Discovering Mount Apatite: A Gem of Maine's Natural Beauty
School
Southern Maine Community College**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
BIOLOGY 235
Subject
Biology
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
11
Uploaded by
Mt. ApatiteBethany M ThibaultSouthern Maine Community CollegeBiology with Lab for Non-Majors_BKLauren Hayden
Mount Apatite, which is named after the phosphate mineral "apatite," is a notable geological site famous for its rich minerals. Exploration of this site dates back to 1839, when records from that yearreport the addition of three tourmaline varieties to the Maine State Geologist's collection (Maine, 2024).Over the following years, Mount Apatite has gained recognition for yielding an abundance of semi-precious stones and various minerals. In the 1880s, an exploration effort resulted in the extraction of over 1,500 tourmaline crystals ranging from ½ inch to 4 inches in length. These crystals showcased a variety of colorful tones such as pink, blue, lilac, yellow, and green. Noteworthy among these is an 11.87-carat green rectangular tourmaline that is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Additionally, in 1902, the Maine Feldspar Company commenced mining operations for feldspar at Mount Apatite, during which a significant smoky quartz crystal, measuring about 19 ½ inches in length and 9 ½ inches in thickness, was discovered. This massive sample featured flawless amber material and formed a central exhibit at Perham’s of West Paris (Maine, 2024). Mount Apatite Park encompasses 325 acres of wooded forest and is located in the western part of Auburn Maine serving as a picturesque recreational area that offers a diverse variety of activities that is not usually available in municipal park settings. The city purchased most of this property in the early 1970s, which marked the beginning of its development as a community resource. In 1994, the park underwent extensive enhancements and improvements with the construction of 3.1 miles of multi-purpose trails that was funded by a Land & Water Conservation fund-matching grant. Further improvements were made in 1997 that were supported by grants from the National Recreational Trails Act. The grants facilitated the enhancement of park signage, the upgrading of existing trails along with the addition of new trails in the quarry area (Maine, Mt. Apatite Trails, 2024). The park's trails are seasonally adapted and maintained bythe city of Auburn to support a variety of recreational activities: they are groomed for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and spring, and in the summer and fall, they are accessible to mountain bikers, runners, bikers, and other non-motorized trail users as motorized equipment such as ATV’s are prohibited and can carry a 200.00 fine (Maine, Mt. Apatite Trails, 2024). I have enjoyed visitingthe beautiful hiking trails of Mt. Apatite year-round for the past five years. The beautiful scenery comes to life in the summer and fall months with a variety of vegetation such as ferns, mosses, and lichens (Figure 1). To conduct my observations at Mount Apatite, I relied primarily on digital tools and resources. My smartphone was essential as it was equipped with apps such as "Picture This- Plant Identifier" for identifying various plant species, "Rock Identifier" for recognizing different minerals, “Merlin bird ID,” and a compass app that came in very handy on my last visit as I went down an unfamiliar trail on my way out of the park. This detour would have ended my hike on the other side of the park about three miles away from my vehicle if I did not have my compass on hand as signs are spaced about 50 meters apart and can be overlooked or worn out. Additionally, I enriched my understanding of the site with insights from Tom Wessels' "Reading the Landscape" videos. I also relied heavily on my calculation/estimation of steps per meter from the environmental awareness lab. According to my average stride, 16.333 of my normal steps equals 10 meters. During my first visit to Mount Apatite on September 6th2024, the air was hot and humid settling at a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. Red trail distances 1.5 miles long, also known as the “number 6”
trail on the park map (figure 2). This trail leads me uphill about 1200 meters or 3/4 of a mile from the entrance of the red trail to the Feldspar and Greenlaw quarries. Observations and asking questions weremy focus. I observed a diverse array of flora or various species that enriched the park's ecosystem. September shines brightly through the leaves of the tall trees of Mt. Apatite and tree tops bustle with small critters such as red squirrels and chipmunks. I recorded witnessing the sound of scurrying squirrels leaping between the limbs of the twenty-foot-tall deciduous and coniferous trees causing acorns to fall, gathering these seeds and quickly scurrying away twenty-one times on my way to the quarries on the north end of Mt. Apatite on the red trail. I recorded eighteen squirrels foraging on my return from the quarries. Small woodland creatures are the main fauna aside from a few species of avifauna and amphibians that I have witnessed upon each visit. About 100 meters into the wooded forest I reached a small wetland to my left where I observed two toads hoping along the trail. Directly across from me on the right side of the trail I was able to witness a Garter Snake that quickly slithered away through the tallgrass between trees as I approached. I asked myself as I walked along the trail what kinds of plants and trees grow along my favorite path? The plants are beautiful, but what are their names? Are any of the flora hazardous and what do they look like? Why does Mt. Apatite have such an abundance of Mica and quartz crystal while other parks do not? Where did all of the sand come from that is shown in abundance at the military training site (figure 3)? I had not thought about any of these questions before this class, I had always walked the trails and simply enjoyed the beauty rather than contemplating the ecology or history of the site. I remember thinking all the sand was put there by man as a means for military training and tactical procedures.My second site visit was September 28th. The air was cold and damp settling around 10 degrees celcius and the ground was moist and muddy. The wind speed was two to five mph with plenty of moisture from a rainfall the day before. I did not witness any wildlife other than a few bird species at thebeginning of the trail. My compass told me I was heading north to reach the quarries and the trail signs indicated I was on the right path. I did get lucky and saw a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) resting on a high tree limb when I reached the quarries and got a better view of the treetops (Figure 4). According to maine.gov, the bald eagle was on the endangered species list from 1967 with a record low of 21 nests in Maine, to 2009 having reached a record of 730 nests taking them off the endangered species list (Maine.gov, 2024). The earliest known record of the Bald eagle comes from cave fossils in Colorado dating back 780,000 years ago. Their population stretches globally and they are listed as “LC” on the red list site meaning least concerned as their population has grown exponentially since the 1960’s when they were nearly extinct (IUCN, 2024). Bald eagles are a keystone species, apex predators, and generalist hunters eating the weak old and slow moving animals controlling population. They are also scavengers, eating dead animals helping to keep the habitat and ecosystem clean however they alsoleave prey remains behind for other species to eat. Bald eagles also help to prune trees as they break offdead limbs or sticks to build their nests. Depending on the season, birds, mice, and squirrels might search for nesting materials and build their own nests from the sticks of an eagle's nest. Great horned owls have been documented using these nests for courtship, while other animals may seek shelter from other predators, like a House Wren hiding from a Hawk. Similar to a coral reef or a dead tree, bald eagle nests become a gathering place for animals looking for food, shelter, mates, and protection (Project, 2024). The other birds I saw were the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), the blue jay
(Cyanocitta cristata), and the Mourning dove (Zenaida Macroura). I also heard, but did not see, the famous chickadee (Poecile articapillus) letting out their warning cry to others that a predator is nearby “Chickadee-dee-dee” (Federation, 2024). I am unsure which sub-species of chickadee birds I heard as I could not see them. Based on my research and best educated guess, I believe I heard the black capped chickadee because they are found in deciduous-evergreen forests and much like the other birds I saw, they tend to live closer to human populations as humans provide food for them either via garbage or bird feeders. All four species of small birds also prefer the damp areas just outside of heavily wooded forests which is why I found them outside of the trail. According to a population ecology article from “The Rural Maine Reporting Project” in 2019 surveys indicated clearcutting and commercial forestry reduced bird populations in the U.S. and Canada by as much as 3 billion since 1970, however recent studies have shown that 33 of the 47 species that declined in population across the nation, have increased significantly in northern Maine woods near Moosehead Lake where, according to The Breeding Bird survey, 35 of the 47 species have continued to decline across the US and Canada. Researchers are not sure why this is however they believe because much of northern Maine woods are uninhabited and protected, birds have been able to re-populate faster (Sharon, 2024). I want to make note of an interesting environmental phenomena I encountered as I explored above the Greenlaw quarry. I discovered a tree that had an intricately dug out hole near the base where, based on how beautifully the trunk was hallowed out and the small amount of red fur I saw inside of it, it was made by a red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Maine has two species of fox, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). They are not considered a keystone species. They are in the middle of the food web because they can be predator or prey. Their scat helps to spread seeds for vegetation and theymostly eat little woodland critters which many other predators eat as well so removing the fox from this ecosystem would not be detrimental. Foxes are also known for carrying rabies and biting humans, whichmakes them more dangerous to us and the ecosystem as they can also infect other animals. The red fox appeared in the fossil record and originated in Eurasia about 1.5 million years ago and reached North America about 130,000 years ago (Maine.gov, 2024). Inside the hallowed-out tree trunk that I identified as the White ash (Fraxinus americana), I saw a large milky quartz crystal had grown into the top of the hole. As the tree slowly grew, the crystal that was in the soil had been engulfed by the tree and hitchhiked with it as the tree grew. It was very fascinating, and I have not seen anything like it as rocks do not typically grow into trees because they are too smooth for the tree to take hold of it (Figure 5 and 6). Among the diversity of flora, I have identified and became excited to teach my kids about the different edible plants that grow in this park and subsequentially, all of Maine such as Common broadleaf plantain (Plantago major), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), and Blue violets (Viola sororia) (see Figure 7). This is very valuable to learn in case one ever finds themselves lost without enough resources to survive. I have learned that winterberry berries look strikingly similar to wintergreen plants and the berries they produce, however the winterberry fruit is poisonous to humans.I have also learned to recognize and avoid hazardous plants that I have not cared to research before such as stinging nettle, wild parsnip, and poison oak, sumac, and ivy. Learning about which plants to avoid was not a priority until my research showed me how many times I could have absent mindedly walked through poison ivy to observe a hollow tree trunk or to get a closer look at a fungus or signs of
an old forest fire. The forest was littered with tall conifer trees such as the mighty white pine (pinus Strobus), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and cedar (Thuja occidentalis). Trees such as the White ash (Fraxinus americana), red maple (Acer rubrum), and northern red oak(Quercus rubra) were found in abundance as well all along the trail (Plant Identifier). My third site visit I focused on the quarry’s and answering my questions of why Mt. Apatite was so rich in minerals and precious stones? Where did the sand come from at the Army National Guard training site? The quarry pits are encircled by ledges and boulders that show incredible geological characteristics such as basalt dikes intersecting granite pegmatite (figure 8) and the interlayering of pegmatite with gray metamorphic rock resting ontop of it. The coarse pegmatite has large, easily observable examples of several common rock-forming minerals, such as quartz, feldspar, and mica. 39 mineral species have been found and recorded at Feldspar and Greenlaw quarries. Various features around the quarries highlight past mining techniques such as waste rock dump piles (figure9) and evidence of quarry drainage as seen in figure 10. Greenlaw and feldspar quarrys are located on the northwest side of the park on the main trail. The Greenlaw quarry is roughly 20 meters long by 15 meters wide and Feldspar quarry is left of Greenlaw quarry about 10 meters farther into the trail on the opposite side and is roughly about 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. Stroll down to the water's edge at the Feldspar Quarry and looking across at the tall western wall, you'll see metamorphic rock layered above lighter-colored pegmatite as shown in figure 11. As you continue up the road between the quarries, you'll come across a set of stone steps. To the right of these steps is a low rock face that initially looks like a stone wall. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that this densely fractured bedrock is actually a dark, fine-grained rock known as basalt. Basalt forms when magma rises upwards through nearly vertical faults and cools as it approaches the surface, creating dikes. Dikes are wall-like or sheet-like igneous intrusions that cut across the existing layers of the rock they penetrate. As you make your way down the stone steps and take a left, the path will lead you back to Greenlaw Quarry. Continue walking west about 20 meters and, looking down, you will find evidence of glacial striation as shown in
figure 12 which are small scrapes in the same direction on the igneous rock (formed from melted rock deep in the earth at the location) made from glacier movement. During the ice age (Pleistocene Epoch), which spanned from about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago, huge ice sheets, like the Antarctic Ice Sheet today, likely covered Maine several times (Maine Department of Agriculture, 2021). As these massive glaciers slowly moved across the land, they reshaped the landscape by scraping over mountains and valleys, wearing down rocks, and carrying them far away which explains why the surface of Maine is mostly covered with sand, gravel, and other loose materials left behind by these glaciers. Some of these materials were directly deposited by the ice as uneven layers of rocky soil, while others were washed into the sea or into streams and lakes by water as the ice melted. The "deserts" in Maine were created when strong winds during the late-glacial period blew sand out of valleys, piling up as dunes on nearby hillsides which explains the abundance of sand at the entrance of Mt. Apatite. The amount of sand is so significant at this park entrance it can be seen on my map from google earth. This glacial activity also changed previous water flow patterns and helped create a lot of the ponds and lakes seen throughout Maine today. Around 17,000 to 16,000 years ago, the edge of the ice sheet moved back from the Gulf of Maine to where the Maine coast is today, having receded NW according to geologists (Maine Department of Agriculture, 2021). This aligns with the evidence I found of the glacial striations on the igneous rock I encountered showing the scraping patterns moving NW according to my compass.
Appendix(Zoomed out map of my study site from google earth)(Figure 1- Left to right- Ferns (Polypodiopsida), Lichens, and moss (bryophyta)(Figure 2- trail guide of my study site)
(Figure 3- Sand pit infront of the hiking trails across from the ANG armory) (Figure 4-Bald eagle on blue(Figure 4-Bald eagle on blue trail perched on Eastern White Pine tree)
(Figure 5- fox hole)(Figure 6- The hallow trunk engulfing the crystal)(Figure 7- left to right- broadleaf plantain, wintergreen, and Blue violets)(Figure 8-basalt dikes intersecting granite pegmatite)
(Figure 9- mining evidence of rock dumping) (Figure 10 evidence of quarry draining)(Figure 11- metamorphic rock layered above lighter-colored pegmatite)
(Figure 12- Evidence of glacial striation)