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Colombian "Tektites"

Dear Greg and list,
The objects from Columbia that many of us are familiar with are generally
considered now to not be tektites. They go by the name of Colombianites or
Americanites and they are probably volcanic. They are often very
translucent, often have a light purple tint to them when viewed with a
bright light. The part about them which is most tektite like is their
surface texture. They often have the cup shaped pits  which are common to
many tektites.
All natural glasses have water in their molecular makeup. Tektites are
extremely dry however, having less water than any other type of natural
glass. This is presumed to be because of the extremely high temperatures
during their formation in impact events. The Colombian glasses have a water
content generally in the range of obsidian though sometimes a little less.
It is still vastly higher than the average true tektite.
I love them they are often beautifully colored. . . wish they were
tektites. If the price is reasonable I often buy them anyway. Found some
two years ago for $1 each at Tucson from a New Age (Healing Rocks) dealer
that were said to have come from Arizona and have seen others I trust were
from Arizona (reputable meteorite dealer). For all intents and purposes
these were the same color and form as those from Columbia.
Probably more then you wanted to know. I need to go back to lurking, have
written six months worth of posts just this week, Bye.



Jim Tobin
The Meteorite Exchange
www.meteorite.com
P.O.7000-455, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 USA

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