Rainforest Jasper from Australia
Rainforest jasper is a trade name for spherulitic rhyolite. From a geological perspective rhyolite and jasper are not the same. A spherulite is a spherical crystalline structure often present in glass-like (vitreous) volcanic rocks.
Although similar material can be found in other parts of the world, stones labelled as rainforest jasper come from Mount Hay, Queensland, Australia. Mount Hay is the remnants of what was once a volcano. It was last active 120 million years ago.
Rainforest jasper crystals occur in varying shades of green, brown, red and cream. They take on a high polish and are widely used for decorative purposes. Gas bubbles trapped in lava flows during solidification create pockets that later fill with minerals such as agate or jasper.
Rhyolite is a fine grained extrusive igneous rock made up largely of silica. It forms from lava that cools and crystallises on the surface of Earth.
Crystals vary in size depending on how quickly it cools. They're always embedded in groundmass. Also known as matrix, groundmass is the finer grained material in which larger grains or crystals are embedded.
Silica is a chemical compound of the two most abundant elements in Earth's crust, silicon and oxygen.
Rhyolite is often described as a fine grained equivalent of granite. Although the two are similar in composition and appearance, they form through different processes.
The name rhyolite was first used in 1860 by German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen. The suffix "ite" was added to the Greek word "rhýax" meaning "a stream of lava".
These beautiful rainforest jasper crystals have the smoothest texture. They're a medium sized tumbled stone but size can vary from piece to piece.
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