Springside & the Indian Rocks

Natural stone seat at one of the Indian rocks

VERY late into the season, it is often surprising what may lay almost right under your own 'nose'. A local municipal park has a network of trails which include the remnants of a pond that once was a focal point of local activity.

But the trail map for Springside Park mentions something I had not known of previous to this past summer, the mention of 'Indian rocks' at several locations around the perimeter of the pond. I have yet to find how bona fide this 'title' might be - or just some local people having a bit of fun.

At one - the largest - of the Indian rock outcrops, exist a natural stone 'seat' that minus the foliage, can look down upon the old pond. It was here that I was struck with the fact this was a marble outcrop, later to confirm the 'e' unit of Stockbridge Marble.

Mineralogy

Rounding out another year in the outdoors was something close to home. Cummington, MA was the location and 1824 the year. Here a mineral was discovered for the first time (other locations later on) and named for the Town as Cummingtonite. Consulting my collection of geologic maps provided to be a lucky decision as a number of fairly precise locations were given.

On this day five were considered for investigation, with at least four of the locations probably located. Several samples were collected along with some quartz and garnets often associated with sites of cummingtonite