Virtual HIke: Trout Creek Chert Quarry
Deb and I headed off for a short hike (3.5 miles RT, 400' vert) to the Trout Creek Chert Quarry. This quarry is an important archaeological site, so if you visit, please treat the area with respect.
Here are a few pictures:
Chert--especially from the Trout Creek quarry--was traded widely among native peoples as the source material for an array of stone tools including arrowheads. Above, Deb is holding "worked flakes" that were chipped off larger blocks to make tools.
Just FYI: chert is a hard, opaque rock composed of silica with an amorphous or microscopically fine-grained texture. At this quarry, it occurs in a fairly large deposit, but in other places, chert most often shows up as nodules of flint or jasper. Here, the chert is a tan-to-red color; in other places, chert can be almost any color from white to black.
Here's how to get to the quarry: Drive east up Trout Creek Pass and turn right on CR 307. In a short ways, turn right on CR 187. Go another half-mile or so and turn into the fairly big parking lot at the junction of CR 187 and CR 300 (this is the eastern end of CR 300 that starts over at Ruby Mountain). Park here and walk about 1.5 miles south and uphill until you see a fence on your left at the top of the hill...it's obvious. Look for the sign about the quarry, and head south about 0.3 miles to find it.
Take care of yourselves!
Here are a few pictures:
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| I know, hard to read...sorry about that! |
Just FYI: chert is a hard, opaque rock composed of silica with an amorphous or microscopically fine-grained texture. At this quarry, it occurs in a fairly large deposit, but in other places, chert most often shows up as nodules of flint or jasper. Here, the chert is a tan-to-red color; in other places, chert can be almost any color from white to black.
Here's how to get to the quarry: Drive east up Trout Creek Pass and turn right on CR 307. In a short ways, turn right on CR 187. Go another half-mile or so and turn into the fairly big parking lot at the junction of CR 187 and CR 300 (this is the eastern end of CR 300 that starts over at Ruby Mountain). Park here and walk about 1.5 miles south and uphill until you see a fence on your left at the top of the hill...it's obvious. Look for the sign about the quarry, and head south about 0.3 miles to find it.
Take care of yourselves!
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