Getting the Rock Ready: A series of geologic events all overlapped in one place to make a special “birth place” in
limestone. We needed a rock that had lot of holes in it with enough room for the Herkimer diamonds to grow. A very
unique series of events took place that helped make this porous rock (one with holes - see example photo).
Step 1a: The Stromatolite
Invasion!
Scientists believe that around 600
million years ago the whole Earth was
covered in ice - an event called
“Snowball Earth”. There was a mass
extinction of life with this event - but
bacteria survived (cyanobacteria).
These life forms developed into the
colonies that make what are called
stromatolites.
Step 1b: The Massive Uplift - mini-Caves (collapsed and filled in with sand and pebbles)
Even before this “birth rock” was changed from mud into solid rock the area was beginning to experience earthquakes (the rock, in isolated places in the Herkimer
District, shows signs of this earth movement). There were multiple shifts in the sea level resulting in multiple “stromatolite layers”. This layering is something we
observe in the Herkimer Mining District and it has an effect on the mineralization location which occurred a bit later. Then the rock was buried and solidified. Then it
was uplifted and exposed to the air. This resulted in a “cavity forming” (called paleokarst) world and the making of more holes in the future birth place for Herkimer
diamonds.
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From 550 million years ago up to the
age of the Herkimer diamond host
rocks, about 500 million years old,
stromatolites were vast in numbers.
It is likely they changed form during
the time of the Herkimer host rock,
lending the rock a more porous
nature.
These stromatolites DID NOT make
Herkimer diamonds. If they had then
they would be commonly associated
with stromatolites around the world
Best Website for Herkimer Diamond Information - Made Possible by Collector Donations
Photo: sharkbay.com
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Welcome to the New Herkimer Diamond Story!
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Updated - 03/09/2019
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Thank you Shannon Haley
Wilbur for the donation of 30
samples from the Fonda
region.1/05/2019 and 3/2/2019
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