wilson.kelly•17d agoProlific Poster

Spent a whole month trying to figure out if a rock was jasper or chert

Found this nice red rock in a creek bed near Sedona and was sure it was jasper. I read every book and forum post I could find, even bought a hardness test kit. The debate seems to be that if it's opaque and takes a polish it's jasper, but if it's more translucent and fractures differently it's chert. Mine sat right in the middle. Anyone else get stuck on an ID for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona17d ago

Honestly, the whole jasper versus chert thing feels like a geology trap (they love those). Maybe it's both, or neither, and just a cool red rock. The need to put a perfect label on everything can ruin the fun of just having found something neat. My advice is to skip the kit next time and just enjoy the rock for what it is.

thea_wood8617d ago

But knowing what it is makes it cooler. The label is part of the story. Otherwise it's just a paperweight.

the_sandra8d ago

Wait, you'd actually use it as a paperweight? That's wild to me. I'd be way too scared of accidentally chipping it or something. It just seems too special to put under a stack of bills.