Vivianite in Port Townsend...and the Alps

There's just something about the mineral vivianite that fascinates me. I first learned about vivianite when I was reading a well drilling report for Jefferson County, Washington in 2007. Earlier that year, I happened to see a well drilling rig at HJ Carroll Park in Port Hadlock when I was walking with my son and later checked out the report when it became available online.

Buried in the details of the 2007 Chimacum Valley Drilling Report, deep in the appendix (where many juicy scientific details are frequently found) there was a photograph log. One of the photos showed a glacial clay layer from 148 feet below ground surface that contained vivianite.

Photo excerpted from Pacific Groundwater Group's 2007 Chimacum Valley Drilling Report.

I was amazed at the bright blue color and added vivianite to the list of minerals I would like to one day find in the wild. (Like a bird enthusiast's life list...I too have a mineral life list. And I'm not alone. So many people share this interest that the Washington Department of Natural Resources created a Washington State Minerals Checklist.)

Vivianite at Fort Worden State Park

When I first discovered vivianite at Fort Worden State Park in August 2015, I thought I was looking at blue flecks of paint on the beach. Once I realized it was vivianite, I became so excited I got up at 4 am multiple days in a row just so I could go back at low tide and look at it some more. (When you live by the ocean you plan around the tide table not the clock!). This is the vivianite location featured in the Field Guide to the Rocks & Geology of Port Townsend. 

I've since found a second spot at Fort Worden where vivianite occurs - this spot within the intact peat layer about a 1/2 mile north of the Point Wilson. You have to squint to see vivianite here, as the light blue flecks are only about 2-3 mm wide.

Photo with my hand lens and lanyard show the location of the in situ (in place) vivianite.

Photo showing a close-up of the vivianite mineral found in the peat layer. The vivianite flecks in this location are a lighter blue than found elsewhere and only about 2-3 mm wide - so you will need to look closely.

Photo of the Cable House Canteen at the Fort Worden lower campground area, where we stopped on the way home to celebrate finding another vivianite viewing spot. At the Canteen you can build your own frozen yogurt sundae with candy toppings. The cafe is open seasonally in the summertime.

Vivianite in the Alps

When Ötzi the Iceman - the 5,300 year old frozen mummy - was discovered in the Austrian-Italian Alps in 1991 it was a major scientific discovery.

This photo of a reconstruction of Otzi is from an exhibit at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology. Photo Credit: Thilo Parg / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0


Archeologists have gleaned a lot of information from Ötzi's remains -  his diet, diseases, and manner of death. It turns out that the mineral vivianite was also found on his remains - and that vivianite is used by archeologists worldwide to learn about burial practices.

Vivianite is an iron-phosphate mineral that forms in the presence of sulfur and when there is a lack of oxygen. Getting buried in a peat bog - whether you are a mammoth or a human - is a great way to preserve bones and form the mineral vivianite.

A recent article from Science Alert calls vivianite "a mineral of death." I think that statement is a little dark...but that didn't stop me from enjoying the article and vivianite photos!

Here's a link to the vivianite article from Science Alert:

http://www.sciencealert.com/vivianite-the-blue-mineral-that-eerily-turns-buried-bodies-blue