ORTHOCLASE-BEARING VEINS FROM RAWHIDE,

NEVADA AND WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY.

AUSTIN F. Rounds.

Lindgren• was the first writer to emphasizethe occurrence

of orthoclase as a vein mineral. He describes the. mineral from
Silver City, Idaho,2 'andfrom CrippleCreek, Colorado.
a Spurr4
mentionsit from Tonopah, Nevada. Vein orthoclasehas also
beenrecordedfrom severallocalitiesin Germany, Austria, Nor-
way, New Zealand and Mexico.
Large orthoclasecrystalsfrom veins in the Valencianasilver
'mine at Guanajuato, Mexico, were describedby Breithaupt,5
who gave the namevalencianiteto this variety .onaccountof the
abnormalangles. ø Lindgren suggeststhe name valencianitefor
vein orthoclase. Valencianite has the same habit as adularia,
usuallypseudorhombic
with dominantm{IIO} and x{ioI} and
often subordinate c{ooI}. Valencianite is a better name ,to use
for vein orthoclase than adularia for the orthoclase of veins is
not usuallyclear and glassylike the typical adularia.
The objectof this paperis to describetwo occurrencesof vein
orthoclase,
onea quartz.•rth•)clase
replacement
veinfrom Raw-
hide, Nevada, the other calcite-orthoclase.fissureveins from Wee-
hawken, New Jersey.
I. A (2UARTZ-ORTHOCLASE VEIN FROM RAWHIDE, NEVADA.

Among a suite of lavas and tuffs collected at Rawhide,

EsmeraldaCounty,Nevada,by Mr. H. W. Turner, miningengi-
' A•n. 7our. Sci. (4), Vol. 5, P. 4•8, •898.
• 2othAn. Report U.S. G. S., part 3, P. I67, I9OO.
' Prof. Paper No. 54, U.S. G. S., p. •87, I9o6.
• Prof. Paper No. 42, U.S. G. S., p. 86, 19o5.
' oechweigg.
Jour., Bd. 60, p. 322, I83O.
'In the University collection there is a specimenof valencianite from
Guanajuato. It consistsof large (3 cm.) crystals which on accountof the
curved faces and pearly luster greatly resemblesdolomite. The forms are
•n{Iio} andx{r.oI} withverysmallfacesof c{ooI}.
79o
 ORTHOCLASE-BEARING VEINS. 79•

neer and geologist,and presentedto the geologydepartmentof

Stanford University, there was found a peculiar quartz-ortho-
clase rock. This rock was called a dike in the field, but careful
examinationof a thin sectionproved it •o be a vein. The hand
specimen(N.o. •2) shows white, almost opaque, valencianite
crystals(2 mm. in size) in a matrix of quartz. It lookssome-
thing like an excessivelysilicifiedporphyritic rhyolite with the
phenoca:ysts of orthoclaseintact.
For noteson the occurrence of this vein and on the geologyof
the region I am indebtedto Mr. E. C. Templeton,who made a
study of the rocks and ore-depositsof Rawhide and obtained
additional material for the University collections. Rock speci-
men No. !2 was collected from the surface above the tunnel .on
the Proske lease by Mr. Turner. Mr. Templeton could not
find a rock identical with this but obtained somewhat similar

Fro. 437. Valencianite in silltitled tuff (X 2o0). q -- quartz,

v -- valeneianite.

material,evidentlyfrom the samevein,a• a pointfifty feet east

of the Proske shaft on the southwestslopeof Balloon Hill.
BalloonHill is cappedby a rhyolite flow and surroundedon its
lower flanks by a silicified rhyolite tuff or dacite tuff. The
materialdescribed
occursas a singlenarrow vein up to •7 cm.
in width. The vein cutsthe silicifiedtuff, hasa vertical attitude,
andcanbe tracedfor onlyaboutfifteenfeet. It is evidentlya
replacementvein rather thari a true fissurevein for no comb
structure;
banding,
or brecciation
is apparent.It is not very
792 AUSTIN F. ROGERS.

different froin the tuff in appearance

and the boundarybetween
the two is not well marked.
The tuff is extensivelysilicified,consistingprincipallyof sec-
ondary quartz and minute valencianitecrystals(Fig. 427) with
subordinateepidotein fine greenish-yellow aggregates. As the
only original mineralsare a few remnantsof biotite, orthoclase,
and plagioclasek is difficultto determine.theoriginal character
of the tuff. It was probablyrhyoliticor dacitic. A low power
lensshowswhi'reor yellowishangularrock fragmentsin a rather
clear ground-massand some specimensshow fragments of
pumiceand perlite in the slide. The tuff is usuallym/tssivebut
is sometimesbandedwhite and gray or has a very fine textnre.
The rhyolite cappingBalloonHill is a light grayishporphy-
rkic rock showing floxv structure. There are phenocrystsof
quartz and sanidinebut the ferro-magnesium mineralshave ap-
parentlybeenreplacedby secondaryquartz. Secondaryquartz
is also prominent in the rhyolite and one specimen(No. 2t
from Balloon-Mascotlease)-containsminut'ecrystalsof valen-
cianite which are also secondary.
The vein material consistsessentiallyof quartz and valen-
cianite. Somespecimens
containcavitieswith smallvalencianite
crystalsof prismatichabitlike Figure428 (an orthographic
pro-

Fro. 428. Valencianite. FIG.' 429. Quartz.

jection with m(txo), b(oxo), at(iox) and c(oox)). A few

prismaticquart'zcrystalsterminatedwith the positiveunit rhom-
bohedron{tort} alone,were observed(Fig. 429). Thin sec-
 ORTHOCLASE-BEARING VEINS. 793:

tionsof theveinmaterialarerepresented
by Figures43ø (No. 1:2)
arid43t (No. 2). Thevalencianite
crystals
havea rhombic cross-
sectionwi.thsymmetrical
extinction.The valenciani,te
is rather

FIG. 430. Quartz-valencianite

vein. q = quartz, v -- valencianite. (X 4o.)

Fro. 43L Quartz-valencianite vein.

cloudy,'
dueto incipient
alteration
to both•ericite
ahdkaolini,te.
Sericite
in minuteshreds
'withhighorderinterferencec61ors
occurs in the centers
of .thecrystals
whiletowardsthe
thereis an opaquewhite'mineralwhich"'
is:probably
kaolinifS.
'
794 AUSTIN F. ROGERS.

The valencianiteis sometimesoptically normal but in some

•:rystalsshowsinterestingoptical anomalies. These crystalsin
:polarizedlight are divided into four sectorswhich extinguish
in diagonallyoppositepairs. The extinctionangle, measuring
from the short diagonalis from 5ø to 7ø as shownin Fig. 432.

Fla. 432. Fro. 433. Fla. 434.

Fla. 433. Valenci•/nite bordered by albite.
Fro. 434. Valencianite bordered by albite.

For theseobservations the large Fuessmicroscopewith rotating

nicols (No. VIa.) was usedwith excellentresults. The view that
orthoclaseis triclinic but submicroscopically twinned receives
somesupportfrom theseobservations.
Some of the valencianitecrystalshave a clear outer zone of
albitein parallelpositionas illustratedby Fig. 433. The extinc-
tion angle, rheasuringfrom the short diagonal,varies from 8 ø
to I5 ø, •:hemaximum for albite in the zone [ooI :IOO] being I6ø•
The albite extinguishesin oppositepairs the sameas the anoma-
lous orthoclase. In other cases there is clear colorless albite on
the exterior in parallel position as shown in Figure 434. At
Kirebinsk in the Urals albite• is found in parallel positionwith
adularia. Albite has also been found as a vein mineral in Cali-
fornia, North Carolina, and Australia.
A partial analysisof the vein material (specimenNo. I2, which
contained
no albite)madeby Mr. H. F. Humphrey,assistant
in
mineralogy at Stanford University, gave the following results:
KgO:4. IO, Na•O--o.28. As the sericite and kaolinite are
very trifling in amountk may be assumedthat all of the alkalies
are presentin the feldspars. The analysisof the rock calculated
from the percentages of the alkaliesis as follows:
• Hintze, "Handbuch der Mineralogie," Bd. II., p. I466.
 ORTHOCLASE-BEARING VEINS. 795

Si0• -- 90.70 Quartz -- 73.4x

A120a -- 4.92 Valencianite '-- 26.59
Na,O -- 0.28 •oo.oo
K,O = 4.To

This analysisis abnormallyhigh in silica and low in alumina

for an igneousrock. In Washington'sTablesof IgneousRocks•
the highestsilica percentageis 83.59 and only nine are above
80 per cent. The valencianiterecalculatedgives K•O = •5.48,
Na20--•.o4. A smallsodapercentageis characteristicof both
valencianiteand adularia and distinguishesthem from other
varieties of orthoclase.
The quartz occursin the interlockinganhedra typical of vein
quartz. It also shows optical anomalies. Between crossed
nicols the quartz exhibits a radial structure with wavy ex-
tinction in sectors. Sectionsparallel to the c-axis, which are
rather elongateand give the highestinterferencecolor for the

Fro. 435. FIG. 436.

slide extinguishin oppositequadrants,the extinctionposition

in the two parts beingonly about 5ø or 6ø apart as represented
in Fig. 435. Somesectionsare practicallydark betweencrossed
nicolsand give a positiveinterferencefigurein convergentlight.
I.rregular equidimensionalsections,presumablyslightly oblique
to the c-axis,extinguishroughly.in alternatesectors3øo apart,
Prof. Paper No. x4, U.S. G. S.
796 AUSTIN F. ROGERS.

ideally,representedby Fig. 436. It is difficult:,to interpret this

optical behavior. Perhaps there are two interpenetrantparts,
each occupyinghalf of a dodecantand biaxial, but apparently
uniax]alby superposition.Optically anomalousvein quartz from
Cripple Creek has been describedand figured by Lindgren2
The only other minerals occurring in the vein are pyrite, in
very small amountsand epidote in greenish-yellowaggregates.
Mr. T. N. Turner, assistantin metallurgyat StanfordUniversity,
made an assayof the vein material and found 1.4 oz. of silver
and o.5 oz. of gold to the ton.

II. CALCITE-0RTYIOCLASE VEINS FROM WEEYIAWKEN,

NEW JERSEY.

A number of years ago the writer collectedspecimensfrom

veins in the diabase near Weehawken, New Jersey (on the
Hudson River, oppositeNew York City). These veins are
narrow, varying from 2 to 6 cm. in width. They havea vertical
attitude and are true fissure veins with banded structure and
definitewalls. The principalconstituen,
ts of ,theveinsare valen-
cianite and calcite sometimeswith quartz and with subordinate
albite, pyrite, chalcopyrite,limehire,titanite, and apatite. Some
of them containvalencianitewi.eha narrow band of quartz in the

Fro. 437. Vein from Weehawken. vmvalencianite, c--calcite, q=quartz,

d '-•-diabase. The small crossesrepresent pyrite crystals.

center, while others have calcite in the center of the vein. The
widestvein, illustratedby Fig. 437 (natural size), is 6 cm. wide
and is more or less symmetrical. There is a narrow zone of
va16ncianite nearest the walls and then a wide zone of clearable
calcite and in the center, valencianite and quar,tz. Pyrite is
scatteredall throughthe vein. Other veinsare made up almost
• Prof. Paper No. 54,U.S. G. S., p. t79, t9o6,Fig. A, plate XVIII., and Fig.
C, plate XVII.
 ORTHOCLASE-BEARING VEINS. 797

entirelyof a porousmassof valencianite crystals. Calcitehas

apparentlybeendissolvedout of thesespecimens.
The valencianiteof {hese veins is opaqueflesh-coloredlike
ordinaryorthoclasein appearancebut with the habitof adularia.
The dominantformsare m{•o} and x{•o•} with subordinate
c{oo•} and sometimesb{o•o}. The habit is short prismaticor

Fro. 438. Carlsbadtwin of valencianite. c (oox), x (iox), m (xxo).

tabular parallel to x. The crystalsare about 3 mm. in length.

PenetrationCarlsbadtwins are common. Figure 438 is an ortho-
graphic projection of a twin.
In thin sectionsthe valencianiteis very cloudy,almostopaque.
Albite is often presentin spotsin the valencianiteand around ,ts
border. Lindgren noteda similar occurrenceat CrippleCreek?
In a few casesalbi.teoccurredas independentcrystalsand was
identifiedby the extinct.ionanglesof polysynthetictwins. The
albite is clear and col.orless and perhaps secondary. Several
veinsof almostpure albite in gray cloudytabular crystalswere
observed.
The quartz in thin sectionsshowsopticalanomaliessomething
like those describedfor the quartz from Rawhide, Nevada.
Pyrite occursin octahedralcrystalswith subordinatepyrito-
hedron {2•o} and diploid {432}.
Chalcopyritewas notedin severalspecimens as smallanhedra.
Ilmenite occursin crystalswith elongatecross-sections.
Titanite is prominent in some of the veins as well formed
crystalswith adamantineluster. It occursintimatelyassociated
with ilmeniteand also independently.This is perhapsthe first
record of titanite as a distinctvein mineral though it is comxnon
enoughin clefts and seamsof schistsand gneisses.
• Prof. Paper No. 54, U.S. G. S., p. I83, I9o6.
798 AUSTIN F. ROGERS.

Calcite occursin large cleavableanhedra.

Chloriteis probablyrepresented by a fibrousradiatedyellowish
green mineral.
A specimenfrom BergenHill, New Jersey,obtainedfrom the
Foote Mineral Company,showsthe relation of theseveins to
datoliteand the zeolites. A 2• cm. vein of reddishvalencianite
(Fig. 439) showinga little of the country-rockon eachsidehad
ß
ß

Fro. 439. Sectionof vein from Weehawken(nat. size). v= valencianite,

d '-- datolite, c '-- calcite, d '-' aliabase.

been fractured (naturally) transverselyacrossand crystallized

datolitehad beendepositedon the fractured surface. A seamof
datolite had also penetratedthe vein showing clearly that the
datoliteand zeolitesare later ahd probablyindependent
of the
period of vein formation. On another specimenof this kind
crystalsof apophyll'kewere found.
The diabaseitself is probablythe sourceof .thevein materials.
The titanium of the titanite and ilmenite is thus easily accounted
for. Analyses • of the diabaseof this region show K20 per-
centagesvarying from 0.39 ½o2.•o and thus the valencianiteis
accounted for.
Lindgren•' accountsfor the rarity of orthoclasein mineral
veinsby the abundanceof carbondioxid in thermal waters,sav-
ing that "under such conditionsthe more stable compounct--
muscovite or sericite--would be formed .... " This seen;s
reasonableas a general explanationbut' it fails in the case of
the Weehawken occurrence, for in these veins the calcite must
certainly have been'depositedfrom carbonatedwaters, More-
over, the valencianite'andcalci•teare usuallyintimatelyassociated.
•An.Report
of theStaieGeologist
of NewJersey
for•9o7,
p. xex.
• Am. Jour.Sci. (4), vol. 5, P. •2o, I898.
,