Geology Resources – Maine

• Maine State Bureau of Geology and Natural Areas
• Maine Geological Survey
  • History of Quarrying in Maine
  • Maine’s Mines and Quarries – Virtual Tour of Maine’s Mines and Quarries
  • Maine Geology – Virtual Tour of Maine’s Geology
    • Bedrock Geology – Virtual Tour of Maine Geology
    • Bedrock Geologic History of Maine, by Robert G. Marvinney.
    • Virtual Tour of Maine’s Minerals
  • Economic Geology
  • Geologic Site of the Month
  • Maine Geology at the Smithsonian Institution
  • Maps, Publications, and Online Data
    • Using Geologic Maps
  • Maine Mineral Collecting
    • A Collector’s Guide to Maine Mineral Localities, by W. B. Thompson, D. L. Joyner, R. G. Woodman, and V. T. King, 1998, Catalog No. B-41, 106 pp., 56 locality maps. (Can be ordered from the Maine Geological Survey.)
    • Mineralogy of Maine, Volume 1: Descriptive Mineralogy, edited by Vandall T. King and Eugene E. Foord, 1994, 418 pp., 88 plates (99 color photos, 537 black-and-white photos) (Can be ordered from the Maine Geological Survey.)
    • Mineralogy of Maine, Volume 2: Mining History, Gems, and Geology, edited by Vandall T. King, 2000, 524 pp. (45 color photos, 344 black-and-white photos) (Can be ordered from the Maine Geological Survey.)
    • Mineral Collecting Photo Gallery
    • Maine Mineral Collecting Fact Sheets (Scroll down to the section.)
• Maine State Minerals Information  (USGS)
• Ancient Volcanic Rocks on Vinalhaven Island, Maine Geological Survey, Geologic Site of the Month – March 1998.
• DiscoverySchool.com – Maine – Minerals & Mining.  The information below was taken from the Worldbook section of the DiscoverySchool.com web site.  (Worldbook is no longer available at this web address.)
  <http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozgeography/m/339280.html>

  Some granite and limestone deposits are quarried, although the state has many deposits of both.  Slate deposits are located near Brownville and Monson in the central part of the state.  One of the main elements of the Maine’s mining industry is limestone, which is crushed for use in cement.  Both Knox and Aroostook counties have limestone quarries.  Cumberland and Penobscot counties both produce sandstone, which is crushed for use.

• Bowdoin College – Geology Department
• A Geologic History of Maine, (book) by Robert G. Marvinney, Woodrow B. Thompson, Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Maine Geological Survey.  (This publication is available on the Maine Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology of Maine (photographs and information), presented by the Maine Geological Survey.  (The topics covered in this section include:  Water; Glacial; Marine; Bedrock, Economic; Minerals; Fossils; Geologic Site of the Month; Maps, Publications, and Education; and People and email.)
• Maine Caves, presented by Eric Hendrickson.
• Maine Geology at the Smithsonian Institution, Geology Site of the Month, April 2000.
• Maine Mineral Collecting Sites, presented by Bob’s Rock Shop.
• The Maine Mineralogical and Geological Society, Portland, Maine.
• Maine Rocks and Minerals, by the Chebeague Island’s K-3 graders.  This site includes many photographs and descriptions of the rocks and minerals of Maine.
• Mineral Collecting in Maine, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, & Forestry.
• Mineralogy of Maine, Volume 2: Mining History, Gems, and Geology, edited by Vandall T. King  2000, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry.
• “Mt. Waldo Granite Study Yields New Clues About State’s Geological Past,” March 30, 2000, by the University of Maine, Orono, Maine. (The link to this article is no longer available.)
  <http://www.umaine.edu/mainesci/Archives/GeoSciences/Mt.Waldo%20Study.htm>
• National Geologic Map Database, presented by the United States Geologic Survey.
• Newry, Maine – New Mineral Park – State to purchase old mines to form public mineral park, Associated Press article, on the Press Herald Online web site. (The link from which the article title was obtained is no longer available.)
  <http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030710minerals.shtml>
• Newry, Maine – On The Origin of Some Pegmatites in The Town of Newry, Maine (Abstract), B. M. Shaub,  Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, American Mineralogist, Volume 40, pp. 673-688, 1940.
• Northern Maine Museum of Science  (In the Biology and Geology section of there is an exhibit on Minerals of Maine and another exhibit in preparation on Maine Slate.)
• Somes Sound, Mount Desert Island, Geologic Site of the Month – November 1998, Maine Geological Survey.

Stone Carvers, Stone Cutters, etc., in Maine

• Bartlett Adams, Stonecutter – “Dedicated to the Eastern Cemetery, the oldest historic landscape in Portland, Maine,” article on Spirits Alive.
• Obadiah Buell in Sullivan, Maine:  “Stone Designs & Granite Garden Gallery.  Obadiah Buell makes light and fluid sculptures from scavenged granite tailings.” Article on Down East.
• Douglas & Sigrid Coffin – Coffin & Daughter Lettercutters in Stockton Springs, Maine – “Father and Daughter Chisel Meaning into Stone,” article by Donna Gold, on MaineBoats.comcom – “Douglas Coffin, Letter Cutter,” by Tom Seymour, Granite Cutters in Maine, Part II, “Fishermen’s Voice,” Vol. 19, No. 6, June 2014.
• Griersons of Maine – County of Knox, Maine  (Stone carvers from Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbright, Scotland) This site is presented on Arthur Grierson’s Giersons of Maine: County of Knox web site.  (The link to this article is no longer available, although you can read the article on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
  

  Mr. Grierson’s ancestors worked in the worked the quarries in Spruce Head and Clarks Island, Maine

• Steven Haynes – Made in Maine Craftsman: Master Stonecutter Steven Haynes  (Maine Granite) This online article was presented by Deborah Fowles, on the About web site. (The link to this email is no longer available, although you can read the article on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. This article provides information about Steven Haynes and Juanita Sprague’s Rocky Coast Rock Shop.) “Penobscot Bay granite industry talk” (Talk that was given by Steven Haynes, the director of the Maine Granite Industry Museum on Mount Desert), October 13, 2013, updated May 6, 2021, Courier-Gazette. The Maine Granite Industry Historical Society Museum, which is non-profit, is housed in the Haynes Toro Shop building at 62 Beech Hill Crossroad, Mount Desert ME 04660.   You can email them with questions relating to the Maine stone quarries. (You might want to visit the Maine Granite Industry Historical Society Museum web site located in Mount Desert, Maine. Steven Haynes and Juanita Sprague have researched the Maine granite industry for many years.)

  Steve giving a granite cutting demonstration

• Steve Lindsay, a granite sculptor in Tenants Harbor, Maine.  “Granite sculptor makes art from Midcoast Maine’s legendary quarries,” article by Kay Stephens, August 8, 2017, Penobscot Bay Pilot.  (“Inspired by St. George’s Granite Industry”)
• Protasio Neri (1850-1905) –  “Protasio Neri and Italian stonecutters,” article on the Maine Memory Network.
• “The Pratt Family of Stonecutters,” by Ralph L. Tucker, in Markers XIV, Association for Gravestone Studies, 1997. (Maine, Massachusetts, USA)