Igneous Rock Snowflake Obsidian
name: label: Discipline
content: Mineral Sciences
notes: label: Description
content: This object is part of the Education and Outreach collection, some of which are in the Q?rius science education center and available to see.
label: Notes
content: Shiny black volcanic glass sample with gray patches, which resemble flowers or "snowflakes," hence the name of this variety of obsidian. An extrusive igneous rock, obsidian is formed when felsic lava extruded from a volcano colls rapidly with minimal crystal growth. The snowflakes in this sample are actually radiating inclusions of the mineral cristobalite and formed through devitrification of the original obsidian. Snowflake obsidian was used by Native American peoples as a valuable commodity that was traded extensively throughout North America.
label: Number of objects in this record
content: 1
label: Record Last Modified
content: 26 Oct 2023
topic: label: Topic
content: Education & Outreach
setName: label: See more items in
content: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center
publisher: label: Scientific Name
content: Igneous Rock Snowflake Obsidian
identifier: label: USNM Number
content: EO45995
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Education and Outreach collections