Rucks' Pit, Fort Drum, Okeechobee County, Florida, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Rucks' Pit | Pit (Flooded) |
| Fort Drum | Town |
| Okeechobee County | County |
| Florida | State |
| USA | Country |
This page kindly sponsored by Pacific GeoLab
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
27° 31' 13'' North , 80° 45' 15'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Pit (Flooded) - last checked 2025
Deposit first discovered:
1900 (approx.)
Age:
2.8 to 1.5 Ma
Geologic Time:
Reference for age:
2005; SOUTHEASTERN GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY GUIDEBOOK NUMBER 45 GEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION OF THE RUCKS’ PIT NORTHEASTERN OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, FLORIDA by Thomas M. Scott and Guy H. Means Florida Geological Survey
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Yeehaw Junction | 240 (2011) | 24.8km |
| West Vero Corridor | 7,138 (2011) | 29.5km |
| Cypress Quarters | 1,215 (2011) | 30.4km |
| Fellsmere | 5,514 (2017) | 31.4km |
| Okeechobee | 5,608 (2017) | 31.6km |
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Aggregate Rock, Shell and Sand Pit
A rock quarrying operation from early 1900s to 2006. The Rucks family owned it after 1959, thus the name "Rucks Pit". It started producing wonderful and intact calcite crystals in fossil geodized Mercinaria clams in 2002 after the Rucks stopped using dynamite and switched to track hoe excavation. It produced many of these specimens directly from the pit between 2002 and 2006 when quarrying operations ceased. The pit was allowed to flood and the Rucks sold the property.
Before the pit flooded in 2006, Eddie Rucks removed some of the crystal clam productive layer and dumped it down the road by his barn where he ran a small commercial operation he called "Ft. Drum Crystal Mine". For a fee he allowed people to dig through the piles and keep what they found. Not surprisingly, as years went by the piles produced less and less. In late 2024 Eddie Rucks sold his barn property and the Ft Drum Crystal Mine. The new owners continue to promote the operation.
Pacific GeoLab - pacificgeolab.com - a Minnesota education and research firm, has exclusive fossil and crystal rights to the original Rucks Pit property and may offer limited collecting opportunities in the future.
While some literature indicates Ruck's Pit as being comprised of two pits - "North Pit" and "South Pit" - one was merely a continuation of the other as work progressed from the north end to the south. In 2006, when quarrying operations came up against the southern property line, they ran out of room to dig. Eddie Rucks shut down the quarry and allowed it to flood. The property was then sold and is currently used for grazing.
Before the pit flooded in 2006, Eddie Rucks removed some of the crystal clam productive layer and dumped it down the road by his barn where he ran a small commercial operation he called "Ft. Drum Crystal Mine". For a fee he allowed people to dig through the piles and keep what they found. Not surprisingly, as years went by the piles produced less and less. In late 2024 Eddie Rucks sold his barn property and the Ft Drum Crystal Mine. The new owners continue to promote the operation.
Pacific GeoLab - pacificgeolab.com - a Minnesota education and research firm, has exclusive fossil and crystal rights to the original Rucks Pit property and may offer limited collecting opportunities in the future.
While some literature indicates Ruck's Pit as being comprised of two pits - "North Pit" and "South Pit" - one was merely a continuation of the other as work progressed from the north end to the south. In 2006, when quarrying operations came up against the southern property line, they ran out of room to dig. Eddie Rucks shut down the quarry and allowed it to flood. The property was then sold and is currently used for grazing.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities2 valid minerals.
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 Localities: Habit: scalenohedral Colour: pale yellow-white to honey-brown Fluorescence: creamy yellow-white Description: Crystals grow in the interior of Mercenaria permagna (Pliocene/Pleistocene) |
| ⓘ 'Iron oxide' |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Iron oxide' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
Localities in this Region
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Suwannee-Wiggins DomainDomain
- Suwannee TerranePassive Margin
USA
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References
Rucks' Pit, Fort Drum, Okeechobee County, Florida, USA