Moqui marbles in the making by 0rest4wicked
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Description
The sands texture from the previous nights rainfall looked nice, but forced saving the image at it's lowest quality for Rendo's requirements.
Iron oxide concretions are not uncommon in the Navajo Sandstone of south central and southeastern Utah & Northern Arizona. These concretions were created by the dissolved iron in the ground water precipitating around some kind of nucleus. Which this area is great for compacting sand grains and creating a nucleus to be encased in a mixture of Geothite and Hematite. Sounds like the process an oyster goes through to make a pearl. ;~) Some geologists believe the iron oxide concretions formed 130-155 million years ago. They range in size from a pea to as large as a baseball.
In the United States, they are commonly called Moqui marbles after the Moqui Indians that inhabited this area. It is said the word "Moqui" in the Hopi language means, "dear departed one". Legend says that the departed ancestors of the Hopi Indians of the Southwestern United States played games with these "marbles" in the evening when spirits are allowed to visit the Earth. When the sun rises they must return to the heavens, so they leave the marbles behind to let relatives know they are happy and well.
Some information from rocksandminerals.com
To the kind souls that leave their mark whether a comment, rating, or save the image as a fav, you are very much appreciated, thank you!!!
Thank you all that viewed my last image below.
"Soft & Petrified"
"Soft & Petrified"
Comments (31)
jayfar
A super illustration and brilliant info Dana - very interesting.
durleybeachbum
This is a beautiful and fascinating object, and Thankyou for that clear explanation of how they are formed. And, what a charming idea about the spirits!
gaius
Thanks for the tips and the picture ; mof, I've got a lot of these at my place, I love them.
blinkings
It looks like the fossilized nose of an ancient crocodile!
dakotabluemoon
A very interesting shot of it.
Faemike55
Very cool capture and strange but very interesting information
flaviok
Impressionante captura, aplausos (5)
nitegrafix
Great photo!
vaggabondd
it looks like a marble rye bread lol, nice shot my friend
Flint_Hawk
I've never seen these before! They are fascinating!
bebopdlx
Nice work and info.
VEDES
Very impressive capture!!!
Dreamingbee
how interesting!!!!! great photo to!!
dochtersions
So interesting, also about the 'Moqui', and how this is created. thank you for sharing, Dana.
Jay-el-Jay
An interesting and peculiar formation.I also like learning about the Hopi legand behind these marbles.A fine shot.
junge1
Interesting find and background information!
emmecielle
Very interesting image and info! Great shot! :)
flavia49
fantastic detail
drifterlee
Very interesting shot!!!!
drifterlee
Very interesting shot!!!!
morganahope
um olhar diferente para pequenas coisas que não prestamos atenção mas que são realmente muito bonitas !! a different look for little things that do not pay attention but which are really beautiful!
Madbat
Great photo as always, and cool bit of info too!
npauling
A lovely story about the spirits of the Indians using these to play with. They are most amazing and thank you for showing it to us as I have never seen these before.
Richardphotos
very interesting information and capture
bobrgallegos
Wonderful capture and information Dana!
Hendesse
Fantastic colors and textures. Excellent shot and interesting informations.
kbrog
That's something I've never seen before. :) Awesome find and capture!
adrie
Wonderful and interesting photoshot my friend.
sandra46
AMAZING CREATION!
phfrancke
looks very cool -- too bad there are only so many of them, I'd say every bookshelf deserves one or two!!