shale - teaching hand specimen of light tan diatomaceous shale - Monterey Fm

Description

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Teaching hand specimen of light tan diatomaceous shale from the Miocene Monterey Formation, Santa Barbara County, California
The Miocene age Monterey Formation is the source of much of the petroleum produced in California, thanks to the diatoms. Each contains a tiny droplet of oil. A constant rain of diatom exoskeletons falls to the sea floor in colder waters, with each containing a droplet of oil. With burial, compression and heating, the oil is converted first to kerogen, then with additional heating, to petroleum and then to.natural gas.
This shale is light in weight and color. The specimens will stand up to student examination if they are careful. It is a good contrast with much older green and gray shales we have in stock, as those are much harder.
Students should know the basic sedimentary rocks in order of increasing grain size, from mudstone and shale, siltstone, sandstone to conglomerate and coquina. Shales differ from mudstones in that they are more compressed, form flat plates, and are less likely to disappear in a poof of dust when dropped by a student.
These specimens were collected near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, California, from outcrops along Sweeney Road, well worth a visit if you are in the area.
These specimens will fit into a 3.5” x 5.25" specimen tray. We include data with every specimen: collecting locality for mineral specimens and for rocks also the formation and age, if determined.
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You can select a specimen by telling us what is in front of it - a black mechanical pencil, a silver and black pen, a silver and blue pen, or one of those plus some number of coins, or you can let us make the selection.
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