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Author Topic: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!  (Read 2284 times)

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johnsurginer

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Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« on: February 16, 2017, 01:27:43 PM »

Hello out there!! Im new to collecting. It all began one day after a heavy rain, I was walking the property and came across a section or the trail that had been washed out by the heavy rains. In the sticky red clay I noticed a large log that  had be exposed, when I went to picked it up I knew immediaty from how heavy it was that it had to be petrified wood. I was excited because I had never found piece of petrified wood that large.
    The real surprise & excitment come though, when I got home and began to wash the thick red clay off. I began scrubbing the first piece and realized quickly this wasnt ordinary petrified wood. With hours of carefully scrubbing with a tooth brush I clean away the clay exposing huge vains of shining crystals on the outside as well as crystals caverns internally.
    From the research ive done the specimans I have mostly resemble what they refer to as (Alabama Brilliant wood) which is said to be really rare, but I havent been able to much information (age/rarity) though. I was hoping someone in this group might know something about it or could point me in the right direction. Ill add photos but its nearly impossible to catch the true gleam of the peices in a picture so I added a video to youtube which shows the sparkle much better, Here is the link:  https://youtu.be/4xq_n5yD
Thanks in advance!!
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rocks2dust

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2017, 07:59:51 PM »

Beautiful sparkler you found. "Brilliant Wood" was a designation for the druzy-coated permineralized wood from around Brilliant (naturally), but similar has been found elsewhere in NW Alabama, and also in the southeast (somewhere south of Auburn, I believe). I've seen both NW and SE examples, and they are very similar. I would not be surprised if the material from the different areas formed in the same era/conditions. Not sure about the pricing these days, but I've noticed some are calling it all "Brilliant" - and I suppose it is all sparkly enough to qualify for at least a lower-case "brilliant."

Now what about your state gemstone? I've yet to meet anyone from Alabama who has ever seen an example of the supposedly common "Star Blue Quartz" even after tramping repeatedly around the area where it is supposedly found :shocked:
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lithicbeads

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 08:45:40 PM »

Welcome. It has been a number of years since I have seen brilliant wood. I have seen some nice cabs made from areas that have high contrast as well as drusy.
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fossilman

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2017, 07:18:28 AM »

Welcome John... Nice score on the petwood!
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hummingbirdstones

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2017, 07:24:20 AM »

Welcome from Northern Arizona!   :hello:  Nice sparkly you found.   :WEEEE:
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Robin

Jhon P

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2017, 03:15:02 PM »

Nice wood!! You going back when the weather is better and do s little digging, I will bet there is more. It dosent look like float to me, the crystals would be worn down.
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johnsurginer

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2017, 10:03:37 AM »

Thanks I plan on going back up there tomorrow and do some serious digging!! A source I came across online claims that 83 millions yrs ago a huge meteorite hit Wetumpka Al, causing the crystals to form from the extreme heat/cooling emitted from the impact. Here is the quote from that site:
       
    "Brilliantwood is named for it's beautiful brilliant sparkle and also from the town it was found, Brilliant, AL. This petrified wood is also known as Fairytears and Smoky Quartz. Very rare, this type of petrified wood can only be found within a few square miles of northern Alabama. Petrified wood is wood that has been replaced by another mineral, usually Agate (Chalcedony) or Quartz, producing "agatized wood" or "silicifed wood". A world renown dealer told me that he has handled petrified wood from all over the world and has never came across any like this. He was intriqued with the fact that it is petrified wood but covered with the drusy crystals. It's internal cavities are lined with drusy quartz crystals. This wood comes from the cretaceous coker formation, member of the tuscaloosa group. The wood is estimated to be between 80 to 100 million years old and the crystals are estimated to be between 60 to 65 million years old. Scientists believe that a meteorite struck Wetumpka, 150 miles away from the area, causing heat so intense that it caused crystals to form after the petrified wood slowly cooled." source-  https://sites.google.com/site/mysticalscrystals/
 
   Could anyone confirm or dispel this information? Thanks for yall's interest & help with this matter!!! 
 
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rocks2dust

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Re: Hello from Alabama!! New to collecting!! Need help I.D Please!!
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2017, 10:38:54 AM »

I doubt that the crystals formed as a result of heat from the Wetumpka meteor strike. More likely, they formed from silica-rich water percolating into cavities within the wood (the same process responsible for formation of crystals within geodes). The Wetumpka strike did throw up a lot of silica-rich material, as there is quite a bit of shocked quartz around the crater. That might have provided silica to fuel the formation of the quartz druzy - HOWEVER - there are also other possible sources, such as leaching from limestone, and the Wetumpka crater is thought to be over 81 million years old (too old to have caused 65-million year old crystals by heat action). You might want to check the collection in and on the grounds of the Alabama Museum of Natural History if you are ever down in Tuscaloosa, as they have petrified wood from various periods and parts of the state.

I hope you have success looking for more!
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