@barrelcactusaddict

Amber in Matrix, Loose Amber "Glory Hole" Site Hanna Basin Carbon County, WY Hanna Formation (~57-56 Ma) Matrix Piece: 9.0g / 43x28x12mm Loose Lot: 3.0g Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S9+ BelOMO 10x Triplet Loupe PULUZ LED Lightbox Convoy S2 Longwave UV Light (365nm) *Matrix specimen was collected on 6/15/2022; loose material was collected the day prior. Loose Amber: I recovered the loose pieces of amber from exposures located 1 mile south of Glory Hole; the matrix they were found in is practically identical to that found in the northern site, and the amber is superficially similar as well. In-Situ Piece: The in-situ amber of the matrix specimen is mostly in the form of tear-shaped droplets, some of which are slightly compressed. The matrix is a carbonaceous mudstone and is easily separated into thin layers, making this piece rather delicate; some coalified remains of a twig are nestled in the matrix as well, and a partial mold is left where some of it fell out during extraction. The bright blue fluorescence of the amber is quite strong, and I could only get a good image while shining incident LED light onto the entire specimen, along with the longwave UV light. A natural yellowish coating is visible on the underside of the matrix specimen, and is a fairly common sight at the Glory Hole deposit: I found it to be especially present in layers of matrix containing a lot of moisture. I recall extracting this piece from a seam a few inches beneath the surface, along an easterly-facing slope that was out of direct sunlight: this was incidentally the same seam that contained the large coalified log and several large amber nuggets. #amber #wyomingamber #americanamber #hannabasin #carboncounty #wyoming #paleocene #paleoceneamber #carbonaceous #carbonaceousmudstone #lignite #plantfossil #fossilresin #rockhounding #rockhoundingwyoming #fossicking #macrophotography