Cliff full of Vugs

[meMiner]

I was exploring and found a really interesting cliff. For sure, sodium feldspar and calcite. I went in light, so did not have the proper tools to extract clusters from the crystal cavities, without unnecessarily destroying them. I did get take loose crystals, which I have to clean up to confirm, but think I probably also got some fluorite, apatite, amphibole and pyroxene. I took a short video with a GoPro:

 

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[Eu_citzen]

NEAT!

 

[MartyRocks]

Nice looking area for crystals.

 

[hvacker]

Can I ask what altitude are you at. By the trees it looks below 7000 feet. Also does the formation go higher?
Why I'm asking is that it seems the higher the rocks, the more gemmy things get.
The potential for where your at seems really good.

 

[meMiner]

Good observation hvacker. This is now fairly low, but there is a reason for the mineralization to be there:

This area has a complex geology and that extends for many miles. The funny thing is the rocks can change in a few feet. The reason this area is so good for mineral collecting is that it was once part of a mountain range that was over 10 miles high. However, glaciers and other erosion, over millions of years, has worn the peaks down to small hills. Rocks that have undergone metamorphic changes, due to the intense heat and pressure deep in the earth, are now exposed in pockets on or near the surface. There was quite a bit of mining in the 1800s, but very little commercial mining now in the area since the end of WW2.