Formula: FeS2 Orthorhombic Description: Marcasite helectite, New Diggings area, Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Sample is about 8 cm long. (Photo by W. Cordua.) Marcasite is common in Wisconsin, often found in well-formed crystals in cavities and veins in the …
Winnebago County
Meteorites
Formula: Varies Description: Mifflin L5 chondrite meteorite fragment showing internal brecciation. (Image courtesy John Valley; unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.) CLARK COUNTY: Two stony meteorites with a combined weight of over 200 pounds fell at 6:15 P.M. on …
Pyrite
Pyrite is the most common sulfide found in many environments. It is a common accessory mineral in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It also is abundant in most hydrothermal deposits. Only the most significant occurrences …
Quartz
Formula: SiO2 Hexagonal Description: Quartz is the most abundant mineral. It is an essential component of granitic igneous rocks, of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and chert and of metamorphic rocks such as quartzites. It is a …
Smithsonite
Description: Massive to botryoidal smithsonite of a form originally called “dry bone ore” by miners. This was a major zinc ore in the mines of southwestern Wisconsin. From the Little Giant Mine, near Shullsburg, Lafayette …
Sphalerite
Formula: ZnS Isometric Description: Banded sphalerite, near Hazel Green in Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Sample is about 1 cm long. Sphalerite occurs in a wide range of hydrothermal environments. It is common with chalcopyrite in exhalative massive …