Many shades of obsidian: Weekend Challenge

There are many shades of obsidian in nature. The Weekend Challenge from GC and SueW, and their monthly color challenge for June, is the color Obsidian.

By coincidence, I was out in the yard yesterday morning rearranging some of the obsidian I’ve collected at nearby Glass Buttes. Here in Bend, Oregon, we recently had a huge storm with high winds, rain, and hail. My rocks all had a nice bath. 😉

Here are few portraits of obsidian rocks in my garden.

A piece of black obsidian in with the ice plants. I like to pick up pieces that have interesting textures.

Many shades of obsidian. Black obsidian & ice plant. Bend, Oregon May 2020

Here’s a larger piece of black obsidian tucked in under the mint plants.

Black obsidian & mint plant. Bend, Oregon May 2020

Here are a trio of mahogany obsidian rocks.

Mahogany obsidian from Glass Buttes, Oregon May 2020

Here are three smaller pieces beneath a cholla cactus. Spotted mahogany colored rocks, like the middle piece in the photo below, are called leopardskin obsidian. If that’s true, is the striped piece on the left tigerskin obsidian? I don’t think so!

Go to OreRockOn and look under the Obsidian & Knapping for Sale tab to see pictures of many varieties of obsidian.

Obsidian beneath a cholla cactus. Bend, Oregon May 2020

This is green sheen obsidian. It has stripes of green color crossing the black.

Green sheen obsidian . Bend, Oregon May 2020

This piece of silver sheen obsidian is being guarded by a prickly pear cactus. Silver sheen, and other types of obsidian, have a sparkly iridescence when you tilt them in the light.

Many shades of obsidian. Silver sheen obsidian . Bend, Oregon May 2020

This gunmetal obsidian, next to an Oregon sunshine plant, blends in with the color of the gravel. Gunmetal is solid gray in color.

Gunmetal obsidian & Oregon sunshine plant. Bend, Oregon May 2020

These are just a few of the many shades of obsidian located an hour away from my house. Lucky me!

For more on Glass Buttes, in eastern Oregon, see Glass Buttes Obsidian Field Trip and Glass Butte Dragonglass . I Like Rocks! shows more rock pictures taken in my gardens.

7 thoughts on “Many shades of obsidian: Weekend Challenge

  1. I second that remark… Lucky you!
    Wow, I cannot believe how many pieces you managed to find. Thank you so much for sharing your collection with our Colour Challenge 🙂

  2. The first time I found a piece of that rock– half-buried next to a jade plant in my backyard– I thought it was a meteorite, never having seen one before. Got to see a lot more at the Lava Caves park area in Oregon.
    Art

    • It’s a unique kind of rock. You’re lucky you found a piece. Yes, there’s a lot near the Lava Caves, especially at at Big Obsidian Flow.

  3. Pingback: Glass Buttes obsidian field trip - bend branches

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