We have both had a small interest in beachcombing and finding interesting rocks since we moved here to the Island a couple years ago. I recently started looking into what we might actually find or should be looking for. I learned that this Island isn't the most interesting place for semi-precious rock hunting, but there are some fun things to hunt for. One rock of particular interest is what's known as Dallasite. Yes, it's named after the Dallas Rd beach that we frequent... so obviously we knew where to find it. There aren't a lot of good photos of it online, and they way it looks is quite varied, depending on the quality of the specimen.
We combed the beach with the dogs for about half an hour. I snatched up a few little pebbles, only one really looking like it could be neat. I bumped into a nice old man who appeared to be searching for rocks as well. I asked him what he had found and he showed be a couple of really pretty pieces that he had picked up. He asked to see what I had found and I was a little hesitant and said, "well, I don't know as much as you do, but maybe you can tell me if I got anything of value..."
I showed him this little rock:
He said that I was very lucky- I had found a very high quality piece of Dallasite!
COOL!
The fellow mentioned that there is an avid rockhound who had just combed the beach for Dallasite for about 2 hours straight just before we arrived- so we were lucky to snag this grade A piece that he had obviously missed!
Clearly it was meant to be!
So, I guess what makes this Dallasite is the shape of the markings... they're kinda geometric and have a fine white line separating them from the black background. Often these bits are a greenish grey colour, or on very high quality stones, more of a blue colour. Lower grade stones may have inclusions of reddish brown pillow lava. So I guess this is a pretty good piece.
We have a rock tumbler that we haven't fired up in ages, so once I have collected a good handful of Dallasite, I'll polish it, because I think it would be so beautiful all shined up!
Are there any rockhounds out there? What is the special stone that is unique to your area? Have you found any yourself?