Rocksday

Tektite

Natural glass blobs thrown out by meteorite impacts, often in aerodynamic shapes like buttons and teardrops.

Tektite specimen
Photo: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify tektite

  • Black, pitted, often teardrop, disc or dumbbell shaped.
  • Thin edges are dark brown, not clear.
  • Lighter than they look.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Southeast Asia
  • Australia
  • Texas
  • Ivory Coast

Uses

Collector specimens.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Australian 'button' tektites were shaped as molten glass re-entered the atmosphere.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

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