Morris Dam Quarry (East Morris Dam), Morris, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Morris Dam Quarry (East Morris Dam) | Quarry |
| Morris | Town |
| Litchfield County | County |
| Connecticut | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
41° 40' 27'' North , 73° 8' 49'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Village | 2,021 (2017) | 6.0km |
| Thomaston | 1,910 (2017) | 6.1km |
| Plymouth | 12,284 (2017) | 7.8km |
| Watertown | 3,574 (2017) | 7.9km |
| Litchfield | 1,215 (2017) | 8.8km |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Gem & Mineral Club | Bristol, Connecticut | 16km |
| Lapidary and Mineral Society of Central Connecticut | Meriden, Connecticut | 32km |
| Danbury Mineralogical Society | Danbury, Connecticut | 40km |
| New Haven Mineral Club | New Haven, Connecticut | 45km |
A quarry created at the top of the hill immediately west of Morris Dam used for fill for the dam when it was built between 1909-1918. The Morris Reservoir is for the City of Waterbury potable water supply and access to the quarry is prohibited (see Mindat thread below), although collecting trips were common there before some time in the late 1990s.
The quarry worked a small outlier pluton of the extensive Devonian Nonewaug Granite. The granite contains many common pegmatitic zones, including miarolitic cavities that produced minerals very similar to those found in the more famous granites of Moat Mountain, New Hampshire - mostly smoky quartz and microcline crystals - some very large (>30 cm) - and albite. Many loose quartz crystals have distorted shapes resulting from recrystallized overgrowths on quartz fragments caused by pocket shattering during crystallization.
Very little has been written about this locality, it appears in only a couple of guides. Surprisingly it is not mentioned by Schooner's 1961 Mineralogy of Connecticut. Januzzi and Seaman (1976) wrote about finding "a pocket containing one hundred crystals at Morris; it has produced scores of beautiful smoky quartz crystals that have found their way into countless mineral collections in this section of the country." and "incrustations of tiny [bertrandite] crystals on smoky quartz at the dam site at East Morris; feldspar crystals are sometimes associated with the bertrandite." Henderson (1975) includes it in his list of Connecticut bertrandite localities.
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
9 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) Habit: equant or tabular Colour: white Description: Mostly as a rock-forming component of the host pegmatite, small crystals lining cavities, or as hemispheres of cleavelandite References: |
| ⓘ Albite var. Cleavelandite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) Habit: tabular Colour: white Description: As hemispherical aggregates in cavities |
| ⓘ 'Almandine-Spessartine Series' Habit: trapezohedral Colour: burgundy Description: Small crystals in pegmatite matrix, species is probably almandine but testing is needed to confirm. References: |
| ✪ Bertrandite Formula: Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 Description: micro-crystals in cavities |
| ⓘ Beryl Formula: Be3Al2(Si6O18) Habit: subhedral hexagonal elongated prisms Colour: pale yellow to pale green |
| ⓘ 'Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series' Colour: black |
| ⓘ Fluorapatite Formula: Ca5(PO4)3F References: |
| ⓘ Meta-autunite Formula: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| ✪ Microcline Formula: K(AlSi3O8) Habit: blocky, elongated Baveno twins Colour: white to tan Description: Mainly as a rock-forming component of the host pegmatite, but crystals in cavities can be very large (>30 cm) - some are on display at the Yale Peabody Museum. |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 Habit: tabular Description: Mainly as an accessory mineral in the host pegmatite, small crystals found in cavities References: |
| ✪ Quartz Formula: SiO2 Habit: short to elongated prismatic with rhombohedral terminations. Many loose quartz crystals have distorted shapes resulting from recrystallized overgrowths on quartz fragments caused by pocket shattering during crystallization. Colour: milky to smoky Description: Primarily as a rock-forming component of the host pegmatite, but crystals in cavities can be very large - >30 cm. |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Milky Quartz Formula: SiO2 Colour: milky Description: Mainly as a rock-forming component of the host pegmatite. References: |
| ✪ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz Formula: SiO2 Habit: short to elongated prismatic with rhombohedral terminations. Many loose quartz crystals have distorted shapes resulting from recrystallized overgrowths on quartz fragments caused by pocket shattering during crystallization. Colour: gray to brown Description: Primarily as a rock-forming component of the host pegmatite, but crystals in cavities can be very large - >30 cm. |
| ⓘ Schorl Formula: NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) Habit: prismatic Colour: black References: |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Smoky Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Milky Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates | |||
| ⓘ | Fluorapatite | 8.BN.05 | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| ⓘ | Meta-autunite | 8.EB.10 | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Bertrandite | 9.BD.05 | Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Beryl | 9.CJ.05 | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| ⓘ | Schorl | 9.CK.05 | NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Microcline | 9.FA.30 | K(AlSi3O8) |
| ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| ⓘ | var. Cleavelandite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Almandine-Spessartine Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Bertrandite | Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Meta-autunite | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Be | Beryllium | |
| Be | ⓘ Bertrandite | Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 |
| Be | ⓘ Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| B | Boron | |
| B | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Bertrandite | Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| O | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| O | ⓘ Meta-autunite | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| O | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Milky Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Almandine-Spessartine Series | |
| O | ⓘ Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series | |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Na | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Na | ⓘ Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| Al | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Al | ⓘ Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Almandine-Spessartine Series | |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Bertrandite | Be4(Si2O7)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| Si | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Milky Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Almandine-Spessartine Series | |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| P | ⓘ Meta-autunite | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Ca | ⓘ Meta-autunite | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
| Mn | Manganese | |
| Mn | ⓘ Almandine-Spessartine Series | |
| Mn | ⓘ Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series | |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Almandine-Spessartine Series | |
| Fe | ⓘ Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series | |
| Nb | Niobium | |
| Nb | ⓘ Columbite-(Fe)-Columbite-(Mn) Series | |
| U | Uranium | |
| U | ⓘ Meta-autunite | Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Piedmontia DomainDomain
- Taconic ArcVolcanic Arc
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Morris Dam Quarry, Morris, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA