THE
CRYSTALS
The above crystals came from Crystal
Peak, Blue River, Oregon. These are just some of the many that I
have dug out of the mountain. I havedifferent ones that are called
scepter crystals. All the little ones
in the above pictures are scepters.
They stop growing, then restart and there is a definite line to show where
they have restarted.
I also have some that have water
bubbles (called hydros) and some that have a gold flake in them, including
one crystal that has quite a bit of gold in it.
I have many that can be used in
doing jewelry, like earrings, necklaces,ankle bracelets and wrist bracelets.
I make some to hang on the rearview mirrors (bigger crystals) for automobiles.
CRYSTAL
SYSTEMS
Geometrical shapes, in which minerals
are crystallized are organized, by their symmetry in 6 main groups called
crystal systems.
Each group has many forms, but
all the shapes are related to the symmetry of that system.
Listed here are the 6 main groups.
1. CUBIC - Essentially cubic
shaped, but also includes octahedral (8-sided)
or dodecahedral shaped (12-sided)
crystals.
2. MONOCLINIC - One
of the commonest systems, this has a lower degree of
symmetry than the cubic.
3. ORTHORHOMBIC -
Prisms and flattened tabular forms are typical features of the group.
4. TETRAGONAL - These
are more elongated than the cubic.
5. TRICLINIC - This
is the least symmetrical of the crystal groups.
6. HEXAGONAL/TRIGONAL -
This is two systems that are grouped together because their
symmetry is similar.
A LITTLE
ABOUT
ME
I got into crystal hunting about
ten years ago. A friend told me about a place where there were crystals
just lying around and all you had to do was pick them up. The first
time that we tried to get there, we had to turn around because of the snow.
We had to wait another couple of months for the snow to melt off the road.
When I found my first crystal, I was hooked. There were a lot of
them just lying around, but they were just shards, not a complete crystal.
To find the best crystal, I had to dig into the side of the mountain.
I went digging for crystals for six years during the summer months.
There were times that I would go up two or three times a week and spend
all day digging. Some of the crystals look like animals, planes,
and a couple look like Battlestar Galatica ships. You just use your
imagination to see what the crystal looks like. I am not a young
man, but this has been a great hobby. I do not use acid to clean
the crystals like a lot of people do. the acid kills the crystal,
but by keeping them in water, they can heal themselves and also grow.
You can reach me at: cleve@crystalman.net
or kincaidrockhound@msn.com
Shane Schmidt
My son Shane's site: http://kayook.fotopic.net/
