Odd Rock

[pidjammies1]

I found a chunk of Cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) at the beach in California, Waddel Creek. A geologist told me that it is very poisonous. Do not eat. I think it washed down from an old quicksilver mine upstream.. If you find it, you will know it by the sulphur odor. Not a good find. Do not take it home with you. The color can vary from yellow to reddish brown. It can be smooth on the outside and drystalline in the center. The piece I found had a white spot on it. It REAKS of sulphur.

 

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[SaintSea]

Thanks for the tip. I'd never heard of it - and how very odd that a wonderful perfume from the 80's would be given the same name as something that reeks of sulphur! Go figure. Guess their marketing department banked on the idea that most of us hadn't heard of Cinnabar before...
Ruth

 

[jeff of pa]

Intresting pid.

http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/cinnabar/cinnabar.htm

 

[Mississippi Yankee]

I found a chunk of Cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) at the beach in California, Waddel Creek.? A geologist told me that it is very poisonous.? Do not eat.?

Damn !! I was so looking forward to adding this to my growing list of "Rocks I have eaten & lived".

 

[pidjammies1]

I was disappointed too when he said "do not eat". It looked delicious. It would make a very ugly perfume. Cinnabar gets it name from cinnamon because of its color, certainly not it's aroma.

 

[beetle662]

Very interesting! I would guess opening up a breakfast joint namesd Cinnabar would be a bad idea, eh?

Thanks for sharing with us... interesting to say the least!

 

[DugHoles]

Neat find according to the pics I saw, but dangerous. Not a great combo.

GL & HH,

DugHoles