View allAll Photos Tagged quartzite
From Egypt
18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC
'He who cuts off the face of him who cuts off your face'
This inscription on the statue appears to identify it with Hapy the son of Horus. Yet this baboon still reminds of the Cynocephalus ape of Thoth.
Ancient Egyptians might identify the baboon with at least three main deities. The first was the sun-god, as baboons screech at sunrise. Religious papyri often depict baboons adoring the rising sun. The second deity, who this sculpture is normally thought to represent, is Thoth, the ibis-headed god of Hermopolis. Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC), whose names are incised on the pedestal of this small figure, in fact set up four colossal baboon statues at Hermopolis, the centre of Thoth's cult.
However, the baboon is also associated with Hapy, one of the four sons of Horus. The inscription on this statue suggests that it might be Hapy who is represented here, as it bears the epithet 'He who cuts off the face of him who cuts off your face', which is usually identified with the guardian Hapy.
The figure is carved from the brown quartzite of Lower Egypt so favoured by Amenhotep III. It has been suggested that the statue may have come from Amenhotep's tomb, but divine statues in royal burials are more likely to have been made of wood. It seems more likely that this is one of the huge number of statues of deities made for Amenhotep's mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile.
A.P. Kozloff and B.M. Bryan, Egypts dazzling sun: Amenhotep (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992)
S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of anc (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)
British Museum
Room 4: Egyptian sculpture
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_object...
Masi Quartzite - fuchsitic quartzite from the Silurian of Norway.
Quartzite (metaquartzite) is a quartzose, crystalline-textured, metamorphic rock. It forms by intermediate- to high-grade metamorphism of quartzose sandstones and siltstones. The coloration in greenish quartzite is often from fuchsite, a chromian-rich variety of muscovite mica. In the decorative stone shown above, the fuchsite occurs in discrete, convoluted bands.
Locality: attributed to a quarry at Gaskabeivarri, near Masi, Kautokeino Municipality, Finnmark, northern Norway
Otter Creek in the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges of Wisconsin, USA.
The gravel bars in this creek have abundant, large quartzite clasts derived from nearby outcrops of Baraboo Quartzite. The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by this hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: Baxter Hollow (a little downstream of bridge over Otter Creek), South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA
Egyptian (New Kingdom, Dynasty 18). Quartzite. This head typifies the timeless and eternal quality of the best ancient Egyptian sculpture. The use of quartzite, a highly prized stone, along with the shape of the wig and the presence of a beard, suggests that this head comes from a statue of a god. Some of the original black and red paint remains in the pupils, in the grooves of the wig on either side of the neck, and around the nose and mouth. Exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.
Otter Creek in the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges of Wisconsin, USA. (3 June 2015)
The coarse-grained gravel in this creek is derived from nearby outcrops of Baraboo Quartzite. The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by this hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: Baxter Hollow (immediately downstream of bridge over Otter Creek), South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 23' 06.64" North, 89° 47' 55.43" West)
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Asymmetrical ripple marks in quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The ridges on the rock shown above are asymmetrical ripples. Asymmetrical ripple marks have a long side and a short side, when viewed in cross-section. They form in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water). The current direction was toward the short side of each ripple.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: loose block along the southern shore of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA
Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.[Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to grey, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink and red due to varying amounts of hematite. Other colors, such as yellow, green, blue and orange, are due to other minerals.
The term quartzite is also sometimes used for very hard but unmetamorphosed sandstones that are composed of quartz grains thoroughly cemented with additional quartz. Such sedimentary rock has come to be described as orthoquartzite to distinguish it from metamorphic quartzite, which is sometimes called metaquartzite to emphasize its metamorphic origins.
Quartzite is very resistant to chemical weathering and often forms ridges and resistant hilltops. The nearly pure silica content of the rock provides little material for soil; therefore, the quartzite ridges are often bare or covered only with a very thin layer of soil and little (if any) vegetation. Some quartzites contain just enough weather-susceptible nutrient-bearing minerals such as carbonates and chlorite to form a loamy, fairly fertile though shallow and stony soil.
Quartzite has been used since prehistoric times for stone tools. It is presently used for decorative dimension stone, as crushed stone in highway construction, and as a source of silica for production of silicon and silicon compounds.
Characteristics and origin
Quartzite is a very hard rock composed predominantly of an interlocking mosaic of quartz crystals. The grainy, sandpaper-like surface is glassy in appearance. Minor amounts of former cementing materials, iron oxide, silica, carbonate and clay, often migrate during recrystallization, causing streaks and lenses to form within the quartzite.To be classified as a quartzite by the British Geological Survey, a metamorphic rock must contain at least 80% quartz by volume.
Quartzite is commonly regarded as metamorphic in origin. When sandstone is subjected to the great heat and pressure associated with regional metamorphism, the individual quartz grains recrystallize along with the former cementing material. Most or all of the original texture and sedimentary structures of the sandstone are erased by the metamorphism.[1] The recrystallized quartz grains are roughly equal in size, forming what is called a granoblastic texture, and they also show signs of metamorphic annealing, in which the grains become coarser and acquire a more polygonal texture.[6] The grains are so tightly interlocked that when the rock is broken, it fractures through the grains to form an irregular or conchoidal fracture.
Geologists had recognized by 1941 that some rocks show the macroscopic characteristics of quartzite, even though they have not undergone metamorphism at high pressure and temperature. These rocks have been subject only to the much lower temperatures and pressures associated with diagenesis of sedimentary rock, but diagenesis has cemented the rock so thoroughly that microscopic examination is necessary to distinguish it from metamorphic quartize. The term orthoquartzite is used to distinguish such sedimentary rock from metaquartzite produced by metamorphism. By extension, the term orthoquartzite has occasionally been more generally applied to any quartz-cemented quartz arenite. Orthoquartzite (in the narrow sense) is often 99% SiO2 with only very minor amounts of iron oxide and trace resistant minerals such as zircon, rutile and magnetite. Although few fossils are normally present, the original texture and sedimentary structures are preserved.]
The typical distinction between a true orthoquartzite and an ordinary quartz sandstone is that an orthoquartzite is so highly cemented that it will fracture across grains, not around them. This is a distinction that can be recognized in the field. In turn, the distinction between an orthoquartzite and a metaquartzite is the onset of recrystallization of existing grains. The dividing line may be placed at the point where strained quartz grains begin to be replaced by new, unstrained, small quartz grains, producing a mortar texture that can be identified in thin sections under a polarizing microscope. With increasing grade of metamorphism, further recrystallization produces foam texture, characterized by polygonal grains meeting at triple junctions, and then porphyroblastic texture, characterized by coarse, irregular grains, including some larger grains (porphyroblasts.)
Occurrencen the United States, formations of quartzite can be found in some parts of Pennsylvania, the Washington DC area, eastern South Dakota, Central Texas] southwest Minnesota,] Devil's Lake State Park in the Baraboo Range in Wisconsin, the Wasatch Range in Utah,] near Salt Lake City, Utah and as resistant ridges in the Appalachians[ and other mountain regions. Quartzite is also found in the Morenci Copper Mine in Arizona.[ The town of Quartzsite in western Arizona derives its name from the quartzites in the nearby mountains in both Arizona and Southeastern California. A glassy vitreous quartzite has been described from the Belt Supergroup in the Coeur d’Alene district of northern Idaho.
In Canada, the La Cloche Mountains in Ontario are composed primarily of white quartzite. Vast areas of Nova Scotia are underlain by quartzite.
Paleoproterozoic quartzite-rhyolite successions are common in the Precambrian basement rock of western North America. The quartzites in these successions are interpreted as sedimentary beds deposited atop older greenstone belts. The quartzite-rhyolite successions may record the formation of back-arc basins along the margin of Laurentia, the ancient core of North America, between episodes of mountain building during the assembly of the continent. The quartzites are often nearly pure quartz, which is puzzling for sediments which must have eroded from igneous rock. Their purity may reflect unusual conditions of chemical weathering, at a time when the Earth's atmosphere was beginning to be oxygenated.
In Ireland areas of quartzite are found across the west and northwest, with Errigal in Donegal as the most prominent outcrop. A good example of a quartzite area is on An Corràn peninsula, in Co. Mayo, which has a very thin layer of Irish Atlantic Bog covering it.
In the United Kingdom, a craggy ridge of quartzite called the Stiperstones (early Ordovician – Arenig Epoch, 500 Ma) runs parallel with the Pontesford-Linley fault, 6 km north-west of the Long Mynd in south Shropshire. Also to be found in England are the Cambrian "Wrekin quartzite" (in Shropshire), and the Cambrian "Hartshill quartzite" (Nuneaton area).[17] In Wales, Holyhead Mountain and most of Holy island off Anglesey sport excellent Precambrian quartzite crags and cliffs. In the Scottish Highlands, several mountains (e.g. Foinaven, Arkle) composed of Cambrian quartzite can be found in the far north-west Moine Thrust Belt running in a narrow band from Loch Eriboll in a south-westerly direction to Skye.
In continental Europe, various regionally isolated quartzite deposits exist at surface level in a belt from the Rhenish Massif and the German Central Highlands into the Western Czech Republic, for example in the Taunus and Harz mountains. In Poland quartzite deposits at surface level exists in Świętokrzyskie Mountains. In Norway, deposits are quarried near Austertana,which is one of the largest quarries in the world at 850,000 metric tonnes) annually, and Mårnes near Sandhornøy with an output of 150,000 metric tonnes annually.[20] Deposits are also quarried at Kragerø, and several other deposits are known but not actively quarried.[21]
The highest mountain in Mozambique, Monte Binga (2436 m), as well as the rest of the surrounding Chimanimani Plateau are composed of very hard, pale grey, Precambrian quartzite. Quartzite is also mined in Brazil for use in kitchen countertops.
Uses
Quartzite biface hand axe from Stellenbosch, South Africa
Quartzite is a decorative stone and may be used to cover walls, as roofing tiles, as flooring, and stairsteps. Its use for countertops in kitchens is expanding rapidly. It is harder and more resistant to stains than granite. Crushed quartzite is sometimes used in road construction. High purity quartzite is used to produce ferrosilicon, industrial silica sand, silicon and silicon carbide During the Paleolithic, quartzite was used, along with flint, quartz, and other lithic raw materials, for making stone tools.
From Wikipedia
The tomb of Tutankhamun contained four gilded shrines nested one inside the other in order of decreasing size. The innermost shrine contained the red quartzite sarcophagus of King Tut which protected three anthropoid, or man-shaped, coffins.
The Phillips Block (Soo Hotel) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and was included in the Old Courthouse and Warehouse Historic District when listed in 1983.
Built in 1892, the block reflects Victorian design characteristics for commercial structures during the late nineteenth century. It is brick with a Sioux quartzite stone foundation/basement, polished granite columns, and sandstone trim. It was designed by local architect W.L. Dow.
Andrew C. Phillips had the building constructed between 1891 and 1892 and he called it the Law Exchange Block. Because Phillips built the structure across the street from the Minnehaha County Courthouse it served as an ideal location for a legal center. After his death in 1891, his wife Imogene Phillips renamed the building the Phillips Block in Andrew's memory.
Between 1897 and 1908 the Scottish American Mortgage Company and R. F. Pettigrew, former U.S. Senator, owned the structure. Then the Queen City Fire Insurance Company purchased and occupied it for the next forty years changing the structure's name to the Queen City Building. In the 1950's the building became known as the Soo Hotel and a variety of businesses occupied the lower level.
Quartzite head of a colossal statue from the pharaoh’s mortuary temple in western Thebes. Amenhotep is shown wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt. The prominence of the symmetrical eyes and the accentuated facial features foreshadow physical representations created in the heretical Armana Period at the end of the 18 Dynasty. This head is featured at the right side of the door way to the Egyptian Sculpture room from the Great Court at the British Museum.
©2010 PHH Sykes
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Quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: roadcut on the western side of Rt. 136, across the road from Van Hise Rock, just north of the town of Rock Springs, North Range of the Baraboo Ranges, north-central Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 29’ 21.35” North, 89° 54’ 57.39” West)
Australian Aborigine pictographs on a cliff face of quartzose sandstones (Rawnsley Quartzite, Ediacaran, Neoproterozoic, upper Precambrian) in South Australia.
These cave paintings (they're actually in a rock shelter, not a cave) are claimed to be 30,000 years old, but I've not seen the evidence for that in any technical literature.
Each line making up the central circle represents one person - an individual participant or initiate at a ritual ceremony. The figures at the upper right and left are kangaroo tracks.
Locality: Yourambulla Caves, South Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Bow Fiddle Rock is a large sea arch of quartzite rock about 50 feet high just off the coast at Portknockie (Port Chnocaidh, the hilly port) . The quartzite rock has a large sea arch, which somewhat resembles the bow of a fiddle.
This work by Rhonda Surman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
© Rhonda Surman 2011
Cross-bedded pebbly quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The tilted layers shown above are cross-bedding, formed in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water).
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: Tumbled Rocks Trail, northwestern margin of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 25' 34.34" North, 89° 44' 06.56" West)
Cross-bedded pebbly quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The tilted layers shown above are cross-bedding, formed in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water).
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: Tumbled Rocks Trail, northwestern margin of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 25' 34.34" North, 89° 44' 06.56" West)
Baraboo purple quartzite blocks with the Baraboo Range looming in the background. The gorge at this angle looking toward Devil's Lake (East) was cut by the ancient Wisconsin River, and makes a 90-degree bend North just out of view. The East bluff's of Devil's Lake (just 2.5 miles from this location on Hwy-113) on are visible as part of the quartzite outcrop on the bluff's on the right-side of this photo.
A very large agate slab, seen at Quartzite, Arizona at the annual Rock and Gem Show, this one at Tyson Wells. This slab is about two feet long. As I was photographing this, the vendor came out and showed me that on the inside he also had a giant slab that looked like a puffer fish. As the light was going fast and the bags I carried seemed heavier, I passed on the other shot. But, this rock at the end of a great day seemed just the right way to make me smile.
Asymmetrical ripple marks in quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The ridges on the rock shown above are asymmetrical ripples. Asymmetrical ripple marks have a long side and a short side, when viewed in cross-section. They form in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water). The current direction was toward the short side of each ripple.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: loose block along the southern shore of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA
Cross-bedded pebbly quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The tilted layers shown above are cross-bedding, formed in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water).
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: Tumbled Rocks Trail, northwestern margin of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 25' 34.34" North, 89° 44' 06.56" West)
# 136 / 365 . . . A little history about Devil's Lake State Park...
It is THE largest state park in all of Wisconsin. It spans over 9,200 acres and is best known for its 500+ foot quartzite bluffs that tower over the 360-acre Devil's Lake. (Yes, the name of the lake really is Devil's Lake) The state park is situated in the town of Baraboo, just 35 miles northwest of Madison. Not only is Devil's Lake State Park the largest in all of Wisconsin, it's also one of the most popular. Over 1.2 million visitors annually come through the park's entrance.
The lake itself was created by glaciers over 12,000 years ago. The area surrounding Baraboo are even older than the lake itself. The hills surrounding the area are said to be over 1.6 BILLION years old and were once part of the Baraboo Range and were said to be taller than the Rocky Mountains at one point in time. Due to the long geological history of Devil's Lake and the Baraboo Range, the area has been used in geological research for years.
Quartzite (some of the hardest rock on the planet) is all over Devil's Lake State Park. The entire region of Baraboo and the surrounding area is formed almost entirely of quartzite. Quartzite rock consists of grains of sand tightly cemented together. According to geologists, the sand was deposited by rivers as they drained into shallow seas covering this area over a billion years ago. As the sand accumulated, it first formed sandstone (a porous sedimentary rock) and then, under tremendous heat and pressure, became quartzite.
Hiking? ..there are over 41 miles of trails spanning the entire park. Not only are there 41 miles of trails, but a few of the trails (the most scenic ones) encompass some of the most difficult hiking in all of Wisconsin! The aggressive elevation changes over a very short distance coupled with the changing trail patterns makes it some of the most challenging hiking in the entire state... as well as some of the most beautiful.
Prospect Mountain Quartzite. This outcrop of metasediments is lower Cambrian and late Proterozoic in age -- roughly 560-590 million years old. Originally deposited as cross-bedded sandstone, this hard, resistant quartzite is one of the principal ridge-forming units in the Snake Range. Great Basin National Park. Near Baker, White Pine Co., Nevada.
Quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA. (geology hammer for scale)
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: roadcut on the western side of Rt. 136, across the road from Van Hise Rock, just north of the town of Rock Springs, North Range of the Baraboo Ranges, north-central Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA (43° 29’ 21.35” North, 89° 54’ 57.39” West)
Asymmetrical ripple marks in quartzite in the Precambrian of Wisconsin, USA.
The Baraboo Ranges of southern Wisconsin are dominated by a hard, erosion-resistant Precambrian metamorphic unit called the Baraboo Quartzite. These rocks were originally marine sandstones and have been subjected to metamorphism and structural folding. Original sedimentary structures are preserved, such as cross-bedding and ripple marks. Baraboo Quartzites vary in color from pinkish to dark reddish to grayish. During metamorphism, quartz overgrowths formed over the original quartz sand grains. Long-term, modern weathering can result in original sand grains being released.
This unit has economic significance - it has been quarried historically and in modern times. The quartzite is broken down into gravel-sized pieces for use as railroad ballast and erosion-control rip-rap.
The ridges on the rock shown above are asymmetrical ripples. Asymmetrical ripple marks have a long side and a short side, when viewed in cross-section. They form in a one-directional current by wind or water (in this case, water). The current direction was toward the short side of each ripple.
Stratigraphy: Baraboo Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, ~1.7 Ga
Locality: loose block along the southern shore of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake State Park, northern part of the South Range of the Baraboo Ranges, southeast of the town of Baraboo, eastern Sauk County, southern Wisconsin, USA
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From Egypt
18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC
'He who cuts off the face of him who cuts off your face'
This inscription on the statue appears to identify it with Hapy the son of Horus. Yet this baboon still reminds of the Cynocephalus ape of Thoth.
Ancient Egyptians might identify the baboon with at least three main deities. The first was the sun-god, as baboons screech at sunrise. Religious papyri often depict baboons adoring the rising sun. The second deity, who this sculpture is normally thought to represent, is Thoth, the ibis-headed god of Hermopolis. Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC), whose names are incised on the pedestal of this small figure, in fact set up four colossal baboon statues at Hermopolis, the centre of Thoth's cult.
However, the baboon is also associated with Hapy, one of the four sons of Horus. The inscription on this statue suggests that it might be Hapy who is represented here, as it bears the epithet 'He who cuts off the face of him who cuts off your face', which is usually identified with the guardian Hapy.
The figure is carved from the brown quartzite of Lower Egypt so favoured by Amenhotep III. It has been suggested that the statue may have come from Amenhotep's tomb, but divine statues in royal burials are more likely to have been made of wood. It seems more likely that this is one of the huge number of statues of deities made for Amenhotep's mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile.
A.P. Kozloff and B.M. Bryan, Egypts dazzling sun: Amenhotep (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992)
S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of anc (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)
British Museum
Room 4: Egyptian sculpture
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