The ground
The District Atlas
Every place a mission goes is chosen from published state geology — not from guesswork and not from anyone's secret spot. Here is what the ground actually is, and what comes out of it.
DISTRICT 01Oxford County and the western pegmatite belt
The richest gem pegmatite district in the eastern United States. Tourmaline was first found here in the 1820s and the district has been worked in waves ever since.
Gem tourmaline, the discovery locality for tourmaline in the United States; also beryl, apatite, and phosphate species.
Tourmaline, apatite, beryl and quartz in a district that has been a public collecting area.
Famous gem tourmaline, including large pocket discoveries.
Beryl and pollucite; a classic pegmatite mineralogy locality.
Large beryl crystals and rare phosphate minerals.
Tourmaline and beryl in a heavily prospected pegmatite group.
Beryl, tourmaline and phosphate species.
Pegmatite mineralogy across a large worked area.
DISTRICT 02The western and central pegmatite districts
the northern pegmatite belt pegmatites are the ones that made uranium-bearing species a known local hazard rather than a theoretical one.
A former commercial mine and long-running public collecting site. Uraninite and secondary uranium minerals, beryl, mica, feldspar, and a long species list.
One of the most species-rich pegmatites in North America — famous specifically for phosphate mineralogy.
Beryl and associated pegmatite minerals.
Pegmatite species including beryl and phosphates.
Pegmatite mineralogy in a historically worked area.
DISTRICT 03The Middletown and Portland pegmatite district
Small district with an outsized species list, worked hard in the late 1800s and largely idle since.
Beryl, columbite, uraninite and tourmaline — a classic and heavily documented locality.
Beryl and rare pegmatite species.
Pegmatite mineralogy in the same district as a nearby historic working.
DISTRICT 04Scattered smaller pegmatite workings
Smaller and less celebrated than Maine or the northern pegmatite belt, but the same geology and the same hand-sorted dumps.
Beryl and pegmatite minerals from historic small operations.
Beryl, mica and quartz from small historic workings.
Every district and occurrence on this page is drawn from published state geological survey records and the USGS mineral occurrence database. It is public information, and it is offered here as research - not as a guide to any particular piece of ground.
Where this data comes fromEvery district and occurrence on this page is drawn from published state geological survey records and the USGS mineral occurrence database. It is public information, and it is offered here as research - not as a guide to any particular piece of ground.