File:Pencillated gilsonite (Cottonwood Dike intruded in the Uinta Formation, Middle Eocene; south-southeast of Ouray, Utah, USA) 6.jpg

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Original file (2,081 × 1,876 pixels, file size: 2.8 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Summary

[edit]
Description
English: Gilsonite from the Tertiary of northeastern Utah, USA. (~3.4 centimeters across at its widest)

Gilsonite, also known as uintaite, is a variety of asphaltite - it's a solid hydrocarbon - basically solidified oil. Gilsonite usually has the appearance of obsidian or anthracite coal. It is jet black in color, very lightweight, brittle, and has a conchoidal fracture. The largest “deposits” of gilsonite in the world are in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, USA. Gilsonite occurs there as vertical NW-SE trending veins intruded within the Eocene-aged Uinta Formation. The source of the hydrocarbons is organic-rich beds in the underlying Green River Formation (Eocene) and Wasatch Formation (Paleocene).

The sample seen here is a from a gilsonite mine developed on the Cottonwood Dike (Cottonwood Vein), a N60-64W striking, 13 to 16 kilometer long, 0.6 to 0.9 meter wide, vertical to subvertical gilsonite dike in the Willow Creek System. The dike was probably emplaced ~10 to 30 million years ago. The Cottonwood Dike is mined south-southeast of the tow of Ouray, Utah.

Gilsonite material from Utah does not always have an obsidian-like appearance This sample differs from typical gilsonite in having abundant parallel fractures - a variety called "pencillated gilsonite". When viewed from the side, this material has a splintery appearance (from certain angles, it looks like hornblende schist). The only pencillated gilsonite material I've seen also has abundant fracture circlets.

Gilsonite is not readily combustible and is not a fuel, but it does have economic value. Gilsonite is mined in northeastern Utah and processed and is used in numerous products and applications (e.g., see: www.geospectra.net/kite/gilsonite/gilson.htm).

Approximate composition: 85% carbon, 10% hydrogen, 2.5% nitrogen, 1.5% oxygen, 0.3% sulfur, 0.2% silicon, nickel & trace elements.

Locality: gilsonite mine south-southeast of the town of Ouray, south-central Uintah County, northeastern Utah, USA (section 35, T10S, R21E, Big Pack Mountain NE 7.5’ USGS topographic quadrangle)
Date
Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/48645658971/
Author James St. John

Licensing

[edit]
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/48645658971. It was reviewed on 18 October 2020 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

18 October 2020

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current02:42, 18 October 2020Thumbnail for version as of 02:42, 18 October 20202,081 × 1,876 (2.8 MB)Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs)Uploaded a work by James St. John from https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/48645658971/ with UploadWizard

There are no pages that use this file.

Metadata