Hoosier Hound Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 This is a large rock formation I found in forested area near my cabin in Perry County Indiana about 15 miles from the Ohio River. It has what seems like steel plates on the surface of some of the rock formation, which measures about 10 feet by 7 feet and about 3 to 4 feet high. There is a white-ish crystalized substance on the surface of some of the plates which seems very hard, not lichen-like or easily scratched off the surface. It seemed unusual to me, so I cleaned it off and dug it out a bit to reveal more of the surface. Hoping someone might have an idea what this is. I am a new member and very inexperienced in fossil and geology identification. Thanks for any input. Link to post Share on other sites
grandpa Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Welcome to TFF from Austin, Tx. This is the right place to bring such questions. From the photos I'm having a hard time seeing enough close-up detail to get an idea of what type of rock you may be looking at. A close up of the white area showing the details of what you believe is xtalization might help. As it stands right now, I see nothing that I can ID as fossil, nor can I definitely ID the rock-type nor any mineral species. Guess I'm not much help, huh. Keep on looking and bringing your questions to TFF. Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I think we may need a closer look. Link to post Share on other sites
Hoosier Hound Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Well here's a few more close-ups of that. I have more but not formatted yet. Link to post Share on other sites
Ludwigia Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Sorry, but there's still not enough sharpness or detail in your photos to make a proper judgement, but I can see nothing fossiliferous. Link to post Share on other sites
Hoosier Hound Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Thanks for looking at these. Here's some more photos Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Weathered vein of an intrusive igneous rock maybe. Link to post Share on other sites
grandpa Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I'm still not able to detect any xtal structure, sorry. Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Kmiecik Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Focused photos with no motion blur would help. Link to post Share on other sites
Aurelius Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 The pictures have been resized to be far too small for us to see any detail. However, I don't see any signs of any kind of fossil. Link to post Share on other sites
Hoosier Hound Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Well I may have to get some better photos next time I'm out that way. Thanks for your thought on it though. Really appreciated that. Never noticed anything like this out here in southern Indiana before but maybe I wasn't looking for it. Here's some bigger sized photos. Link to post Share on other sites
grandpa Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Those photos are better. I get a sense of a sedimentary mineral deposit - perhaps gypsum or calcite - deposited between rock layers after the rock was formed by a later introduction of a mineral-rich water. But that's just a guess based on what I think I can see. Next time you are there, take along some vinegar, scratch a bit of the surface, pour some vinegar on it and see if it fizzes. If so, likely a carbonate like calcite. Also, notice the "hardness" of the mineral by attempting to scratch it with various objects - search "moh's hardness" on the internet for examples of what to try. Link to post Share on other sites
Hoosier Hound Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Ok thanks for the advice, I'll do that. I noticed it was very hard, I tried scraping with an Exacto blade and wasn't able to scratch the surface. Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I think that eliminates gypsum and calcite. Doesn't it ? Link to post Share on other sites
grandpa Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Yep! OK, so next uninformed guess would be chalcedony maybe? But, I'm open to any other thoughts. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now