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3.9" Polished Rainforest Jasper (Rhyolite) Sphere - Australia
This is a 3.9" wide polished Spherulitic Rhyolite sphere, collected from Mt. Hay, Queensland. Rhyolite (Rainforest Jasper) is group of extrusive igneous rocks, typically consisting of large-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine-grained silicate rich rock. This type of rhyolite features pockets of agate. There are a few areas of gap fill where the pockets that make rhyolite so interesting needed to be filled out for lasting integrity.
Comes with the pictured display stand.
Comes with the pictured display stand.
About Rainforest Jasper
Rainforest jasper is the trade name for a very colorful type of rhyolite. It was formed when the long extinct Mount Hay volcano near Queensland, Australia erupted about 120 million years ago and subsequent silica-rich fluids deposited into gaps and cavities. Rainforest jasper gets its name because the mixture of green, red, yellow, brown, and orange colorations reminds people of a rainforest canopy. The spherical cavities (orbs) are lined with often lined with opal and tridymite, and filled with chalcedony.
A rhyolite is a volcanic rock characterized by a high silica content that forms from eruptions of granitic magmas. Granitic magmas are very dense, which causes them to cool more slowly: this allows more time for large crystalline structures called phenocrysts to form. These phenocrysts are typically silica-based minerals such as quartz and chalcedony, and are what give rainforest jasper its unique appearance.
Rainforest jasper is the trade name for a very colorful type of rhyolite. It was formed when the long extinct Mount Hay volcano near Queensland, Australia erupted about 120 million years ago and subsequent silica-rich fluids deposited into gaps and cavities. Rainforest jasper gets its name because the mixture of green, red, yellow, brown, and orange colorations reminds people of a rainforest canopy. The spherical cavities (orbs) are lined with often lined with opal and tridymite, and filled with chalcedony.
A rhyolite is a volcanic rock characterized by a high silica content that forms from eruptions of granitic magmas. Granitic magmas are very dense, which causes them to cool more slowly: this allows more time for large crystalline structures called phenocrysts to form. These phenocrysts are typically silica-based minerals such as quartz and chalcedony, and are what give rainforest jasper its unique appearance.
SPECIES
Rhyolite
LOCATION
Mt. Hay, Queensland, Australia
SIZE
3.9" wide
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#208027
