Since its discovery by a teenager in 1859, thousands of specimens of lustrous black tourmaline crystals from Pierrepont, New York, have found their way into both museum and private mineral collections worldwide. Pierrepont is a classic American mineral locality and a popular site for field collecting, and the discovery of new collecting sites there in the past decade has only enhanced its importance. Yet no detailed scientific research has been published until now. The six authors represent a team with comprehensive skills to tackle this study, which covers the locality's history, geology, and mineralogy. The origin of the mineralization, the true nature of the black tourmaline, and the extensive suite of accessory minerals are presented in detail. The authors also resolve identification questions about the tourmaline and its many accessory minerals.

Continuing a tradition that began in 1842, this book examines 24 localities of particular interest to mineral collectors. These localities are organized by how they occur (in sedimentary rocks, in crystalline rocks, in fractures)-a new approach that brings coherence to relationships among similar localities. For each locality, its significance to specimen mineralogy, collecting history, geological setting, origin, and a thorough description of the minerals of particular interest to collectors are presented, based on the latest research and nomenclature. Over 150 clear color photos show some of the finest specimens ever collected from each locality. Similar New York state localities are listed for each featured occurrence. While the GPS coordinates for each locality are provided, this is an introduction to what minerals occur in the State of New York, how beautiful they are, and why they are so interesting. Why have a mere field guide when you can have so much more?