Girard, GA

ROCK, FOSSIL, & MICROMINERAL
"SAVANNAH RIVER" AGATE

 (There is something here for everyone!)

This site is part of a public right-of-way so we will be collecting in the road and road cuts!  The rock that we will be collecting is the famous Savannah River Agate/Chert.  This material is actually a conglomeration of agate, jasper, chert, and opalite  all mixed together to form a layered specimen that will tumble or cab into beautiful display pieces.  This rock occurs as black and brown mottled agate and in a large range of pastel colors from greens to yellows to violets. 

The fossils you may find are from 30-35 million years old Oligocene age deposits.  Kim Cochran says that there are elems, gastropods, nummulites, echinoids, and bryozoans fossils in this general area.  There are also tortillas, barnacles and diatoms present.  These fossils are not abundant and may be hard to find in quantity. 

The micro minerals are located in vugs of the agate/chert rock.  If you look closely, you may find rare phosphate minerals like clear to pinkish strengite, green wavellite, variscite, golden cacoxenite, brown to yellow-brown jarosite, sharp brilliant crystals and green-brown fibrous hemispheres of dufrenite, pale chartreuse-green spherical globules of kidwellite, brown to black fibrous crusts and spheres of rockbridgeite, white finely fibrous tufts of churchite.  The vugs may also contain hyalite opal, limonite, deep red-brown hematite, barite, goethite, gypsum, or druzy quartz. 

Girard Post Office 
(Meeting Location)
November 1999
The massive U. S. Girard Post Office - Building far right!
Girard Georgia - Post office meeting location!
November 1999
Jim Haege explaining the field trip to our members!
Some of us gathered to discuss the trip.
January 2001

43 Degrees and windy!
"Girard Post Office - Meeting location"

"Collecting site pictures"

"Specimen pictures"
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