[Rockhounds] petrified wood from Glass Buttes, OR?

[Tim Fisher]

No. Sounds like petrified wood. There is mahogany, black, and sheen 
obsidian and misc. volcanic rock at Glass Buttes. There is 
opalite/myrickite next door at the old mercury mines. The closest 
petrified wood is at Hampton Buttes and your piece doesn't sound like 
it comes from there (it's usually green or "woody" colors, not red). 
What is your neighbor smoking? :D

At 08:26 AM 11/8/2007, you wrote:


>Howdy,
>
>One of my neighbors, in return for giving him some knappable 
>obsidian I bought at the Barter Faire, gave me a large piece of 
>material from Glass Buttes.  I said, "oh wow, petrified wood!"  He 
>said no, it's obsidian. Now, it is about 2 ft. long and shaped like 
>a tree section, dull brick red, with ring structure and little 
>openings or channels (xylem? phloem?  I can't remember my biology!) 
>arranged in regular patterns.  The rings are eccentrically shaped, 
>not really rings at all, but they are layered distinctly from inward 
>out.  On the outer surface, the breakage pattern reveals thin 
>layers.  Everything about this says wood to me.  But he says there 
>are huge formations of it near Glass Buttes.  I didn't want to 
>argue.  Perhaps he is confusing this with mahogany obisidian (which 
>has a more orange hue and is glassy, not dull?)  Does this sound 
>like something anyone has seen at Glass Buttes?
>
>I can provide a photo later.
>
>best,
>Don

Tim Fisher
Ore-ROCK-On!
Email address at http://OreRockOn.com