The Crystal Circle
Specimen: Standard Gallery: Standard
Danburite: Rough and Cut
Danburite: Rough and Cut
Charcas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Quartz, var. Herkimer Diamond
Quartz, var. Herkimer Diamond
Ace of Diamonds Mine, Herkimer County, New York
Wulfenite
Wulfenite
Wulfenite from Villa Ahumada, Sierra de Los Lamentos, Chihuahua, Mexico
Zoisite Var. Tanzanite
Zoisite Var. Tanzanite
Merelani Mine, Lelatema Mountains, Arusha Region, Tanzania
Apophyllite with Scolecite
Apophyllite with Scolecite
Jalisgoan, near Jalgoan, Maharashtra State, India
Opal (rough and cut)
Opal (rough and cut)
Shoa Province, Ethiopia
Tektite var. Libyan Desert Glass

Tektite var. Libyan Desert Glass

sold
Locality
Gilf Kebir Region, Egypt
Dimensions
4 x 2.3 x 2.2 cm
Size class
Miniature
SID
DSGLASS2

Libyan Desert Glass is believed to the result of the impact of a large meteorite, or the result of a significant aerial burst explosion around 28.5 million years ago (dated by the fission track method). They are the purest form of natural glass on earth, containing over 96% silica. They were first discovered by ancient Egyptians as evidenced by a scarab beatle carvings found on the mummy of King Tutankhamun. Today they are found in the deep Saharan desert, two days driving into a militarized zone near the border of Libya and Egypt. The leading theory leans towards an aerial burst ten thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima nuclear detonation (Boslough). Some pieces have dark streaks; chemical analyses of these inclusions show enrichment by meteoritic elements, such as Osmium, with typical chondritic proportions (Koeberl C.). 

This piece is a pleasant, gemmy yellow and shows small white Cristobalite inclusions (a high temperature silica polymorph). It has a neat shape, and weighs 17 grams.

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