sedimentary
Banded Jasper
Silicate Mineral (Microcrystalline Quartz / SiO2)
Hardness: 6.5-7 Mohs; Color: Opaque orange, brown, and tan banding; Luster: Waxy to dull; Structure: Cryptocrystalline; Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture)
- Hardness
- 6
- Color
- Opaque orange, brown, and tan banding
- Luster
- Waxy to dull
Identified More sedimentary →
Explore Banded Jasper in the encyclopedia →Identify your own rocks.
Get a report just like this from any photo, free.
Physical properties
Hardness: 6.5-7 Mohs; Color: Opaque orange, brown, and tan banding; Luster: Waxy to dull; Structure: Cryptocrystalline; Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture)
Formation & geological history
Formed primarily through the chemical precipitation of silica in sedimentary environments or as a replacement of organic material; often found in prehistoric iron formations
Uses & applications
Used for lapidary work, jewelry (beads, cabochons), landscaping, and as a popular specimen for rock tumbling and collecting
Geological facts
Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony. The banding is caused by variations in iron oxides and clay content during the formation process over millions of years
Field identification & locations
Identify by its opaqueness (it does not transmit light even on thin edges), its characteristic banding, and its ability to scratch glass. Widely found in gravel pits and riverbeds
More like this
Other sedimentary specimens
Sandstone or Siltstone
Arenite (if sandstone)
Sedimentary
Fossiliferous Concretion
Septarian Concretion containing Brachiopods/Crinoids
fossil
Shale
Shale (clastic sedimentary rock)
sedimentary
Brown Sandstone (River Rock)
Arenite
sedimentary
Shale
Argillaceous sedimentary rock
sedimentary
Mudstone
Argillite / Siliciclastic sedimentary rock
sedimentary