Rough obsidian nodule or "tea," from the Bagdad field and a cabochon Cllt fromthe material.

By HAROLD O. WEIGHTPhotographs by the Author

~ ANY ROCKHOUNDS acquainted"" with Yermo, California, be-

fore Wotld War n will re­member Bertha Frisby and the littlerock stand she operated SQuth of High­way 91 and nearly opposite Calico drylake. When the big military depotswere established in that area, the gov­ernment purchased her property andshe moved southwest, beyond Hodge,and out of the rock business I believe.

In those days she had a varied arrayof cutting rocks and mineral speci­mens on display, and I liked to huntamong them for prizes. Some she ob­tained through trade, but most of themwere the result of her own desertdelving.

She had no car of her own at that

In Arizona they are calledApache tears, and in otherplaces they are labelled "blackdiamonds." Harold Weight sug­qests that " volcanic tears"would be a more romanticname for the little obsidlaniteswhich are found near Baqdadon California's arid Molavedesert and in other places.Here is the data lor an interest­inq field trlp-and some inform­ative notes on the geoloqy 01an area where several volcaniccraters are lound.

time. But she knew many collectingareas and in return for the privilege ofbringing back material for her stock-

and sometimes for the pure pleasureof rockhunting-she would guide col­lectors to these fields. These circum­stances led to several interesting ex­peditions-and not a little exercise-­for me. Mrs. Frisby was not a youngwoman, but when she took to thedesert hills with a pick and collectingsack many a healthy young man washard-put to keep up with her, bothin digging and hauling.

On my first trip with her we drovefrom Lavic to Bagdad, and at Mrs.Frisby's direction I turned north ona little used mining road. About twomiles from the highway Mrs. Frisbysuggested that we stop the car andhunt for "black diamonds" in the grav­els of the wash we had just crossed.Despite the heat of the afternoon, weneeded no urging. Dad and I hoppedfrom the car and started an eagercriss<ross search. Soon I spied what

NOVEMBER, 194 9 13

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appeared to be a small black pebblein the gravel.

As soon as I picked it up and heldit against the sun, I knew that it wasa chunk of obsidian or volcanic glass.Then it dawned upon me that obsidiannodules and black diamonds must beODe and the same thing. Later Ilearned the name is used in a numberof localities in describing the littlestones.

I wasn't indignant about it, nor did1 feci cheated. Aftcr all, I really hadn'texpected to find black diamonds-orany other color-broadcast on the Mo­jave desert. And these little obsidian­ites do cut into beautiful limpid cabo­chons, while obsidian itself is a mightyinteresting rock and one of my fa­vorites.

The encyclopedia probably will tellyou that the invention of glass is cred­ited to the ancient Egyptians- butthat's just Man bragging. MotherNature has been manufacturing glassat least since the first volcano blew itstop and that was eons before she em­barked on the doubtful experimentcalled Homo sapiens. And we humanbeings have been using her glass sincethe first savage cut his finger on a pieceand grasped the significance of whatit could do to an enemy's hide.

The lndians of our hemisphere haveworked it into their religions andlegends. It was known and used bythem from the west coast to the east,from Alaska to Chile. In California

alone they are known to have worked24 major obsidian quarries. Theychipped and flaked and fashioned it,making knives and arrowpoints andspearheads, mirrors, ornaments andceremonial swords.

In some places-such as the Ob­sidian Cliff of Yellowstone Nationalpark - the quarries were neutralground where any tribe could seekmunitions. In others, the Sugar Hilldeposit in northeastern California, forexample, wars were fought over dis­puted ownership. Peoples unfortunateenou.eh to live far from any volcanicarea have traded and iourneyed acrosshalf a continent to obtain the beautifulstone which flaked so easily and fonn­ed such viciously sham weapons. InMexico the Aztecs. who used enor­mOllS amounts, even had a soccialobsidian cult and goddess (Desert,July. 1945).

No. I wasn't in the least disaoooint­ed over having been shown a field ofalmost transparent. cuWn!! Duality vol­canic glass. But I did feel-and dotoday-that a stone as rich in historyand pretty in its own ri.eht as obsidianshould not be forced to masaueradeunder a misleading name. In Arizonathese little hunks of volcanic glass areknown as Apache tears. with a chann­ing legend attached (Desert, Au~st.

1939) but that necessarily is localin ils application. Perhaps "volcanictears" could be used by those whowant a more romanl;c term than ob-

sidian. After all, they were formedby liquid rock e;tpelled from -vents,and perhaps even volcanoes feel likecrying sometimes.

On that first trip the car was hot,the road rough and we had a longdrive ahead. So we contented our­selves with gathering a few obsidian­ites, and made no attempt to see howfar the field extended. J planned toreturn that winter and explore thoselava hills and the slopes between themand the highway. But world eventsthat winter changed my plans.

Tn the years that passed the obsidianfield near Bagdad slipped completelyfrom my mind until, quite recently,the sight of some beautiful grey-tonedstones my father had cut and polishedfrom those tears recalled it. Then Iremembered it was located on the val·ley slopes above Amboy crater. Thatcombination - a collecting spot forvolcanic gems and a striking exampleof recent vulcanism-seemed to holdpossibilities for a field trip for DesertMagazine readers who are interestedin the geological side of the desert.

The question was: Could I relocatethat field? I had taken no mileageson the trip. All I remembered aboutthe turnoff was that it was near Bag­dad and within sight of Amboy crater.Also, I thought] recollected a saggingwooden sign beside the road which in­dicated in a dispirited sort of way thata mine called the Orange Blossom

14 THE DESERT MAGAZINE

The little nodules or "volcanic tears" which cut i1l1o transparent greyish cabochonsare found in desert paving such as tllis. Amboy crater left cemer.

was - or had been - in operationsomewhere out yonder.

On the mid-July day we arrived atBagdad to attempt relocation of theobsidian area, Amboy, a few milesfarther east and a little lower, reporteda top temPerature of 120 in the shade.But such temperatures are not un­bearable in the dry Mojave. And wehad timed the trip to arrive at tbeturnoff late in the afternoon, stoppingduring the hottest part of the day atDaggett to visit Mary Beal and DixVan Dyke. Mary was at home in herlittle cottage under the shade trees, andreported enthusiastically on the resultsof her early summer botanizing in theProvidence mountains above Mitchell'scaverns. Dix was out somewhere ina jeep, following forgotten pioneertrails.

When we reached Bagdad, [ foundthat the war had made changes, eventhere. A whole new set of sidingsbulged out from the main railroad lineand the road we had followed towardthe hills seemed 10 have vanished. 1couldn't even locate the remains of thewooden sign I remembered. But acourteous Mexican employe of the rail­road explained that if I followed thosetracks I would come onto the old roadwhich once had led to the now-idleOrange Blossom.

We drove back out to Highway 66and followed it .6 of a mile eastward

NOVEMBER, 1949

from Bagdad to a point just beyondhighway bridge 148.85. There weturned north on a dirt road and crossedthe tracks of the Santa Fe. Even afterwe were over the tracks and headingon a poor road toward the Lava hills,I was not certain lhis was the samepair of ruts 1 had followed eight yearsbefore when Mrs. Frisby led us 10 the"black diamonds." No single tbingabout the area looked famiHar.

Sometimes wben I tell city friendstales of lost mines, they raise a col­lective eyebrow and ask: "How is itpossible to lose something as obviousand substantial as a mine or ledge?"But should I take these same peopleonto the little·traveled desert by-waysto look for that mine, the questionchanges.

LOG0.0 U. S. 66 at Baadad. Head east.0.6 Tum north on dirt road. after

crossing highway bridge 148.8j.0.8 Cross Santa Fe Railroad tf'1l.ck,

continue west of north.U Join old Oranje Blossom mine

road. Head sliahtly east ofnorth.

2.1 Soft road for .1 mile.3.4 Enter edge of obsidian area.4.j Pass markina far edae of ob-

sidian area.

"How in blazes did they find thefool thing in the first place?" they de­mand.

That was what I was beginning towonder as we made hurried iovestiJl:a.tions of the washes in the gathenngdusk. We found bits of chalcedonyroses and jasper, but not a trace ofobsidian. About 1.5 miles from Bag­dad, the track we were followingjoined what obviously was a mucholder road which seemed to be aimingfor the southeastern tip of the Lavahills. That was more nearly the di­rection 1 remembered (rom my earliertrip, bUI we still were unable to findany volcanic tears as we jounced upthe bajada.

The sun was behind the mountainsand the afterlight was dimming whenwe neared the pass through the tip ofthe hills. Knowing that I had not gonethat far before, we decided to campfor the night and give up the huntuntil morning. At this point, 4.5 miles(rom Bagdad, several almost level me­silas oUered ideal campsites, at leastin summer. In winter the lack ofnearby firewood and vegetation to giveshelter from the wind might makethem a little cold.

It was dark before we bad campestablished, and we ate by lantemlight.Afterwards, as our flashlight beamsflickered over the rocky mesa, we

is

made a discovery. Literally underfootand scattered thinly through the desertpaving we saw small, black rathershiny pebbles. I picked one up andheld it over lIle flashlight bulb. As thelight filtered through it the stonelooked greyish-tan. Yes, these werelIle obsidian nodules we had beenseeking,

A strange sort of rockhunt followedas we criss-<:rossed the mesa, bentdouble and peering along the probingflashlight beam. In summer, night col­lecting had one distinct advantage­the volcanic tears were cool enoughto pick up. And a flashlight proveda handy gadget to check whelller ornot the specimens we found were trans­parent enough to cut. Some blackstones which looked like the obsidian·ites externally proved to be perfectlyopaque.

The hunt continued until we began

to worry about the condition of theflashlight batteries. Altbough the daytemperatures had been scorching, theevening- perhaps by comparison­seemed pleasant. And when a softwind drifted up the valley it becamea perfect night to sleep under the des­ert moon and stars. That moon waslong past full and only a thin segmentremained. But when it rose the amountof illumination it gave was surprising.It and the vast concourse of distantsuns and whirling nebulae so lightedthe night that the jagged scraps ofmountains. the sweeping bajadas andlIle white sinks which characterize thethe Mojave were visible to the hori·zon's rim. And below us Amboycrater and its surrounding flows werepure ebony under the ethereal light.

There seemed to be an amazingnumber of lights at Bagdad, consider­ing the size of the town. Once, when

the Bagdad-Chase mines were operat­ing and when the Orange Blossom,across the Bristol mountains, was haul­ing supplies in and ore and concen­trates out, Bagdad, their railroad ship­ping point, was quite a place. Re­portedly much of the settlement wasdestroyed by fire in 1918, and thenumber of buildings we had seen thatday could not account for the longstrings of lighl. We concluded it mustbe an emergency landing field, possiblyplaced there because of Bagdad's cli­matic reputation.

Although Bagdad may be small, ithas made its mark in the meteorologi­cal world. Throughout the whole Mo­jave desert region during a 20-yearperiod, only the bottom of Death Val­ley had a lower mean annual rainfallthan this siding on the Santa Fe. Theaverage was 2.3 inches, but in fourout of the 20 years, when no rain fell,it was dryer than Death Valley. And

Camp at the base of the Lava hills. Obsidian "odules are found on the black tlal,letl ce1lter allli cell1er, and 011 similar mesas allli in the washes which cut lhem.

16 THE DESERT MAGAZINE

Amboy crater from the west, showing venl where the western wall has brokendown_ Obsidian nodules which CIII arid polish beautifully are found 0/1 flats and

in washes above and beyond the crater.

once, for a period of 32 months therewas not a drop of moisture from the,kyo

Bagdad also has the somewhatdoubtful honor of having the next tohighest mean annual temperature dur­ing the same 20 yean, Death Valleynear Fumace Creek leading again.This spot is credited with one of the

longest frost-free seasons in CaJi[or­nia, averaging 345 days annually.

We did not find the volcanic teanin great quantity anywhere, but theywere scattered over a wide area, andmost of them were of a grade of ob­sidian which would cut. The greatestconcentration seemed to occur on themesas which lay to !.he east of the

sandy uail we had followed, andwhich stretched in long dark fingenfrom the isolated bunes at the end ofthe ridge down toward the highway.Rockhounds who visit this field willhave to do some hiking, but those whoare willing to walk should be able tofind enough tears to cut all the ca~choos and drops they desire.

Inside the crater of Amboy cinder cone, showing the small inner cone. Designs onthe white flats are made by visitors who feel they have to leave their initials behind.

NOVEMBER, 194 9 17

While prospecting to the Lava hills,we found bits of jasper-mostly redand yellow, but some fine moss. Thenodules appeared to be non-existentin the hills themselves. In the washeswere a few chalcedony roses and oneor two broken geodes. The jasperseemed to be scattered more thicklyon the rocky slopes to the west of ourcamp and where the nodules were fewin number. It is possible that collect­ors who come in cooter seasons andare able to hunt farther from basewithout heat discomfort will find jas­per which will CUi into beautiful stones.

As to why the obsidian nodules donot occur in the hills or down in theAmboy basalt flows, I have no expla­nation, but so far I have not foundthem in either place.

I have yet to hear an explanationfor the little obsidian nodules whichapplies satisfactorily to all the variedconditions under which they seem tooccur. Obviously they are nOI floatfrom great flows or masses of obsidian,or it would be possible to trace themto that source. They have an oddlysculptured surface which makes themrather easy to identify after you areaccustomed to it, and which makes itappear that they were formed in verynearly the same shape and size inwhich they are found. in some casesthey have been traced to a matrix ofpumice or volcanic ash.

The stone most closely resemblingthese nodules, for which geologistshave oUered an explanation, IS the so­called "Pele's Hair," formed whendrops from the lava lake of Kilaueavolcano in Hawaii splatter upward andare blown to threads by the wind.These threads <Ire blown ashore, hard­ened into glass. In the case of thevolcanic tears, it seems possible theymight be blobs of lava thrmyn into theair and cooled swiftly into glass with­out being blown by the wind. Or per­haps they fell into pumice, volcanicasb, sand or mud and hardened lhere.The generally accepted theory of ob­sidian itself is that it is a molten rockwhich hardened too swiftly to fmmcrystals, or lhat it was too viscous toform crystals as it hardened. Had sometypes of volcanic glass hardened moreslowly, they would have formed gran­ite or even pegmatite.

Looking down into the Amboytrough from the vantage of the obsid­ian field, nearly 800 feet above thebed of Bristol dry lake, the crater andits surrounding flows, like some vastink blot, dominate the scene. It isalmost frightening, so savagely harshin appearance, so obviously an in­truder in the valley floor where it hasburst through the grey-green-brown ofthe desert. And it looks so recent that

you cannot help picturing what mighthappen today if such an eruptionblasted its way upward [rom the sup­posedly trustworthy earth through oneof our modern cities.

Probably there is little chance ofthat. Volcanoes seem to follow whatgeologists consider their proper modeof occurrence. There are a number ofremnants of them in this section ofthe Mojave. One of the most reason­able explanations for their appearancein this region is that they have comeup from molten magmas along faultlines, somewhat like the series of ex­plosion cones known as the Monocraters.

Faults are weak areas or fracturesin the outer crust of the earth alongwhich vertical and horizontal move­ment takes place when pressure else­where becomes too severe. We knowthat such movements cause our mostdevastating earthquakes, but not manypersons are acquainted with the partthey have played in designing our west­ern landscape. The preCipice of SanJacinto is a fault scarp and so is thesheer eastern face of the Sierra Ne­vadas and the western face of Utah'sWasatch mountains. The Coloradodesert and Imperial Valley are believedto have been formed when the blockbetween two faults either droppedlower or remained as it was while theland on the outer sides of the faultswas thrust upward.

Cadiz and Newberry faults havebeen suggested as those responsible forthe Mojave volcanoes, and Amboycrater has been mapped by H. T. Hillin a survey of Southern California ge­ology as almost on the Cadiz fault.These two faults have a northwest­southeast trend and are about 30 milesapart. The line of valleys betweenthem, culminating in Amboy trough,are believed to have been caused bydown-sags of the fault block betweenthe two.

Amboy itself is a cinder cone, anda Johnny-come-lately to the geologicalscene. Some observers estimate itseruption as recent as 500 years ago.One of the principal reasons for thisbelief is that the twisting black lavaflows from the crater followed approx­imately the present drainage lines ofthe valley.

A cinder cone is composed entirelyof fragments blasted out during vol­canic explosions. Sometimes it isformed during the closing stages of avolcanic eruption, when gases gatherand explode through lava which al­ready has hardened over a vent. Cin­der cones--Amboy is 200 feet high­usually are very symmetrical and havecircular craters. And they are diffi­cult to climb because they are made

of layers of loose material piled assteeply as is possible without sliding.

Amboy is the most approachablevolcano 1 know and its comparativenewness only adds to its interest since,so far as appearances goes, it wouldseem that the flows had just congealed.In fact, if we can judge by the heatwe felt when we visited it that mid­July day, it is possible that they arestill cooling. The auto-trail cuts southfrom Highway 66 a shade less thanfive miles eaSl of Bagdad and 1.9miles west of the town of Amboy.This track is an irritating combinationof soft sand and sharp lava, but shortlyafter taking it we entered a strangeworld of black and white and blue­basalt, sand and sky. It is a fascinatingwilderness of jagged, twisted rock toexplore in pleasant weather, and agood driver can go within about halfa mile of the base of the cinder cone.

We had intended to climb Amboy.I had been inside the crater previously,and found it an interesting spot, witha smaller cone within-apparently theresult of the volcano's final burp-­and a great break through the westernwall. There is a trail up the outsideof Amboy and over the rim which canbe negotiated without too much back­sliding.

But when we stopped for lunch, therocks burned our feet through thicksoles, the light reflecting from whitesand stung our eyes, and perspirationleft salt caked on our faces. We de­cided that if we must climb mountains,some of the cooler, higher desert oneswould be more appropriate to thattime of year.

rn the winter months, however, theclimate among Amboy's lava flows canbe delightful. No one who wishes toknow the desert in all its phases shouldfail to make a trip to Amboy's rim.And perhaps if you pause there a mo­ment you will experience the strangesensation that I did. 1t looked so new-so somehow unfinished. You feelthat-although you have missed theopening of the show-if you hangaround too long the curtain will goup for the third act, and perhaps youwill go up with it.

• • •Airport for Monument?

MONUMENT VALLEY - Legis­lation to permit construction of an air­port in Monument valley in south­eastern Utah, near the Harry Gouldingtrading post, is being prepared byUtah's Senator Thomas. The state issupporting the proposal. The landingfield would be of value in reacbingnorthern section of the reservation incase of an emergency such as last win­ter's record snow.

18 THE DESERT MAGAZINE