Name/Title
Pink sheen ObsidianEntry/Object ID
2009.62.157Description
Description: Chemistry: SiO2
Class: Mineraloids
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is dark green to dark brown and black, also can show sheens of gold or green, yellow, blue and/or purple coloration. Sometimes with white inclusions (Snowflake Obsidian).
Luster is vitreous.
Transparency: Obsidian is translucent in any stone of appreciable size.
Crystal System does not apply because obsidian is amorphous.
Habits include compact nodules or as massive layers between other volcanic rocks
Fracture is conchoidal.
Hardness is 5 - 5.5 (much softer than quartz).
Specific Gravity is approximately 2.6 (average)
Streak is white.
Best Field Indicators are color, fracture, flow bubbles, softness, association with other volcanic rocks and lack of crystal faces..
Occurrence: Notable Occurrences include Italy; Mexico; Scotland; Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah and Idaho, USA, as well as the Cascade Volcanic Mountain range and its associated lava beds, which stretches from Northern California into Washington state.
Variety: Obsidian has several varieties. Obsidian can contain small bubbles of air that are aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing just before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen, known as Sheen Obsidian or a rainbow sheen called Rainbow Obsidian. Inclusions of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern producing Snowflake Obsidian. Small nuggets of obsidian that have been naturally rounded and smoothed by wind and water are called Apache TearsCollection
RAGM Mineral CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2009.62Source or Donor
Museum Collection of MineralsAcquisition Method
DonationLocation
Location
Display Case
FS-13Room
Frieda Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Curtis GardnerDate
May 25, 2023Notes
Added current locationLocation
Drawer
3rd from N.W. CornerCabinet
case #58Building
Frieda Smith HallCategory
Permanent