What Are These?

[twjolson & Kay]

 

This is a rock (I think) that I found in a creek bed. There is quite a bit of them around there. They are square, and very brittle. They snap in half (even the big ones) just like wafer candy. They are layered like sedimentary rock, and have a look to them like charred wood, but no rings and they are black all the way through.

 

 

Here is a tree with some kind of plant/moss/mushroom growing on it. It looks and feels really gross. As we walked out, we touched a differant mushroom and it felt the same, firm and wet. But the one in the picture had a sticky quality to it, like sap was coming from it.

 

Can anyone shed some light on these unusual (for us anyways) items?

[First1N]

This is a rock (I think) that I found in a creek bed. There is quite a bit of them around there. They are square, and very brittle. They snap in half (even the big ones) just like wafer candy. They are layered like sedimentary rock, and have a look to them like charred wood, but no rings and they are black all the way through

 

Is it COAL?

[+hikergps]

Looks like mica to me. Does your area have heavy deposits of granite?

[twjolson & Kay]

I don't think it's coal, it's incredibly brittle, from what I recall of coal it's much more solid then this stuff.

As for granite around here, I don't know. I really don't know much about rocks besides the few tidbits that I recall from 4th grade geology. Do you have a good webpage describing Mica for me to compare it too?

Edited July 1, 2005 by twjolson & Kay

[+Birdsong-n-Bud]

The picture you have looks lumpy, but it might be an artifact of the lighting in the photo. It sounds like mica you are describing. YOu can almost peel it like paper, and when you peel a layer, you can almost see through it.

 

Some pictures of mica are here

 

As for the tree, it sounds as if you are describing a drying sap. Sometimes birds will bore into trees for insects, and the sap will come out of those small holes. Does that sound like it might meet the description? I'll know sap from touching its texture and the fragrance from it as well.

[twjolson & Kay]

As for the tree, it sounds as if you are describing a drying sap. Sometimes birds will bore into trees for insects, and the sap will come out of those small holes. Does that sound like it might meet the description? I'll know sap from touching its texture and the fragrance from it as well.

I don't think it's drying sap, although it does have a Sap type stickiness. There is no evidence of flow. It's all level, and then takes an abrupt corner on down to the bark. I'm pretty sure it's a mushroom/fungus/plant of sometype, I just don't know specifically which one.

[cavecom]

You didn't mention the location of your rock find. I believe you have coal on your hands. If it is coal, its most likely lignite to semi-bituminous coal. Lignite tends to be a little more on the brown side with a higher moisture content. It can be black though. If you found it along a streambed but not in it,it was not in its original location and could have lost its moisture content making it very brittle. I had a piece of coal on display and it eventually dried out, cleaved and extruded sulfur from between the layers.