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ASTROBLEME
post Aug 3 2016, 04:39 PM
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Rock Bar!
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Joined: 16-October 08
From: Central Colorado
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Members and Guests of Colorado Prospector,

Many years ago I discovered a highly eroded, geologically complex and very ancient impact crater centered 3 ¼ miles northwest of Coaldale, Colorado (USA). I am announcing this discovery as a long-time contributor to this forum in an effort to assure that the public has access to this information. Dan (the owner and operator of Colorado Prospector) is preparing some of my "Coaldale Crater" specimens for jewelry settings. He has graciously agreed to document his work progress so that others can gain a better understanding of the effort it takes to transform these raw materials into valuable gemstones. Please take time to follow this project along the way. I hope you find the subject interesting.

I'll be sharing the science behind this amazing discovery as our work progresses. This research builds upon my work at Gunnison Crater, Westcliffe Crater, Silver Cliff Crater and Hillside Crater that proved an extension to the 38th Parallel Crater Chain dating to the Late Devonian Period. Although the Coaldale Crater is also along the 38th Parallel, it is not part of the well documented crater chain system. My efforts in the Coaldale Colorado region included collecting field survey data, acquiring and analyzing numerous geologic specimens followed by an extensive review of the relevant scientific literature. The results support an impact event that occurred during the Oligocene Epoch.

For now, I'm providing the attached map depicting the present peak ring exposure. It is fascinating that this impact crater has survived the deep erosion and strong fault deformation that Mother Nature has provided continually over the past 27+ million years.

Sincerely,

ASTROBLEME

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Tonko Mining Company

"Some day this crater is going to be a greatly talked about place, and if the above credit is due, as is certainly the case, I would like to have it generally known for the sake of the children." Daniel Moreau Barringer 2/1/1912 in a letter about the Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona USA
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EMac
post Aug 8 2016, 04:10 PM
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Rock Bar!
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Joined: 25-July 14
From: Westminster, CO
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Hi Johnny,

Thanks for sharing this info with us, and particularly for sticking your neck out! This is all new to me, and it's taking me some time to dig in and understand what you're saying. I've been doing a lot of reading about identifying meteorites and tektites compared to plain rocks and volcanic glass, and reading about the signatures associated with hyper velocity impacts. I'd like to respectfully challenge your finds with the understanding that at a very minimum I/we will come away with more education.

Have you published or attempted to publish any of your findings/theories in a peer reviewed journal? Frankly, this would gain you a lot of clout if you get other learned individuals to agree with your theories. It would seem that if you've found 3 previously unknown impact craters right here in CO that the geology community would be clamoring to know more. The Gunnison article from 10 years ago had two professors disagreeing with your theories around Gunnison, and now you have 2 additional crater theories. Barringer took 3 years from time he made his theories public in 1903 to when he provided documented evidence to the US Geologic Survey. It took at least another 47 years for the scientific community to get on board when Shoemaker confirmed Barringer's findings.

How do you know these are tektites and meteorite fragments? For instance the pictures below you say are meteorite fragments, but I see a lot of vesicles present which I understand to be indicative of terrestrial rocks. I understand there's also not much difference between tektites and obsidian, but we can determine which is which by exposing samples to an oxyacetylene torch (Meteorite Times Magazine test). Do you have any tests like this? Are you able to share any reports on samples you have such as SEM-EDS? This would be quite interesting to see for the blue sample you have.

Quoting a report by Gordon Osinski,
QUOTE
Several criteria may be used to identify hypervelocity impact structures, including the presence of a crater form and/or unusual rocks, such as breccias, melt rocks, and pseudotachylyte; however, on their own, these indicators do not provide definitive evidence for a meteorite impact structure. The general consensus within the impact community is that unequivocal evidence for hypervelocity impact takes the form of shock metamorphic indicators, either megascopic (e.g., shatter cones Fig. 11) or microscopic (e.g., planar deformation features, Fig. 12; diaplectic glass, Fig. 13), and the presence of high-pressure polymorphs (e.g., coesite, stishovite).
Have you objectively identified any of these indicators?

With respect to what you call the Tonko lineament, you state the Gunnison crater occurred during the Devonian period and is part of other impacts along the 38th parallel. The Devonian period was ~363-409M years ago, followed by the formation and break up of Pangea 245M years ago, the Laramide Oregeny uplift 57M years ago, the clockwise rotation of the entire Colorado Plateau (includes Gunnison, but excludes Denver, and certainly Missouri and Illinois) 20M years ago, and additional uplift 5M years ago. That was followed by glaciation, erosion, periodic faulting and volcanism. It seems fairly obvious what's in a straight line today, certainly wasn't that way 350M years ago if we include Colorado in the 38th parallel lineament. How do you explain these differences? Assuming you can prove these are impact craters, why would you need to tie them to the 38th parallel lineament at all?

Additionally, on your website, you show a picture of Gunnison breccia next to Weinbleau-Osceola breccia showing the similarity. Since I had no idea what impact breccia looks like, I went looking. I can't help but notice they look similar to the bottom left breccia from Washington University's meteorite identification page (negative examples): WUSTL Main Page & WUSTL breccia image. What differentiates the breccias you have?

Around the slickensides and strike slip faults below, I'm not sure that's an indicator of anything, so I'm hoping you can expand on your point here. You state it was ejected by volcanic forces ~28M years ago, and the ashflow shows slickensides in a strike-slip orientation (horizontal slippage). This period of time is also marked by significant geological activity, all of which can produce slickensides; how do you attribute slickensides observed with an impact event vs well known geological events from the same time period? I can't find that there's a correlation between slickensides and impact events, although it certainly seems feasible.

Again, thanks for taking the time to share what you've found with us! I know I've learned a lot just being exposed to the subject!

~Eric


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"All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer." ~Niccolò Machiavelli

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Posts in this topic
- ASTROBLEME   Coaldale Crater Gemstones   Aug 3 2016, 04:39 PM
- - Woody   Interesting indeed, I pass by there frequently...   Aug 4 2016, 08:31 AM
|- - ASTROBLEME   Hello Woody, As you pass the area on Highway 50, ...   Aug 4 2016, 10:57 AM
- - Denise   Thats amazing information you have provided Johnny...   Aug 4 2016, 10:46 AM
- - ASTROBLEME   History of Impact Crater Discovery John Tonko (my...   Aug 5 2016, 09:18 AM
- - ASTROBLEME   Gemstone Material Represented in Breccia at Coalda...   Aug 5 2016, 03:46 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Geochronological Data The impact into the paleova...   Aug 5 2016, 04:33 PM
- - CP   Very cool information Johnny and thank you very mu...   Aug 6 2016, 03:38 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Dan, I am so impressed by your ability to cut tho...   Aug 6 2016, 07:05 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Shock Melt Evidence Hello Everyone, In an effort...   Aug 7 2016, 05:43 PM
- - CP   Very cool Johnny, and thank you kindly for the com...   Aug 7 2016, 05:55 PM
- - EMac   Hi Johnny, Thanks for sharing this info with us, ...   Aug 8 2016, 04:10 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Hello Eric, Thanks for looking at this matter fro...   Aug 8 2016, 07:40 PM
- - EMac   Thanks Johnny; as expected, I've got more read...   Aug 9 2016, 08:50 AM
- - ASTROBLEME   Flame Testing Eric had questions about flame test...   Aug 9 2016, 02:21 PM
- - EMac   Do you have any macro pictures of the test? It do...   Aug 9 2016, 05:05 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Eric, Per your demand from earlier this evening, ...   Aug 9 2016, 08:31 PM
- - James and Cyndi   this is good stuff. Thanks Astrobleme for sharing ...   Aug 10 2016, 09:04 AM
- - James and Cyndi   Astrobleme Before getting uptight about Erics que...   Aug 10 2016, 09:06 AM
- - CP   I agree, Emac is just diving into the subject and ...   Aug 10 2016, 11:46 AM
- - EMac   Hi Johnny, Feel free to read back over my questio...   Aug 10 2016, 12:29 PM
- - James and Cyndi   RE: Coaldale Crater Gemstones   Aug 10 2016, 01:36 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Everyone, Eric is accusing me of a massive confli...   Aug 11 2016, 01:53 PM
- - GeoMatt   Johnny- Eric was perhaps a little blunt about it ...   Aug 11 2016, 10:53 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Dear GeoMatt, In my very first post in this threa...   Aug 12 2016, 12:13 AM
|- - GeoMatt   There is truly nothing proprietary that I have ask...   Aug 12 2016, 08:29 AM
- - James and Cyndi   Somebody needs a hug!   Aug 12 2016, 07:50 AM
- - CP   Well this sure hasn't gone as expected when we...   Aug 13 2016, 02:50 PM
- - CP   Here's what I've marked for cab cut blanks...   Aug 13 2016, 03:00 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Hello Everyone: Here’s the most recent mapping da...   Aug 13 2016, 07:54 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   CP, Your work efforts on the Gunnison Crater Tekt...   Aug 17 2016, 04:02 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Here's a link to a news release that explains ...   Aug 18 2016, 04:49 PM
- - CP   Thank you Johnny for the fine compliments! I...   Aug 18 2016, 10:14 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Slickensides: Earlier this year (without revealin...   Aug 19 2016, 04:15 PM
- - CP   Cutting project progress update.........This week ...   Sep 1 2016, 04:14 PM
- - swizz   Exceptional work Dan and truly unique and amazing ...   Sep 2 2016, 07:56 AM
- - ASTROBLEME   Dan, Those specimens are truly becoming gemstones...   Sep 2 2016, 01:18 PM
- - CP   Thanks Chris and Johnny , glad they've come o...   Sep 3 2016, 09:59 AM
|- - ASTROBLEME   Dear CP, When I read your post that the inclusion...   Sep 5 2016, 06:55 PM
- - CP   Hey Johnny, whew, glad you got the re-read and di...   Sep 5 2016, 07:28 PM
|- - ASTROBLEME   [quote name='CP' date='Sep 5 2016, 08:...   Sep 7 2016, 06:44 PM
- - CP   Yep Johnny, can't tell in these pics either bu...   Sep 7 2016, 08:00 PM
|- - swizz   Referring again to the meteorite specimens in the ...   Sep 9 2016, 07:46 PM
- - swizz   Very interesting, I'm following for sure. I en...   Sep 7 2016, 09:45 PM
- - CP   Another great question for the extended study on t...   Sep 7 2016, 10:01 PM
|- - swizz   QUOTE (CP @ Sep 7 2016, 10:01 PM) ...I...   Sep 7 2016, 10:03 PM
|- - ASTROBLEME   CP, That angular white inclusion that swizz notic...   Sep 9 2016, 06:00 PM
- - Denise   The cabochons turned out great Dan, nice work.   Sep 10 2016, 09:07 AM
- - CP   Thanks Denise, they were fun to cut and are all ve...   Sep 11 2016, 04:20 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Thanks to CP's expert cutting and polishing ef...   Sep 19 2016, 03:50 PM
- - CP   Thanks again Johnny, I'm really glad they all ...   Sep 22 2016, 06:37 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   LUNAR METEORITE CREATED COALDALE CRATER! A ce...   Dec 27 2016, 05:49 PM
|- - GeoMatt   Extrusive rocks associated with volcanism in Color...   Dec 28 2016, 11:13 AM
- - ASTROBLEME   GeoMatt, Thanks for your comments. I do have add...   Dec 28 2016, 05:10 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Dear Colorado Prospector Members and Visitors, Th...   Dec 30 2016, 08:56 PM
|- - GeoMatt   The plot on the figure suggests your sample has li...   Jan 4 2017, 03:10 PM
- - swizz   You guys are waaay over my head now but please kee...   Jan 4 2017, 05:57 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Everyone, I've compared my data against NASA ...   Jan 4 2017, 08:48 PM
|- - GeoMatt   Actually, if you look at the source page for the c...   Jan 4 2017, 11:12 PM
- - ASTROBLEME   Hi Everyone, I have long recognized that all pros...   Feb 9 2017, 06:57 PM


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