3 minute read
Treasures of the Arctic
WORDS BY STEWART BURNETT
Forgive me, for my entire goal as editor-in-chief of Tusaayaksat Magazine was not to make the magazine about myself. That’s why I kept my name of the pages and photos during my time here. I’ve had an incredible experience chronicling the people, land and culture of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
But there’s one thing that stood out and still calls to me, and for that I do have to make a brief article about my own interests.
You’ve got some great rocks up here.
I’ve been a rockhound for several years, which means I enjoy looking for special rocks, collecting them and getting them polished. I have many pendants, cabochons, slabs and other pieces of jewelry from rocks I’ve found. Most of my time has been spent hounding Dallasite on Vancouver Island, but I’m always on the lookout wherever I go.
I had a trip to Paulatuk last fall, when snow did not quite cover the beach yet. I took a stroll down to the water for pictures and was immediately enthralled. Te whole community is full of agate and chert material. In fact, the roads are essentially paved with it.
Agate is the name for translucent or semi-translucent microcrystalline quartz. It is usually best identifed in the translucent banding shown in the photo on the opposite page, which is known as fortifcations. Tis is a semiprecious stone, meaning it’s not quite up there like emerald or topaz, but it’s more special than your average rock. You know, ‘semi’-precious.
Paulatuk agates appear to be a mix of blues, purples and greys. Tey are absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t ft enough in my bag. I was bashing the permafrost beach until my hands were frozen trying to get my favourite ones out. And I only had access to a small strip of bare land. Clearly, the region is stufed with geological treasures. I’ve seen amber and petrifed wood from the area before.
I’ve made several contacts in the rockhounding world in my time in the hobby, and I sent a box of these Paulatuk stones to a friend in Michigan, Chuck Martin. He is an expert-level rock tumbler and polisher. In exchange for keeping his favourite one, he tumbled the stones for me.
In his own words, they were a pain to polish. Te agates of Paulatuk were not as ocean-worn as beach agates down south would be, likely because there is much less wave action in the Arctic (because the water’s frozen). My friend had to clean the stones regularly to get all the grit out of the crevices, and some agates broke down in the tumbler, never to be seen again.
But he did get a handful fnished close to his standards, and some of them are jawdroppers. And along with the agates, I had sent him a piece of petrifed wood from Paulatuk, and he turned that into a necklace pendant.
In other trips around the region, I’ve spotted agate material in Ulukhaktok and Tuktoyaktuk. Inuvik has pyrite, which many people fnd around the Children First Centre. And Sachs Harbour has both red jasper and agates – and some of the most beautiful, translucent agates I’ve seen. One is shown above.
I hoped to spend more time hounding the communities in summer, but it was not meant to be. Instead, I encourage you to get out there and fnd rocks and crystals. Tis is a rich region, and these stones are valuable. I believe a cottage industry of polishing and selling agates, petrifed wood, crystals and jasper could be developed here. I think they’d be a hit with tourists. And I know there is way more than I was able to fnd on my short trips.
Once you get into rockhounding, you never look back, and you also never look up at the people you’re beach walking with either. It’s a fantastic hobby and the Arctic ofers incredible opportunities to fnd rocks and crystals no one else on the planet can fnd. Hopefully this article inspires you to take a look down next time you’re at the beach, at a river or out on the land. Tere’s gold, diamonds and treasure under your feet – literally!
