GEOLOGY OF WARWICK, NEW YORK: Rock Gallery

Tools like these were created by "pressure flaking".  You had to have the right kind of rock or this wouldn't work properly.  Note the smooth, dense texture of the stone.  Private local collection.

One of the gable ends of the John Hathorn house.

Fossils like this found on a local mountain show us that during the Silurian and Devonian ages of the earth, Warwick was under the sea.  Fossils in which the actual body or shell of the  prehistoric creature like this has been replaced over time, are actually rocks. 

This black Warwickite crystal is in a chunk of the Franklin Marble.  Collected at Edenville, from a private collection.

Grinding food such as grains and nuts required a smooth stone.  Hammerstones would be used to "peck" off small bits to improve on nature and get the right shape.  Private local collection.

Magnetite is one of the types of iron ore found here (that's a magnet sticking to it because of the high iron content)

This specimen of Clintonite (named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton) was collected in Amity and is now part of the collection of the New York State Museum (NYSM 22418)

Corundum with Spinel, collected in Warwick.  Part of the New York State Museum collection (NYSM 21147)

A celt, or non-grooved stone axe, could serve several purposes such as warfare, cutting wood or as a hoe.  Private local collection.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock that can sometimes weather into very weird shapes. This one was found by a local resident. Most limestone is composed of tiny fragments of marine organisms such as coral and mollusks. Warwick's limestone is one visible trace of the fact that this land was once under the sea.

Spinel crystal collected at Edenville, part of the Silas Young Collection at the New York State Museum (NYSM 12919)

Iron ore often has a reddish cast to it or looks "rusty."