare Mineral by Rolf LuetckeLocalities in this Region
- Arizona
- Cochise County
Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect
North AmericaContinent
- Sonoran DesertDesert
- San Pedro river valleyValley
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mazatzal DomainDomain
- Southern Basin and RangeWide Rift
USA
- Arizona
- Whetstone Mining DistrictMining District
- Whetstone MountainsMountain Range
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References
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Benson, Cochise County, Arizona, USA