Two strewn fields, two days, two meteorites

[CaliforniaFinder 5]

3 hours ago, hardtimehermit said:

Forgive me Calfinder, but you seem to be sure this is not a meteorite, maybe you have more education than me, but i don't understand how you can see thru this rock. Seems like weathering would cover anything from a broken corner. ht

The "crust" on it looks like it fell ~yesterday (no rust), but you're saying weathering's covering everything up? 

...And a broken corner is the same color and similar texture as the crust...?

That doesn't add up. 

It's fresh or it isn't.  Does it look like a weathered stone?  No.  Does it look like a fresh stone?  Kind of, but not really.  

Mike says the chipped corner is also covered in fusion crust because it's the same color as the smooth sides.  I think it looks like a piece of homogenous, fine-grained black rock that's been mostly weathered ~round, and then got chipped on one edge. 

 

[Mikestang 923]

32 minutes ago, CaliforniaFinder said:

Look carefully at this photo.  The rough flat side facing us is a broken face.  We're looking at the interior of the rock.

That's not the rock interior, that's fusion crust staring back at you.

[CaliforniaFinder 5]

1 hour ago, Mikestang said:

That's not the rock interior, that's fusion crust staring back at you.

Then the sharp edge doesn't make sense. 

Fusion crust - sharp broken edge - fusion crust

- doesn't work.  That ain't crust.  

[Mikestang 923]

There are no sharp edges, not sure what you're seeing to think that.

It absolutely, undoubtedly, is fusion crust.  Nothing else looks like fusion crust does.

[Mikestang 923]

All of the edges are smooth and rounded, just like you would expect.

Invitation stands to look at it in person, just let me know.

[Mikestang 923]

Hard to get the right focus this way, lose a lot of the fusion crusty details.

[Morlock 1,678]

1 hour ago, CaliforniaFinder said:

Then the sharp edge doesn't make sense. 

Fusion crust - sharp broken edge - fusion crust

- doesn't work.  That ain't crust.  

WillM... Is CF an alias of yours?

[CaliforniaFinder 5]

Jason Utas here.  There are rocks that look like that, and that's not fusion crust...

[Mikestang 923]

I, and everyone else who has seen it in person, disagree.

[GotAU? 98]

I’m not sure what that is, it looked like a meteorite to me, but I am new to this. But I do know ventifacts can get smoothed out like that too.  I often get fooled by the basalt ones thinking they are meteorites until I look at them closely. If they are are on stable ground like desert pavement, it helps to note their orientation, as they are usually oriented to the prevailing winds much like little petrified sand dunes.

Edited February 26, 2020 by GotAU?

[Mikestang 923]

When you look at fusion crust under a loupe there is no doubt what it is; this find is no exception.  I'm glad to let anyone look at it that so desires.

[Mikestang 923]

7 hours ago, hardtimehermit said:

Well i was just looking up BHC meteorite, to see what all the fuss is

The best place for pict of some of the finds is Larry Atkins' page: https://cosmicconnectionmeteorites.com/bullhead-city/

The lack of oxidation is interesting, but not unheard of.  E.g. I have Holbrook finds that run the gambit of "looks like it fell yesterday" to "looks like it fell 1000 years ago in a swamp".  My sole cold find looks like it fell a couple hundred years ago, but classified as W0.

[hardtimehermit 509]

Maybe it's from a different fall? It does look different than any BHC , but whatever it's what you feel you need to do or don't do. Looks like a nice trip was had regardless. 

[WillM 68]

19 hours ago, Morlock said:

WillM... Is CF an alias of yours?

No ha ha ha , I think that rule is true but on rare occasion a spalled edge will pick up something crust-like, however the surface of the find looks granular, like a slightly weathered iron to me.

Edited February 27, 2020 by WillM
Typo

[Bedrock Bob 3,999]

30 minutes ago, WillM said:

No ha ha ha , I think that rule is true but on rare occasion a spalled edge will pick up something crust-like, however the surface of the find looks granular, like a slightly weathered iron to me.

News flash Will. Irons are not granular at all. They are iron. 

 

[WillM 68]

35 minutes ago, Bedrock Bob said:

News flash Will. Irons are not granular at all. They are iron. 

 

The fusion crust becomes granular in appearance after some time? Am I right?

[Bedrock Bob 3,999]

1 hour ago, WillM said:

The fusion crust becomes granular in appearance after some time? Am I right?

Nope. Fusion crust is a smooth burnished finish. On an iron it is often blue/black and polished. Crust on an iron looks very similar to mill scale on a black iron pipe when fresh. 

Anything granular reflects the texture of the matrix. Fusion crust is a thin shell polished by air friction. It is as smooth as a baby's bottom over the contours in the substrate.

After time it flakes off. Like an eggshell. Just like paint peeling off a car fender. And just about the same thickness as a paint finish. 

[wilcam47 3]

Is it open to public to hunt this area? Im not far from there now.

[Mikestang 923]

Yes, it's largely BLM land in this area.

[wilcam47 3]

2 hours ago, Mikestang said:

Yes, it's largely BLM land in this area.

Where do you get good BLM maps? Are you near here?

[GotAU? 98]

48 minutes ago, wilcam47 said:

Where do you get good BLM maps? Are you near here?

I would visit the Kingman BLM field office:

https://www.blm.gov/office/kingman-field-office

[clay 1,029]

You can use the most current land manager BLM maps on Land Matters. Land Matters gets their data direct from the BLM. The Land Matters maps are much more up to date than the paper maps some BLM offices still have in stock.

[Mikestang 923]

If you elect to purchase paper maps it's much easier to call the local office and order it, they're $4 each with no charge to ship.  But like clay said, they're not all that up to date (but better tan nothing and you can take them to the field with no internet).

[GotAU? 98]

2 hours ago, Mikestang said:

If you elect to purchase paper maps it's much easier to call the local office and order it, they're $4 each with no charge to ship.  But like clay said, they're not all that up to date (but better tan nothing and you can take them to the field with no internet).

I keep the paper maps in my truck for in the field, and double check them using that website to see if there’s any updates. Paper maps are so much easier to use in the field.  I guess that’s old-school though, as I still also carry and use a Brunton pocket transit and topos around with me too.

Edited March 11, 2020 by GotAU?

[wilcam47 3]

I just want to be legal.