Rock Seeker. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Obsidian, or volcanic glass, is found in most southwestern states. The gemstone is found in regions known to have an active volcanic past. This area contains hundreds of extinct volcanic domes. Arizona can boast many areas where various types of obsidian can be found.
Obsidian has been collected and mined in most of these areas since prehistoric times to make weapons, ornaments, and tools. Native American still collect for trading on reservation lands. Rock hunters should always research what type of collecting is allowed, if any, in any area you decide to explore. Here are 5 of the best locations in Arizona to find obsidian.
Good luck! I hope you find these helpful! Government Mountain and its neighbors are considered by some to be one of the best obsidian sources in the country.
You may need some tools, especially your rock hammer, to collect quality samples. Obsidain samples as large as 30 cm in diameter have be found here. Many appear brown or gray from alluvium ash and weathering. An area called the Obsidian Tank is located on the west side of the mountain about 30 miles from Flagstaff, and loose obsidian stones are fairly common there.
Near the town of Superior in south-central Arizona are several well-known obsidian sources, especially in the area of Pickpocket Mountain. The nodules can be found embedded in the rock or washed downstream and deposited around nearby creekbeds.
They are usually smooth and round, formed by weathering by wind and water. There is a popular trail , called the Perlite Road, for collecting these sought-after nuggets. According to legend, whoever possesses one will never cry again!
Burro Creek in western Arizona is another targeted site for Apache Tears. There are also other types of obsidian specimens to be found there. The area is located west of Bagdad Mine, near U. There is township, range, and section data given for each locality, a fairly detailed description of what was found there and in some cases photographs and maps. There is a lot of chemical data for the obsidian as the goal was to identify the sources of obsidian used by prehistoric people.
The obsidian from each of the various localities has a unique chemical composition. For example samples of obsidian were analyzed from Pueblo Grande in Phoenix. Four were from the Sand Tanks location, 67 were from the Sauceda Mountains locality and so forth. Obsidian was important to the native people and collected and exchanged all over the southwest.
Obsidian in perlite from Superior, AZ the whole specimen was originally obsidian, but has changed to perlite by hydration. Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark brown to black color.
Very few samples are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern snowflake obsidian. It may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled.
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