The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, houses a world-class collection recognized as the finest in the Pacific Northwest and one of the finest in the United States. Richard and Helen Rice constructed the building that would become the museum as their family home in 1952. The Museum building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its unique architectural style, natural stonework, and the extraordinary native Oregon woodwork found throughout the building.
In 2005, the museum opened what had originally been Richard Rice’s workshop as the Rudy Tschernich Northwest Mineral Gallery. This gallery focuses primarily on the mineral heritage of the Pacific Northwest.
Shown below is some of the sagenite agate which is on display. Sagenite is a needle-like mineral that is enclosed within chalcedony or quartz. At many sagenite locations, the silica-rich zeolite, mordenite, forms thin needles which are normally colorless to white, but may be coated with manganese or iron oxides to give it a black or brown color. Other minerals which can form sagenite include erionite, a silica-rich zeolite, and carbonate minerals, such as calcite and siderite.
More Minerals
Northwest Mineral Gallery: Stilbite (Photo Diary)
Northwest Mineral Gallery: Plume and Moss Agate (Photo Diary)
Northwest Mineral Gallery: Idaho Heulandite (Photo Diary)
Northwest Mineral Gallery: Some Montana Minerals (Photo Diary)
Mineral Museum: Quartz (Photo Diary)
Mineral Museum: Butte Minerals (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Some Minerals (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: South American Gems and Minerals (Photo Diary)