r/Rocks

I call it my "shoe rock", it striking how much it looks like a green sneaker! Originally I thought it might be unakite, but now I'm leaning epidote/sepentinite. I'm not really too worried about ID though, I mostly just want to show my cool rock! It's mostly green, but has thin ribbons of ruby-red and a thin sheet of sparkling white on one side. Normally the green stones I find are pebble-sized, the second biggest one I've seen was palm-sized and was more red than green. Finding this one was a shock! I think it's about 8" x 4" x 5"? I'll have to measure it. I think I found it in 2018

I saw just the tip sticking out in the mud of the non-paved part of the parking lot of Nub's Nob, it was so green it legitimately looked like green plastic! Curiosity and wanting to not leave junk in the parking lot got the better of me, so I started digging. It was Mardi Gras, so the ground was soupy but still partially frozen, so it was no easy task. I had to use another rock to dig! It just kept going, and going, and going! Finally when it popped out, it was an eight-inch long hunk of green stone! It left such a hole I had to find rocks and gravel to fill the hole back in! Since my dad was on the Ski Patrol and had a good rap with the owners, he knew they wouldn't mind if I kept it (plus large rocks like this cause damage to parking lots and cars over time), so I've had it ever since!

I don't plan on cutting it or polishing it, it's cool enough as-is! Definitely my favorite rock find I've ever found! More than Lake Superior agates or Lake Huron pudding stones! My second favorite find is a chunk of light-blue banded chert I call my "sky stone", my third is a huge chunk of agatized horn coral (4" x 4" x 3" I think?) and my forth is a chunk of fossilized sponge/bacteria that looks like a tree knot! I might post those as well, I love them so much 🥰

A few rocks we pulled from the river yesterday.

Been looking at this rock for a while thinking I should cut the end off or something to see if it contains crystalline structure inside. Anyone think it’s worth it? Or it could possibly have any value? Picture doesn’t do it justice, the top and other darker areas look purple (it’s dry). And it’s very smooth compared to other areas of the rock.

This is my collection of spherical rocks found these all over the country. 2 of which came from south Florida shell gravel. (And one pearl from an oyster) I love them and just wanted to share my treasures.

I know all (most?) of these are chalcedony but how to tell what makes the textures and polishes so different? Are they all the same? Are some older? Just feel like the variety is so different. All natural beach finds, no polishing or anything done.

Talc is a metamorphic mineral formed by the interaction of ultramafic rocks rich in magnesium (peridotites, serpentinites) with hydrothermal fluids rich in CO2 and silica. It defines Mohs hardness 1, and is easily scratched by a fingernail. When talc dominates a rock it is called soapstone, and when soapstone is unfoliated (massive) it is called Steatite (Fig 1). Steatite has a soapy or waxy feeling because of its softness and because talc consists of silicate sheets that easily slide over each other. Talc may be associated with or even replace serpentine minerals, as they can form from similar rocks under similar conditions. This specimen shows a fibrous zone (Fig 2) with a habit suggestive of either fibrous talc or relict serpentine. This steatite has one face rich in chlorite and mica flakes (fig 3,4) which may indicate that this face of the rock contacted a potassium and aluminum rich country rock ("blackwall metasomatism), although we can't prove this.

Super cool looking rock I found. It's surprisingly smooth to the touch for how it looks.

Just wanted to share :) I love rocks!

Clinopyroxene (Cpx) is a family of iron and magnesium rich (mafic) minerals that are often found in basalt and gabbro. Cpx is a dark mineral with two roughly 90 degree cleavages that often forms blocky crystals in mafic and ultramafic rocks. When an ultramafic rock contains more than 90% Cpx, it is called a "clinopyroxenite". However, olivine is also a common mineral in ultramafic rocks, and if olivine is present at less than 40%, the rock would be called olivine clinopyroxenite; if there is more than 40% olivine plus Cpx, then the rock would be classified as a peridotite, specifically Wehrlite. Olivine is not stable at the surface and can interact with hydrothermal fluids to form serpentinite.

This specimen was labled "Clinopyroxenite", from the Oman ophiolite, a region of ancient ocean floor that has been obducted onto the continental surface. Figure 1 shows the general appearance of the rock. The opposite face Fig. 2)had a white weathered rind that was Mohs hardness 3 and reacted weakly with dilute Hcl: carbonate! I polished half of the calcite covered face and studied the golden brown regions seen on the right half of figure 2 under the microscope.

To my surprise, these carbonate regions had a relict "mesh" texture of polygonal cells divided by fibrous bands, which is more typical of serpentinite after olivine (Figure 3). My working hypothesis is that these regions of mesh texture are carbonate replacing serpentine, replacing olivine, and that this "clinopyroxenite" was really an olivine clinopyroxenite or even a Wehrlite.

Got this from a Holistic Shop for $20. Friends say it worth more than that.

Found it at the beach in Point Judith.

Nephrite Jade would be pretty rare for my area likely from a glacier.

Found this on a dirt road but it would of been brought from a gravel deposit within the (Ogallala Formation).The Ogallala Formation was created by ancient, massive river systems that eroded the newly formed Rocky Mountains millions of years ago. It acted as a giant conveyor belt, carrying high-quality crystalline minerals from the high peaks and spreading them out across the great plains

Picked this chunk up today for 9 dollars and some change. It looks real pretty up close lots of sparkle. The last photo is my collection so far.