Dr. Heather McFarlin
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volcanoheather.bsky.social
Dr. Heather McFarlin
@volcanoheather.bsky.social
2.1K followers 1.1K following 200 posts
Mom, Alaska seismology, volcanology, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion advocate, social justice and equity.
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volcanoheather.bsky.social
Copied from AEC post on X: Check out these amazing photos of the Tracy Arm Landslide! Thank you to Jacek Macelko for sharing these images, taken on Tuesday, August 12 from 3,500 ft. The pale triangle of the landslide scar stands out. 🧪⚒️🪨 1/2
Picture taken by pilot Jacek Maselko. Shows the South Sawyer Glacier, and in the background is the scar in the mountain that the landslide originated from Picture taken by pilot Jacek Maselko. This one shows a different angle of the mountain that the landslide originated from, and also the water in the fjord that is now filled with debris. The terminus of the glacier is also visible, and is covered with rock and debris. Picture taken by pilot Jacek Maselko. Another angle of the mountain that the landslide originated from, with a different view of the debris-filled fjord and the terminus of the glacier. The light-colored part of the mountain is the scar. Pilot states they were flying at about 3500 ft. Picture taken by pilot Jacek Maselko. Another angle of the scar on the mountainside and the debris-covered glacier terminus. Pilot was flying at about 3500 ft.
August 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
From Alaska Earthquake Center over on X. Alt-text of AEC X post is in the screenshot, along with their link, so you dont actually have to go to X
x.com/AKearthquake...
We received reports this morning from the Endicott Arm area of Southeast Alaska of a local tsunami that rolled through the area just after 5:30 AM. Seismic signals large enough to be seen widely across southern Alaska confirm a significant landslide in the region at about same time. We are working with other agencies and colleagues to understand the full sequence of events, but at this point, all evidence suggests that this set of 1-foot high waves was set in motion by a landslide of several tens of millions of cubic meters of rock striking the water. We are working to confirm the exact location. Learn more about our landslide monitoring efforts here: earthquake.alaska.edu/what-it-takes-…
August 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
First pic I saw. Meant to post this last night anyway. Me with J.T. Woodruff from Hawthorne Heights from last night's show
August 2, 2025 at 5:11 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Another couple of premieres from Dad's collection. These are topaz from Utah. The bag they were in has a word that I can't quite read, maybe some Utah mineral expert can understand what it says? 🪨⚒️🧪
2 topaz minerals from Utah. The one on the left is about an inch tall. The one on the right is some tiny pink topaz crystals on a matrix. Small baggy that the topaz minerals were in. It has one unreadable word (Ti--and?) followed by 'Topaz Utah'.
February 17, 2025 at 1:19 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Another piece of sphalerite with quarts and some chalcopyrite. Same as mineral in previous picture, this side has more quartz and calcite.
January 13, 2025 at 12:01 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Unlabeled minerals (2 pics of each) from Dad's collection: Azurite with malachite collected at a mine near Socorro, NM around 1975. The other 2 🪨s are from the 21 level of Camp Bird Mine, Ouray, CO, between 1969-1972. I think they are sphalerite with some chalcopyrite, quartz, and calcite. 🪨⚒️
Azurite with malachite. About 10 inches long by 3 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall. This is the side with more malachite. Azurite with malachite from first picture. Lots of dark sparkly blue azurite on this side!! Sphalerite with chalcopyrite and calcite (I think). Other side of mineral from 3rd picture. Mostly sphalerite on this side.
January 13, 2025 at 12:01 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
There's also this 🪨 that I am not sure what it is. It's a greyish-green mineral, appears to have a bunch of thin crystals that radiate out from central points (maybe 3 points?), and there are some small, black sparkly minerals near the base. Likely from somewhere in the SW (CO, NV, AZ, CA). ⚒️
Mystery mineral, greyish-green thin crystals that radiate out from a central point. There appear to be at least 3, maybe 4 of these central points in the specimen, the crystals overlap between the different points. There is also a mystery black mineral at the base-sparkly and small, not-quite-round shaped. Different angle of the mystery mineral. I see 2 central points in this view. Yet another different angle. I see 3 central points in this view, and a good amount of the mystery black mineral at the bottom. A final view of the mystery mineral. The black mystery mineral is in an almost even line at the bottom.
December 31, 2024 at 4:06 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Tonight's 🪨 mineral is nice fluorite from Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. I love how it fades from purple to white, and the purple side lets you see the cool texture of the fluorite, the cute little squares all over the tip. I need to get a black light so I can see if it flouresces. ⚒️
Piece of flourite- the end facing the camera is purple, and allows us to see the square shapes of the fluorite crystals making up the mineral. The purple fades to white as you look toward the far end of the mineral Different angle of the flourite.
December 31, 2024 at 3:54 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Omg so many. There's a bunch of cool places if you are up for a short walk in the desert. We went to Grapevine Canyon to see the petroglyphs a few months ago, just outside Laughlin. If you go to Havasu, there's Sara's crack. That's a really cool hike. www.golakehavasu.com/crack-in-the...
Big rock in the desert outside of Laughlin, NV, that has petroglyphs drawn on the rock. A hill in the desert with a dark rock that has petroplyphs of antelope on it.
December 31, 2024 at 3:37 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
calcite growing in little balls on the sides. The last is a nice piece of pink calcite. It almost looks wet. 🪨⚒️
Larger pink calcite sample, with an unknown material, presumably from where it was growing in the mine before it was collected. Mounted in a small plastic display case on Styrofoam. Different view of the pink calcite. Can see the shape of the calcite and how the larger pieces intersect.
December 28, 2024 at 6:05 PM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
The last 3 labeled 🪨 from my dad's collection. After today i may need some help id'ing. All are from Camp Bird Mine in Ouray, Colorado. ⚒️

The first is quartz, lots of crystals intersecting & it looks kinda like a star burst! The second is a little quartz with calcite. Tiny quartz crystals with
Lots of intersecting quartz crystals that grew out from each other in different directions. Looks kind of like a star burst. Mineral is mounted in a plastic display case on top of Styrofoam. View of the previous quartz from a different direction. The brown spots are where it was connected to the earth before it was collected. Tiny quartz crystals with tiny calcite attached. The calcite is a tiny bit pink. Mineral is mounted in a small plastic display case on top of Styrofoam. Further-away view the previous small quartz plus calcite. This view shows more of the calcite.
December 28, 2024 at 6:05 PM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
In addition to being a driller and rock collector, my dad was a knife maker. My mom sent me one she found as a Christmas gift from him. Damascus steel with an ivory handle. I cried when I opened it, knowing this was one of the last knives he ever made. 🪨⚒️🔪
Folding knife with an ivory handle. I'm holding it above a small gift box that has red tissue paper inside. The same folding knife opened to show the Damascus steel-dark Grey metal heat treated to have wavy lines in it. The knife is sitting on top of the box and paper from the other picture
December 27, 2024 at 4:41 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Also, with each chalcopyrite i find, I like it more and more. Also, here is a top down view of the quartz+barite piece.
Another view of the quartz + barite piece. The 3 quartz crystals intersection at different angles, and there are globs of barite on each one.
December 27, 2024 at 4:31 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Tonight's 🪨, both from Camp Bird Mine near Ouray, Colorado: chalcopyrite with calcite, and quartz with barite. It's cool how one of the quartz crystals turns color at the end- at first glance in thought it was a smoky color, but it looks a little more like a grey-green.
3 quartz crystals intersecting at different angles, 2 are white-clear, and one has a greenish-grey coloring at the tip. All have light tan barite globules growing on them. The sample is mounted in a plastic display case on Styrofoam. A different angle of the 3 quartz crystals. This is view shows the greenish-grey tip of one of the crystals. Dark-colored Chalcopyrite crystal with a white calcite crystal growing from the top of it. There is a small calcite crystal growing in the lower front corner as well. Mineral is mounted in a plastic display case on Styrofoam. Front view of the chalcopyrite with calcite.
December 27, 2024 at 4:31 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Our cat Leroy actually let me take a picture of him in front of the Xmas tree. #CatSky #Cat
Striped house cat staring at the camera, sitting in front of a decorated Christmas tree. Photo is taken from the ground level to get the cat and the tree in the photo.
December 27, 2024 at 3:42 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Here's a couple more pieces from Dad's collection! Ok the left Libethenite, from the Old Reliable Mine, Copper Creek District, Pinal County, Arizona, and on the right is Okenite from Poona, India. 🪨⚒️
Small yellowish-green rock with little dots of a sparkly black mineral on it. The rock is sitting in a small plastic display case on top of Styrofoam. A small white mineral that looks like a cotton ball. There are tiny, thin crystals sticking up that look like very thin hairs. The mineral is sitting in a plastic display case on top of styrofoam.
December 24, 2024 at 7:03 PM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
I retract my statement about it maybe not being labeled correctly. This screenshot from the Mindat ulexite gallery looks very similar to my sample.
Screenshot from Mindat website ulexite photo gallery. The middle pic looks very similar to m the photos I took and posted above of my sample of ulexite.
December 10, 2024 at 3:39 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Happy Monday! Tonight's 🪨 is labeled as ulexite from Boron, CA. I'm not sure of the accuracy of this label, as when I look up ulexite, it doesn't look like this. Any ideas, fellow geo people? 🪨⚒️🧪
Picture of a mineral in a plastic display case on a table. The mineral is whitish gray, and at one end, it is small and circular and radiates out to a bigger circle. The underside of the same rock, a big circle that is concave in the middle. The sides are thin enough that some light shows through. My fingers are on the left side holding the display case on the table. Picture of the rock from above. It almost looks like it was airborne at one point.
December 10, 2024 at 2:37 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
What's Shaking #Alaska post from Alaska Earthquake Center! If you didn't hear the radio segment yesterday at 4:32 pm, it will be up on the website soon! They are every week on KUAC at 4:32pm AK time. earthquake.alaska.edu/AEC-radio
Transcript is on X x.com/AKearthquake...
Screenshot from X of Alaska Earthquake Center's post for the weekly update from around the state. This is for the week of Nov 28-Dec 4, 2024. There were ~350 earthquakes detected, 4 were reported as felt, and there were 2 M4.1 on Mov 27 and Dec 1 in the Aleutians.
December 6, 2024 at 4:35 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Tonight's 🪨 from Dad is a Herkimer diamond from Johnsonville, NY!! I don't not know when he got this, or if it was from the campground in Johnsonville that you can find these, or if it is from some other place nearby. I'll have to ask my mom or siblings if they have any ideas. ⚒️ 1/2
Rock specimen in a plastic display case. Light brown Rock, with tiny quartz crystals on the front face, with a larger (~1/4 inch) doubly-terminated quartz crystal on the front. There is a tag that says Herkimer "diamond" Johnsonville, NY A side view of the same rock sample. There is a second grouping on the side of small quartz crystals. The larger herkimer diamond is still prominent. Close-up view of the same rock. There smaller crystals are not as sparkly in this view, but the herkimer diamond is very clear.
December 6, 2024 at 4:07 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Ok! Now that I am feeling slightly better from my thanksgiving cold, here's another 🪨 from Dad's collection!! This one is labeled as Ankerite, from Ouray, CO (presumably Camp Bird Mine, where many of his others are from). ⚒️
Rock with a pink base with white crystals all over it. The rock is mounted to a foam and is sitting in a plastic display case. Same rock as the first picture, but from a different angle. This one is closer to being from above instead of from the side. Same ankerite sample, but from another angle. The sample is about 2 inches long, and inch wide, and about 3/4 of an inch high.
December 5, 2024 at 6:24 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Looking through pics & found this one from this summer. There are woods behind the building I work in, & lots of trails. During summer I would try to go on a walk during lunch. Lots of rad 🍄! I love the orange cap on this one! I'm not a fungus person, but I think this is amanita? #FungiFriday
Picture from ground level, looking up toward a mushroom with a rounded reddish-orange cap with white spots, with a white stalk. There are dead leaves and a pinecone around the mushroom on the ground. Behind the mushroom are green leaves from bushes and trees.
November 30, 2024 at 7:56 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Alaska Earthquake Center stats for the week. Check the X post (I know, nothing I can do about it for now) for a short explainer about how seismometers work, or check the webpage in a few days for this week's "Whats Shaking Alaska" radio spot.

earthquake.alaska.edu/AEC-radio

x.com/AKearthquake...
November 30, 2024 at 5:44 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Howdy! I've got a slightly bigger 🪨 tonight! Also collected by dad from Camp Bird Mine. Sphalerite with chalcopyrite and calcite!
Rock in a plastic display case. On the left side of the rock is a big white pointy calcite crystal. In the middle is a shiny coppery piece of chalcopyrite. Most of the rock is made of shiny dark grey sphalerite. There are small white calcite crystals all over. Same rock as other picture. Big white calcite crystal is in to the right in this view. Chalcopyrite is in the middle, and the sphalerite is around the chalcopyrite. The small calcite crystals are not as visible. Third view of the same rock. The small calcite crystals are in the front, attached to the sphalerite. The chalcopyrite and big calcite crystal are in the back.
November 28, 2024 at 1:03 AM
volcanoheather.bsky.social
Tonight is a 🪨 my dad definitely collected himself. It's chalcopyrite with calcite crystals (some twinned!) from the Camp Bird Mine in Ouray, Colorado. My dad worked at this mine, & a lot of the collection is from here. I believe mostly from level 26. I don't know how many levels there were. 1/2
Chacopyrite sample (coppery colored rock about 1 inch long by 1 inch wide) with an oxidized section (turning greenish-blue colored). White calcite crystals grew while it was forming (seen on the left side of the rock in this picture), and some of the calcite crystals are twinned! A different view of the same chalcopyrite sample, this time showing more of the white calcite crystals. The chalcopyrite itself is very coppery and shiny colored.
November 27, 2024 at 2:42 AM