Burkholder is an active quarry located at 404 Martindale Road.  Burkholder has produced some nice calcite and fluorite crystals.   Fieldtrip is from 8:30AM - 5:00PM.

Please signup if you would like to attend!  Note: This is about a 1.5-hour drive from Wilmington.

May 14, 2005, Saturday: Martin Limestone Burkholder Quarry, Ephrata, Lancaster Co., PA:  Burkholder is an active quarry located at 404 Martindale Road.  Burkholder has produced some nice calcite and fluorite crystals.   Please be the Martin Limestone office by 9:00 AM sharp!  All attending must sign a release form.  Junior members are welcome but must be supervised by a parent.   

Above: Yellow calcite and purple fluorite crystals abound in the karst of Burkholder Quarry.  Scott removes a specimen of purple fluorite. (bottom right)

Geologic Time Scale

The Epler Formation consists of dark gray to black, very finely crystalline, interbedded limestone and dolomite, which is exposed in the northern 4/5 of the quarry. The Buffalo Springs Formation, which is exposed only in the previously mined cove along the southern highwall, is a light to dark gray, fine to medium crystalline, laminated and interbedded limestone and dolomite.

The rocks at Burkholder Quarry were intensely deformed from faulting and folding. A high thrust fault (dipping approximately 70 degrees south), with a displacement of a few thousand, separates the Buffalo Springs Formation in the southern part of the quarry from the Epler Formation in the north. The rocks in the Epler Formation are not as intensely deformed as those in the Buffalo Springs Formation. However, the Epler Formation is steeply dipping at the fault, is cut by several faults with resultant fold development and dips approximately 15 to 20 degrees at the northern highwall.


Mineralogy

Mineralization occurs in veins and in vug fillings in brecciated rock and includes:

Barite, which is rarely found as yellowish plates (5mm);

Calcite, which commonly occurs as massive white veins and scalenohedral crystals and smaller colorless crystals;

Chalcopyrite, which occasionally occurs as golden crystals on and in the calcite;

Dolomite, which occurs as well formed, pink curved crystals usually associated with calcite and fluorite;

Fluorite, which occurs as 3-4mm purple cubes or seen as purple sheen on fractures and joints;

Malachite, which appears as a green halo around chalcopyrite;

Pyrite, which is common as tiny pyritohedron forms associated with calcite and fluorite and as ¼ inch cubes in the green mudstone/limestone layer;

Quartz, which occurs as opaque masses in calcite and occasionally as terminated clear crystals; and

Sphalerite, which is uncommon but sometimes occurs as red-orange masses associated with calcite and dolomite. [Bob Asreen]

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