|
Back to Intro / Staff >
Paleontological Collections >
Meteorite Specimen List (pdf) >
 please choose landscape format for printing!
Mineralogy-Petrography: Collection overview
Systematic mineral collection (about 40'000 specimens)
The systematic mineral collection forms the main body of the collections and is the best documented. Most important are Swiss Alpine minerals, minerals from the Lengenbach quarry, and other Swiss locations (about 2000 Swiss localities represented).
Other strongly represented regions and countries are the U.S.A. (~800 localities), Germany (~650), Italy (>400), France (>250), Mexico (~200), Austria (165), the Cech Republic and Slovakia (combined ~180 localities) and Rwanda (36). There are about 1000 gemstones in the collections. This collection is fully computer catalogued.
Type minerals
The systematic mineral collection contains type material (holotypes or cotypes) of the follwing species: Cervandonite-(Ce), Ferrohögbomite-2N2S, Hennomartinite, Imhofite, Kornite, Nchwaningite, Nowackiite, Preiswerkite, Simonite, Sinnerite, Tuzlaite, Tweddillite, Wallisite.
Meteorites and impact-related materials
The most important part of the meteorite collection are the main masses of the Swiss meteorites RAFRÜTI (17 kg, find, anomalous iron) and UTZENSTORF (3.8 kg, H5, fall, 16.08.1928) and one of the largest samples of Ulmiz, Switzerland (28g, H5, fall, 25.12.1926). Although the meteorite collection is relatively small, it contains typical specimens from all major classes.
Included in the meteorite collection are a suite of thin sections (partly polished) suitable for educational purposes and research. A catalogue is available upon request.
A serious loss to the meteorite collection occurred in the 18th century when the WALKRINGEN meteorite (stone, fell 18 May 1698) was lost. The meteorite collection comprises 358 samples from 160 meteorites (as of March 31, 2001).
The meteorite specimen list is available here (pdf).
Meteorite Specimen List >
Two research expeditions to Oman in 2001 and 2002 yielded many meteorites currently under investigation (see research). These meteorite are not part of the NMBE collection.
The collection of meteorite impact products includes ejecta (mostly Malm limestone blocks, shocked quartz grains) most probably from the Miocene Ries Crater in Germany found in fluvioterrestrial marls of equivalent age near St. Gallen in Eastern Switzerland. Impactites also include suites of samples from the following craters: Popigai (Siberia), Siljan (Sweden), Dellen (Sweden); Ries (Germany), Steinheim (Germany), Sääksjärvi (Finland), Sudbury (Canada), Vredefort (South Africa).
Ore collection (about 5000 specimens)
A Collection of Swiss ores contains ore samples from mines and prospects. Well represented areas are the Jura mountains and the Bernese and Valais Alps.
Includes a collection of ore samples from the Lengenbach quarry with typical features, including phenomena related with the metamorphic formation of a sulfide melt.
A collection of ores from worldwide deposits contains mostly didactic samples from many major ore districts. Important parts of the ore collections are made up by donations of A. Chabaud (former mine engineer in Mexico) and G. C. Amstutz (Professor emeritus, Heidelberg University).
Petrographic collections (about 10'000 specimens)
The petrographic collections are partly regionally organized, partly they represent spezialized research collections. The most important collections are:
- Hydrothermally altered rocks from Alpine fissures
- Swiss rocks (area specific and name specific)
- Swiss coals
- Systematic collection of rocks (worldwide)
- Regional rock collections from worldwide areas
- Collection of glaciology objects from Switzerland
- "Geological phenomena"
- Diamond-related rocks (kimberlites, mantle xenoliths, high pressure metamorphics)
Collections of Rocks and minerals from tunnels in the Swiss Alps
- Minerals from the Gotthard highway tunnel
- Minerals from the Furka railway tunnel
- Rocks from the Simplon railway tunnel
- Rocks from the Lötschberg railway tunnel
- Rocks from new Alpine tunnels currently under construction (dominantly Lötschberg)
Historic collections
Many collections were integrated into the main collections after acquisition, but few historic collections remain intact, most notably that of F. L. Tscharner (catalogue dated 1784, described by Stalder 1984).
|
[up]
|
|
|
|
|
External objects belonging to the NMBE
22 erratic boulders and other large blocks of rock have been donated to the NMBE but are still in place at their location of find, originally a measure taken in order to protect the blocks from quarrying.
The most notable example is the Luegibodenblock near Habkern (46_43'15''N 7_52'20''E), an exotic granite block from the Tertiary Wildflysch formation measuring about 31 by 28 by 14 m (estimated weight: 12'000 t).
This rock was acquired by the museum for sfr 980.- in 1869. A piece of the Luegibodenblock-granite of one square meter was donated by the Swiss Confederation to the United States of America for integration in the Washington Monument in 1852. This block is now located in the staircase at about half height of the monument. Some sources cite another origin for this block, however.
Several erratic boulders have been transported from the original location to the yard of the NMBE. An unpublished guide for the museum yard objects is available upon request (Stalder et al. 1990).
Legend: Historical photograph of the Luegibodenblock near Habkern, Canton of Bern. The largest single object in the possession of the NMBE, and source of the Swiss contribution to the Washington Monument.
Curiosities
A number of objects integrated during the growth of the collections have gained importance because of their historical significance while their scientific value may now be negligible. These "curiosities" include:
- "Stamm im Gneisse von Guttannen": In 1886, a trunc-like object was found in the crystalline gneiss near Guttannen in the Grimsel area. After a fervent scientific dispute it was finally concluded that the object is of inorganic origin. The main part of the object, 1.20 m long, is located in the museum yard and several smaller segments are present in the petrographic collections.
Legend: "Stamm im Gneisse" ("trunc in gneiss") from Guttannen, Grimsel area (height: 120 cm). After a photograph published by E. v. Fellenberg and C. Schmidt in 1899.
- "Fake iron rose": An iron rose (Eisenrose, a form of hematite) of 9 cm diameter, supposedly from the Ritterpass area, Binntal, Swiss/Italian Alps, for a long time considered to be the most beautiful Alpine example, was recently recognized to be a fake (Hofmann & Stalder 1992). The object is property of the Institute of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Bern.
Legend: Fake iron rose, 9 cm diameter, after a formerly available post card.
|
[up]
|
|
