Beryl

This specimen features sections of beryl crystals that come from Ross Lake, part of the Yellowknife pegmatite field in the Northwest Territories. The Ross Lake area is known for its complex granitic pegmatites, which have produced a variety of collectible minerals, including beryl, columbite, and microcline. Beryl from this locality typically forms pale to medium green prismatic crystals embedded in feldspar and quartz, reflecting the evolved, rare-element character of the pegmatites.

The Yellowknife pegmatite field has long been of interest to mineralogists for its diverse suite of unusual minerals, even though it was never exploited on a large commercial scale. This piece comes from the distinguished collection of Dr. Peter Tarassoff and before that, the collection of R.W. Hodder. Hodder later became chairman of geology department at U. of Western Ontario.