What did I find?

terry_g

terry_g

Ultra Member
Several years ago myself and another mechanic were sent to a logging cut to replace the engine in a
grapple yarder. The engine had failed and the machine had spent the winter in the bush. The snow had
melted and we were able to drive up to the machine with the service truck. I took a walk around the area
and I found this small "rock" sitting on the deep moss in the trees. The moss was deep and the rock would
have disappeared into it in a few days. We were the first people there in several months so I am wondering
how it got there.

IMG_3229.JPG

Its a bit bigger than a golf ball light and porous, it looks like lava. There is a lava flow about 30 km north of where I found
the rock but it has been inactive for hundreds of years. Is it a meteorite?
 
Doggggboy

Doggggboy

Ultra Member
See any rabbit tracks nearby?
Elk?
(Edit) Oops. Just looked again at the picture and saw the loony for size comparison.. If that was a rabbit I'd expect a dead rabbit to be there as well. Ouch.
 
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Susquatch

Susquatch

Ultra Member
Administrator
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Premium Member
terry_g said:
I found this small "rock" sitting on the deep moss in the trees. The moss was deep and the rock would have disappeared into it in a few days. We were the first people there in several months so I am wondering how it got there.

Is it a meteorite?
Click to expand...

I have found a number of meteors on my farm over the years. They are not all the same. The majority are iron based and will exhibit mild attraction to a strong magnet. I don't think they are ever magnetic themselves. However using a strong magnet to see if the rock is attracted is a fairly positive indication.

My understanding is that the surface texture depends on how they got there. Often, a meteor explodes on entry and send a shower of fragments to the ground. These can range in surface texture that depends on how hot they got.

A few meteors will get very hot themselves and their surface can get bubbled and torched.

If it is a meteor, this one appears to be an extreme example. I took mine to the local university for evaluation. It's a nice break for them and they don't mind doing it.

I'd put my money on it being volcanic in origin. If so, the question is how did it get there? Could be from a fallen tree whose roots pulled it from the ground and flung it a distance away and the rain cleaned it up.

Could be an animal or another human brought it there - but this seems unlikely. Maybe a child though.....

Any blasting in the area?

Fallen off some passing equipment?

Good luck solving your mystery!
 
Canadium

Canadium

Ian
Is it so light that it floats? Volcanic pumice can be so light that it floats even tho it is a rock. . If so it could have got there by being carried by water. A flood, a temporary stream, that could have deposited it there as things dried up again.
 
Tomc938

Tomc938

Ultra Member
Premium Member
Do you live near a university? Their geology department would be able to tell you for sure. If it's a meteorite, I understand they can be worth money. If not, it's a better story if you can say what it is.
 
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