Rockhounding is a popular activity widely enjoyed by both amateur and professional geologists. Colorado is an excellent location for rockhounding, offering a wide variety of geological features and mineral deposits. It’s known for its diverse range of rocks, minerals, and fossils, making it a popular destination for amateur and serious rockhounds. Colorado’s geology is rich, with various rock types, mineral deposits, and fossil sites.
John Rakowski, President of Pikes Peak Historical Society and geologist will present Pikes Peak Rockhounding 101 for the August Chautauqua. The presentation will be August 10 at the Florissant Public Library.
Rakowski will give a presentation about our local geology as it pertains to collectible mineral specimens and will discuss some tips for successful and fun mineral collecting in our area. He will bring examples of mineral specimens from the Florissant area available for visitors to examine. Tips for the identification of the most common minerals of the area will also be discussed.
“Geology and mineral collecting is “hands on” and the specimens will add to the understanding of the slide presentation.” Rakowski explained.
The Pikes Peak region is noted for high quality specimens of smoky quartz and amazonite. Native Americans had a great appreciation of these crystals not only the beauty of the specimens but also because they believed in the spiritual and medicinal value of the pieces. Early European settlers who came here began commercial mining and marketing specimens in the 1870’s and by the late 1800’s there were several mineral businesses based in Florissant. Hobby and small-scale mineral mining continues in the area on private land and on mining claims.
“Most commercial miners are knowledgeable and ethical about regulations and procedures but many hobbyists have much to learn about regulations, mining procedures and post-mining remediation,” explained Rakowski.
Rakowski began collecting minerals in this area as a hobby in the early 1960’s and later went on to earn a degree in Geology. His work career included employment with companies from 1968 to 1984 and then he had his own consulting company from 1984 until recently. The work was exploration for and development of oil and gas resources, acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas properties and re-development of previously uneconomic oil fields. As a professional exploration geologist for more than 40 years, he still enjoys rocks and minerals as a hobby. Because of his early appreciation of this area, he and his wife purchased property here in the late 1970’s, enjoyed holidays and vacations here and as of 2002 became full-time residents.
Rakowski and his wife, Debbie joined PPHS as Life Members in 2002. In 2009, he joined the Board and in 2009 he took over as President in January 2015.
He served as an officer of the Lake George Gem & Mineral Club for about 20 years including six terms as President. He is Certified by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists.