The Maryland Geological Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the collection, study, and display of all aspects of the geological sciences. Members include amateur and professional fossil and mineral collectors. Membership is open to all.

The club meets at the Community Center in Bowie, Maryland, usually on the third Sunday of every other month, beginning in March. Please check the club calendar. Visitors are always welcome!

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Latest Club and Related News

No September Meeting ~ Message from MGS President Rick Smith

Dear MGS members,

As most of you probably expected, there will not be a September meeting of the Maryland Geological Society. Our meeting facility in Bowie is currently closed through the end of October due to Prince George's County restrictions related to the pandemic. Next month I plan to put together a Fall issue of the Rostrum. This will most likely be the final issue of the newsletter for 2020. If you would like to contribute an article, please send it to me by the end of September.

The month of September is probably my favorite month in Maryland. I hope everyone is able to get outside and enjoy the lower temps and especially the lower humidity. Stay safe and keep well.

Cheers,

Rick Smith
President, Maryland Geological Society

Natural History Society of Maryland's September Raffle - A Guided Fossil Collecting Trip!!

The Natural History Society of Maryland's fund-raising raffle for September features a guided trip to a private Chesapeake Bay beach to collect fossils. Raffle tickets are $5 each (a maximum of 1,000 will be sold). Visit the NHSM website to get more information and to purchase tickets. The winner will also win a lifetime membership in the NHSM (a $750 value).

Featured Mineral ~ Cordierite

The "Featured Mineral" is cordierite. The gemstone variety of this mineral is iolite. Cordierite is dichroic meaning that its color changes when viewed from different angles. This mineral is the subject of a column by MGS member Bob Farrar that will appear in a forthcoming issue of the MGS newsletter The Rostrum. The picture below shows a large crystal cluster that was found in Richmond, New Hampshire. (This image is reproduced with permission of Rob Lavinsky under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, and is available from Wikimedia Commons.)

Next Meeting

To be announced

Tour the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Hall from Home

At the moment, we no longer have access to the wonderful Fossil Hall - Deep Time at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.


All of the marvels of the Fossil Hall are waiting patiently for us to visit once this crisis has passed. But you can enjoy these marvels on one of virtual tours the Museum of Natural History has made available here. The Fossil Hall tour is part of the "permanent exhibits."

Smithsonian Publication about the Calvert Cliffs

The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of the Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, edited by Stephen J. Godfrey, offers detailed descriptions and stunning pictures of vertebrate fossils from the Cliffs. A PDF copy of the book is available here.

WebSightings

Want to keep up with some of the latest information on fossils and minerals appearing on the web? Then check out the MGS WebSightings page.
The Maryland Geological Society is a member of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

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