MAGS home page
Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society
Contact: W.C. McDaniel, Show Chairman
2038 Central Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104 [USA]
901.274.7706 • w.c.mcd@worldnet.att.net
 

MAGS is a member of:

Southeast
Federation of
Mineralogical
Societies

American
Federation of
Mineralogical
Societies

MAGS News Highlights
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UPCOMING MAGS EVENTS
05.03.12 -- 6:30pm -- MAGS Board Meeting, St. Francis Hospital
05.11.12 -- 7:30pm -- MAGS Membership Meeting, Shady Grove Presbyterian Church: adult program will be "Fossil Fishing in Kansas" with Dr. Michael Gibson"; youth program will be "Crystals" with Idajean Jordan
05.19.12 -- TBA -- MAGS Field Trip to Nonconnah Creek [jasper, agates, petrified wood, ice age fossils]
05.26.12 -- TBA -- DMC Field Trip to Jackson, MS [jasper, chert, agates and petrified wood]

Important Note: Non-members are not permitted to participate in any MAGS field trips. This includes all areas: public, private collecting, and pay sites. No exceptions.

FROM THE MAY 2012 MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
FOSSIL FISHING IN KANSAS

04.05.12: MIKE BALDWIN: In May 2011, Dr. Michael Gibson took nine UT Martin students “fishing” for Cretaceous marine fossils near Dighton, Kansas, in the Niobrara Formation. >>Read more in the May Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE APRIL 2012 MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
DON'T MISS THESE EVENTS IN APRIL

04.05.12: MIKE BALDWIN: The FIRST ROCK SWAP OF 2012 will be Saturday, April 7 from 10:00am until 2:00pm at the home of Jim and Hasami McNeil! MAGS members: Don't miss it! It's a rock swap [if you want to swap rocks], a rock sell [if you want to sell rocks], a rock buy [if you want to buy rocks], a potluck lunch [if you want to eat lunch], a morning/afternoon of fun and games and a look at some awesome minerals from around the world. AND THEN: The last weekend of April is THE EARTH WIDE OPEN: 2012 Memphis Mineral, Fossil and Jewlery Show at the Agricenter. Members, we need you to help set up on Thursday and Friday, then join other members, vendors and exhibitors Friday night for a BBQ dinner. The show is Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29. Your MAGS membeship admits you to the show free. We need you to volunteer to help with the logistics fo the show. >>Read more in the April Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE MARCH 2012 MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
Natchez Trace Parkway geological resources

03.05.12: DR. RONALD ZURAWSKY: My talk [Friday night, March 9] will focus mainly on the portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway that traverses Middle Tennessee and the northern parts of Alabama and Mississippi. I will begin by discussing the Coastal Plain, Western Highland Rim, and Central Basin physiographic provinces. For each I will also talk about the geology and geologic ages of the various sediments and formations found within each region.>>Read more in the March Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2012 MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
Building and thinking with stone in central Madagascar

02.10.12: MIKE BALDWIN: Our February program will be a short prehistory and history of Madagascar [dating back 2,000 years], the fourth largest island in the world. >>Read more in the February Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE JANUARY 2012MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
Two Great Programs at the January Members Meeting

01.05.12: MIKE BALDWIN: Don't miss the January Membership Meeting. The Adult Program will be on fluorescent minerals presented by Alan Schaeffer. While the adults are enjoying Alan's program, the youth will be learning how to clean and care for fossils during a program presented by Sherri Baldwin. So, kids bring your parents to the January meeting. They will have plenty to keep them busy while you are enjoying the youth program. >>Read more in the January Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE DECEMBER 2011 MAGS ROCKHOUND NEWS
Texas Ammonites

12.04.2011: MIKE BALDWIN: Three MAGS members recently traveled to Cooke County, Texas, to collect ammonite fossils. This area of Texas is one of the few places in the world where fossil ammonites are plentiful on the
surface. >>Read more in the December Rockhounds News >>

FROM THE NOVEMBER 2011 MAGS FIELD TRIP
MAGS Visits the Wells Creek Impact Crater

11.19.2011: MIKE BALDWIN: Thanks to Marc Mueller for organizing and Marvin Berwin for leading an awesome field trip to Wells Creek Basin Impact Crater, Cumberland City, TN on November 19. About a dozen MAGS members [including 4 brand new members who drove all the way from Atlanta] enjoyed a very educational day of touring and shattercone collecting. >> Read about this and other events in the November Rockhounds News >

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On the MAGS blog
Topics on the MAGS blog include: Collecting petrified wood, Wells Creek Impact Crater, Frankstown fossils, Great Smoky Mountains geology, Tennessee geology, fluorescent minerals and meteorites. Drop by and check it out.


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"The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
–Marcel Proust (French Philosopher)

"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
–Sir Edmund Hillary

" How to minimize the impact of a volcanic eruption
already in progress . . . Run."
–Anonymous

Click here to find out how you can become a member of MAGS.
If you have questions about the club, click here to send an email.
For information about the 2012 Memphis Mineral, Fossil and Jewelry Show visit the Earth Wide Open website.

May calendar

MAGS Field Guide Blog

Field Guide Blog Index

Frankstown article

Dangers in the field

Links page

Space Exploration pages

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CLICK HERE TO VISIT, ASK QUESTIONS OR LEAVE COMMENTS ON THE MAGS FIELD GUIDE TO ROCKS, MINERALS AND FOSSILS BLOG.

CLICK HERE FOR AN INDEX OF TOPICS ON THE BLOG.
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Click on the image below to read the MAGS newsletter

May MAGS Rockhound News

T.O. Fuller Excavation Pub Listed by Permission

The T.O. Fuller Report

Tennessee Fossil Pubs Listed by Permission

Coon Creek Fossils: Part 1
Coon Creek Fossils: Part 2
Lower Devonian Fossils of TN

AUGUST MAGS LIBRARY UPDATE
23 books added to library
[01] Agates: Treasures of the Earth--Pabian
[02] A Geologic Trip Across Tennessee by Interstate 40--Moore
[03] A Geologic Trip Across Tennessee by Interstate 40--Moore
[04] Indian Invention of New World Foods and Breakfast at Tanasqui--Brown
[05] The West Site: A Stone Box Cemetary in Middle tennessee--Dowd
[06] Limited Inventory Historic Steamboat Losses Lower Mississippi River Memphis--Pan American
[07] New Mexico Gem Trails--Simpson
[08] Midwest Gem Trails--Zeitner
[09] General Geology of the Mississippi Embayment--Cushing
[10] American Caves and Caving--Halliday
[11] Introduction to Environmental Geology--Keller
[12] Reading the Earth: Landforms in the Making--Wyckoff
[13] The Study of Landforms--Small
[14] The Uranium Prospectors Guide--Ballard
[15] The Handy Geology Answer Book--Barnes-Svarney
[16] Encyclopedia of Rocks, Minerals and Gemstones--Russell
[17] Complete Book of Cave Exploration--Pinney
[18] The Complete Dinosaur--Farlow
[19] The Rockhound's Handbook--Mitchell
[20] Fossils: The Key to the Past--Norman
[21] Prehistoric Life: The Rise of the Vertebrates--Norman
[22] Fossils: The Evolution and Extinction of Species--Eldredge
[23] Fossils of the World--Turek

BLOG UPDATE
Check out Argon One Blog
The MAGS webmaster hosts a blog (Argon One) and would like to share it with you. This blog is updated regularly. Click on the link above to visit the blog and leave a comment.

FLICKR UPDATE
Flickr Photostream
The MAGS webmaster also hosts a Flickr photostream (Argon One) and would like to share it with you. This stream is updated daily. Click on the link above to visit and leave a comment.

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Aluminum foil your specimens
09.09.2007: Many people use newspaper or sheets of tissue to wrap their specimens in the field. Specimens wrapped in newspaper tend to become unwrapped in transport. Paper can also blow away. Give aluminum foil a try as a substitute for newspaper or tissue. It's lightweight; can be stored and transported in its original container and torn off as needed; and you can use as much or as little as you need to wrap your specimen. Try wrapping your specimen twice: wrap the first layer loosely, then add a second layer a bit tighter. This technique will leave provide a bit of a cushion for your specimen and help minimize damage in transport. If you have other collecting tips and techniques that you have found useful, drop MAGS an email and share them with others.

LAPIDARY PROJECT
A Basic Pendant Wirewrapping Lesson
08.15.2007: Jurnesse Farley has granted MAGS permission to share her web lesson on wirewrapping with you. Click here for a step-by-step lesson on how to make a basic wirewrapping pendant.




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© 1998-2012 Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society. This page last updated 05.08.2012.