Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rocks

Can someone identify these rocks?

dragoon — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:37:03 -0800

Can anyone identify these two rocks from near Hatch, Utah? Picture links included inside. One we're just wondering about. For the other, we're stumped, and the geologist we've asked had never seen a rock like it. We're just curious about this one.

http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8046.jpg
http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8047.jpg

This is the puzzling one. It came from the same area. The owners of the lot took it to a Bureau of Land Management geologist, who said he hadn't seen a stone where the ball and the surrounding materiel are the same. The ball pops out, and there's more nodules inside the stone with more stone balls.

http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8043.jpg
http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8048.jpg

Here's another stone of the same type, but more weathered. You can see an intact nodule, and another nodule that is partly open, showing the ball inside.

http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8044.jpg
http://www.hardsun.net/stone_pictures/img_8045.jpg

Rock Hammer 4 Kids

DU — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:15:55 -0800

Do budding geologists like rock hammers? I'm pretty into science but know next to nothing about geology. My 8 year old son collects a lot of "treasures" but chief among them is rocks. He also exclaims over interesting rock-based features (like stripes, crystals, shapes, etc) and asks me what made them (my answer is always either "volcanoes" or "magical pixies").

I've gotten him geo books at the library, but he mainly just looks at the pictures rather than reading them (much to his voraciously-reading parents' chagrin). Which isn't to say he isn't interested in gaining information, he just doesn't seem to be interested in gaining it via self-directed reading.

He also likes to take things apart. And crafts, but I really hate most "science craft kits" where you just pour some ingredients together say "wow" and toss it. A "make your own fossil" kit is out, in other words.

Putting this all together, it occurred to me he might like a rock hammer for a Christmas/birthday present. Google informs me there are more styles and features than I could have dreamed.

If you are/were a budding geologist, do/did you want this or something else? Is it maybe too specialized/detailed/adult and he could get the same effect by just using another, larger rock to bust stuff open? Or should I just get him a sledgehammer and some steel-toed boots? Or perhaps rock hammers have uses other than cracking rocks open that he'd enjoy/not enjoy?

The House is a-Rockin'

Tube — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:09:41 -0800

Why are there big rocks on this roof? Though the paint on the building appears to be new, the strange roof texture has been there for years. The pitch of the roof is low, so I can't see what kind of material is under the rocks. I don't see any obvious asphalt or wood shingles, corrugated metal, fiberglass, or tiles.

A great deal of moss has accumulated between the stones. I assume this is unintentional, but I don't know for sure. I've driven by this building for years, and the roof has always been like this.

I wonder if tar paper was put down, then never finished with shingles. Perhaps the rocks were to prevent the tar paper from blowing away. Yet there seems to be an awful lot of rather large rocks; more than enough to simply hold tar paper down, I would think.

For what it's worth, this is a commercial building, not a residence.

This is the only roof like this I've ever seen. Is it simply an unusual style? Do the rocks serve a function I'm unfamiliar with?

Mass paint removal

sarahj — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:56:43 -0800

How could paint be removed from a large, frequently painted object? My friend's school in the U.S. has a "painting" campus tradition. They have a landmark object outdoors on campus (a rock or statue for example) and various student groups paint the object to advertise an event or just for fun. Groups constantly paint over the old paint, and the object has layers and layers of dried up and in some places peeling paint on it.
The other day we were talking about hypothetical pranks and how we might (hypothetically!) remove all the ancient layers of paint from this object (in this case, a statue made of some kind of metal) and get to see the real thing underneath (which probably nobody has seen in years and years and years due to all the painting). We couldn't really come up with any clever ideas aside from large amounts of chemicals. Any ideas on how many many thick, old layers of paint could be removed from an object?

Rock Hunters Delight!

readery — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:18:34 -0800

Are there any good rock hunting beaches in the southern half of Lake Michigan? Or just pebbly beahces as compared to the sandy dune topography I'm familiar with? In anticipation of warmer weather, I'd like think about wading in water looking for cool rocks, but I don't want to go as far as Lake Superior. So anything within a day trip from Chicago - other lakes or river locations welcome as well.

venturing into Big Sur

yeoja — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:24:23 -0800

Tomorrow afternoon, I'm driving south on Hwy 1/Big Sur Coast Highway from Monterey to Lucia. I've never driven this road before, and I'll be alone. Thing is, it's supposed to rain hard tomorrow and apparently Big Sur Highway + lotsa rain = rock & mud slides. Unfortunately, dodging mudslides while driving along rainy cliffs aren't exactly skills I've developed living in pancake-flat Houston. Does it really get that treacherous? Should I postpone this trip for a less rainy season? If not, what are you supposed to do if you see a bunch of mud and rocks tumbling towards you and your rental car? I've been needing to take a personal break, so I booked a room at the New Camaldoli Hermitage for a few days of reflection and solitude and scenic views. I'm flying into Monterey Airport, renting a car then driving 55 miles south to Lucia. In normal conditions, I'd look forward to the drive, but the idea of sliding rocks and mud has me pretty worried. It also seems the California fires have increased the risk of these mudslides.

(It's supposed to be sunny on my drive north back to Monterey, so I'm only worried about the drive south).

My questions:
1. How likely is it that I'd actually encounter serious problems with a rock or mud slide?

2. Plenty of websites and some blogs warn about the rock/mudslides, but none explain exactly what to do if you run into one (or it runs into you...). Any advice?

3. Is there an alternate route I could take? According to this map on the Camaldoli website, it looks like I could take 101 to King City, then cut across to Lucia on Jolon Road....but I can't find that route on Google or Yahoo Maps.

4. I'm considering cancelling or postponing this trip - but is that overreacting? I'd lose some money, but not too much.

Thanks!!

Otoliths R Us?

buzzv — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:19:22 -0800

Can anyone help me find a source for otoliths, or the tiny stones found in the inner ear? Preferably mammalian, ideally primate or even human (I imagine that last one may be ethically way to far, no offense intended). Searches turned up this AskMe post. Many of the fish ones I find on the web are in museums. I'm just wondering if I have to start opening up my own skulls to get at them.

Mom's birthday is going to rock.

metajc — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:35:56 -0800

Mom's birthday filter: Mom is suddenly all about beading and gems and rocks. Any ideas for a cool, "every-rock-necklace-making-beading-enthusiast-should-have-this-___" present? Mom already has a lamp with a magnifying glass, a box, and a taste for "cool-looking rocks." She goes to gem shows.

I was wondering if you all knew of any cool books or resources where I might find something that would surprise her.

"Radioactive Dating" isn't in the Yellow Pages

cometwendy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:54:43 -0800

Radioactive dating: Is it possible for a hobbyist to get something dated? To make the story short, an old man died..and his kids just wanted to get rid of everything and sell the house and be done with it. On the curb with old shoes and broken tools was a magic basket of rocks! Everything in this basket is remarkable- so much so that I've become somewhat obsessed. I've had a ball reading about and identifying some of the samples, but there's a particular rock that's special. I don't know why, it's not pretty or sparkly or anything, just a flat, weathered stone that lives in my pocket now. I've decided that this rock is my own personal bit of deep time, my Lovecraftian nugget from the yawning chasm of antiquity. Is there any way to actually find out how old my pocket rock is?

HOW IS ARCHY FORMED?

TheOnlyCoolTim — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:17:46 -0800

How was this made? Slightly different angle here.

I discovered this while fucking off into the woods for a while today. Based on its location I would assume it to be made by random idle kids/drunks/stoners or some combination of the above three. On the other hand, I am near a large university and it's possible this was built by an expert civil engineer stoner kid.

I understand the theoretical aspects of why an arch stays up, yet based on the ad hoc nature of this one I don't immediately see how it was built or see it as likely that someone constructed a special scaffolding to build this on a concrete drainage pipe. (Though this is not implausible.) The readily available materials are rocks provided for drainage, as seen, as well as possibly wood presumably gathered from being in the woods.

Note in the pictures the fact that small rocks and rock chips are liberally used as shims between the large rocks.

Is there simply some neat simple trick behind this that I don't know? Is it just easier than it looks?

Lo! An encouraging pebble!

Rabulah — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:46:52 -0800

Where, online, can I buy one of these rocks? Ideally, I'd like to be able to chose from a selection.

How do I lift big rocks into the bed of a truck?

BleachBypass — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:06:51 -0800

What's the best (manual) way to lift some beeeg boulders? I want some landscaping boulders for my yard. Buying them is expensive, for sure (7 cents a lb?) But the BLM has several collection areas, where with a rock gathering permit ($15.00 a *ton*) you can go hog wild.

My thing? I hate yards filled with cheesy, football sized rocks. I want the majestic stuff. I don't have access to a skid steer (ie bobcat), it would just be me, my buddy, and our muscles to get the biggest possible boulders we can into his truck.

I was wondering about something like this to use, or perhaps rigging up something with 2 or more farm jacks. (You can see by my reliance on Harbor Freight links I'd prefer to accomplish this on the cheap.) Also, a series of steps to work it up to the truck bed level?

I'm no astronaut.

ben242 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:47:08 -0800

How can I give my girlfriend an engagement ring with a stone made of moon rock? My girlfriend and I are sort of post-hippie types who tend to buck tradition. We're not ready to get married yet, but I think its pretty likely in the next 1-2 years, and I want to get her a ring with a stone made of things Not Of This World. Does NASA hold auctions? What about the Russians? The Soviet space program had moon rocks, right? Or can I count on the Chinese to go to space and bring back enough rocks to make them cheaper than a lead-doped Barbie?

If and when I get my hands on a piece of our lunar neighbor, can I get a geologist or a jeweler to work with it? I don't care about the shapes you typically get with cut diamond -- in fact, the more authentic, the better.

Should I be worried about the longevity of the rock? Will our lame-ass atmosphere cause it to degrade and turn to dust in our lifetimes?

What to do with rough sapphires?

Phyltre — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:55:06 -0800

I'm no lapidary but I need to separate some sapphires from the surrounding rock and polish them (slightly, I want them to stay rough, no shaping/mounting.) How can I do this without spending multiple paychecks on professional lapidary stuffs? After unexpectedly befriending the owner of the Old Pressley Sapphire Mine in NC, I got some (delicious) personal time with a chisel, hammer, and bountiful cliff side. As a result I've got several pounds of specimen sapphires still in their gleaming white surroundings...and, in a month, will probably have twice as much. They're not quite ring quality but they're beautiful grays, the sort that become cabochons. Because they're useless locked in the rock, I need to extract them. I also want to polish them slightly so they're more appreciable.

The problem is, I can't afford professional lapidary equipment. As a corollary, though, I don't need professional results--so what can I do? I've done some preliminary research online but I can't find any good resources with the obvious keywords. And I know firsthand that commonly available diamond Dremel tips grind down/disintegrate(!) when faced with rock, but maybe I need special tips? Rockhounds, unite!

I need some rocks. Where do I go?

agropyron — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:53:20 -0800

How can I find places where it's legal to gather rocks? I'd like to build a stone circle in my back yard, and I think it would be fun to go out somewhere and gather the rocks myself. I just don't know where to go. A riverbed, a park, a quarry?

I've done some Googling around, and I've found a lot of places where it's illegal: State parks, city parks, along the side of the highway, and so on.

I've read some of the local rock hound groups' web sites, and they all seem horribly designed and uninformative. A few of them listed places they went, but they didn't really have directions, and they seemed focused on hiking for hours to find geodes and things. I just want a short walk and some decent chunks of stone.

How can I find a place to gather rocks?

marble rocks in a fireplace?

kgn2507 — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:31:46 -0800

Can you put garden marble rocks in a fireplace? I have some white and gray marble rocks that I had purchased in the garden section of my local home improvement store. They were in my flower beds, but now I am eyeing them to spruce up my drab dusty fireplace. I was thinking of lining the bottom of the fireplace with them below the grate and then loading it with kindling until it gets cold enough for a fire. This is for visual effect only, however I was wondering if I could actually leave it like that for the first fire. Is marble heat safe? I want to be sure they won't explode or anything. I would probably scoop them out and ditch them with the ashes, but they would look pretty until then.

Looking for Good Secret Fossil-finding Destinations

interrobang — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 09:25:14 -0800

My girlfriend and I are driving from Lawrence, Kansas to Madison, Wisconsin soon, and on the way back, we want to find some fossils. Does anyone know of any reasonably unpicked-over/worn out or fairly "secret" fossil—or interesting rocks—hotspots between Madison and Lawrence? We haven't decided on our travel route at all, and we'd be willing to go out of our way (a hundred miles or so east or west out of Madison) to find some good fossils.

Dye on.. rocks?

cmyk — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:44:56 -0800

How are semiprecious stones dyed? Not heat-treating, dye. Like this. In the case of that rock, loads of pink color washed off after my friend put it under running water. But not all - I'm guessing the dye in the front of it was sealed in by the.. polish?

How do they get it in there? What kind of pigment is it? Is there any way to get it out of a rock, once it's in?

How to polish a single rock?

headlessagnew — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 11:33:07 -0800

I think I have a great idea for a Christmas gift, but I'm not sure I understand rock polishing... I have a rock that I would very much like to make into a pendant for my SO. I'm flexible on how to "dangle" the pendant, via leather strap or some sort of chain-attachment. The crucial step here is the polishing, which I'm not sure I understand how to do.

I have googled it, and based on both time constraints and my desire to keep the rock in basically the same shape it is now, I think I should get a vibrating rock polisher, like this one. I've read a basic introduction to rock tumbling, but I can't seem to figure out if it's going to work to polish a single, meaningful rock. Should I load up the drum with the one rock I want, and lots of others that I don't care about (and that are distinguishable)? Or is there a pellet system I can insert? More importantly, is this process going to give the results I want, or is it just going to trash the rock?

Better than ice for 'on the rocks'?

angusw — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:26:01 -0800

Is there a better thing to chill drinks down apart from ice? If I was trying to serve an alcoholic drink and wanted to keep it cold is there something better than frozen water to use? I am thinking about some substance that retains cold better and will not taint a drink with other flavours...

We've been beholden to Speed Stick for too long. Down with flakes!

saysthis — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:41:17 -0800

Deodorant rocks. What are they? What goes into them? Where do they come from? What's the history? Can they be made at home? Safety warnings or tips on use? Where should they be purchased from?

What is this rock?

jwells — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 11:08:58 -0800

Can anyone identify what type of material this rock is made of? Its blue and purple and sort of sparkles, but that stuff is on a black material. Is it an odd piece of coal? Airplane goo? Dirty salt? I found it sitting in the middle of a parking lot near Boston... which seems like an odd place to find such a thing.

What's a good flash-based mp3 player with voice recorder and FM radio?

jacobsee — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 14:53:07 -0800

I'm looking for flash-based mp3 player (256 or 512MB) with a voice recorder and FM radio. Also need it to work as a USB mass storage device. So far I'm considering the iRiver iFP-100 series or the Creative Muvo TX FM. Are there any other good quality options I should consider? And what do you think of these two options? If they both work fine, the prices are a lot better for the muvo. Thanks!

What could my friend do to avoid being bullied by his fiancee's family?

taumeson — Mon, 24 May 2004 13:25:09 -0800

There's already been a question on AskMe about engagement ring advice, but I'm looking for something a little different. My buddy just spent $10,000 on an engagement ring because his fiance is feeling the pressure of being a brand new attorney in NYC and wanting to look the part. He didn't want to, but he did it anyway, cause her family was giving her the "If he loves you, he'd spend the money" spiel and it was really getting to her.

What could he have done at that point? She's a great girl, just a little prone to doing what her family wants her to do, so "RUN" isn't an appropriate response. Also, what is an appropriate price? $10,000 is about two months salary, but it seems extreme.

Google's not really any help....strangers who I've interacted with (ala MeFites) are significantly better than strangers I have not (ala some random webpage).