Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #458

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Glowing Rocks Dubbed 'Yooperlites' Discovered In Michigan
(WWJ) Sparklin g "Yooperlites" are
capturing the attention of Upper Peninsula residents, visi- tors, and the curious online...but what the heck are they?
Posted on
the "Yooperlites" Facebook
page are stun- ning photos of glowing Syenite rocks, spotted using a special- ized flashlight along Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline.
"These things are a blast to find," Superior Township resi- dent Erik Rintamaki told WWJNewsradio. com.
He offers guided walking tours to search for the special rocks, which glow
when exposed to UV light due to the presence of the fluores- cent
mineral Sodalite .
"I've been a rock picker all my life. I got it from my dad, who got it from his dad,"
said the 43- year-old, who has a side busi- ness as an agate dealer.
After getting a hold of the right type of
light, Rintamaki first found
a Yooperlite one night last year. "I was just screaming on the beach I was so
happy," Rintama ki said, although he had no idea what he was holding -- even after doing some Googling and asking around.
"I took them to all the rock and mineral shows and no one could identify them," he said, "...so I nick- named
them "Yooperlite s."
It may seem like a funny
name; but
as Rintamaki poi nts out, Michigan's beloved Petoske y stone is in fact hexagonal coral,
though hardly anyone calls it that.
While he was- n't the first per- son to discover the mineral itself, Rintamaki is credited with bringing it
to Michigan Tech University geologists who were able to verify for the
first time that there is Sodalite in Michigan; per- haps brought down from
Canada by gla- ciers.
Rintamaki ended up
being published in the Mineral News for the discovery, and his tours are really taking off.
"I'm completely sold out for 2018 and I'm already booking for next
year," Rintamaki said. "It's $50 a person; you get a light you get to
keep and you get to keep all the stones you find."
If you want to try searching for yourself, Rintamaki said "Yooperlites" can be found mostly along Lake Superior between Whitefish Point and Grand Marais, Michigan, and on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine