File:Gilsonite pahoehoe paralava (summer 2012; southwest of Dragon, Utah, USA) 2.jpg
_2.jpg){kind=small}
Original file (3,056 × 1,580 pixels, file size: 3.45 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
 | This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Information from its description page there is shown below. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help. |
Summary
| Description |
English: Gilsonite pahoehoe paralava from the uppermost Holocene of Utah, USA. (public display, Utah Field House of Natural History, Vernal, Utah, USA)
This is one of the most remarkable rare rocks I've ever encountered. This is gilsonite (a.k.a. uintaite), which is a variety of asphaltite - it's a solid hydrocarbon - basically solidified oil. Gilsonite usually has the appearance of obsidian or anthracite coal. It is jet black in color, very lightweight, brittle, and has a conchoidal fracture. The largest “deposits” of gilsonite in the world are in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, USA. Gilsonite occurs there as vertical NW-SE trending dikes (veins) intruded within the Eocene-aged Uinta Formation. The source of the hydrocarbons is organic-rich beds in the underlying Green River Formation (Eocene) and Wasatch Formation (Paleocene). Gilsonite is not readily combustible and is not a fuel, but it does have economic value. Gilsonite is mined in northeastern Utah and processed and is used in numerous products and applications (e.g., see: www.geospectra.net/kite/gilsonite/gilson.htm). The specimen shown above formed when a lightning-induced wildfire in summer 2012 heated and melted gilsonite in old mine piles. The molten gilsonite (a type of paralava) flowed, cooled, and solidified back into gilsonite. While molten, it developed a smooth to ropey top surface, which is essentially identical to the basalt pahoehoe lava flows of Kilauea Volcano at the Hawaii Hotspot. These gilsonite pahoehoe paralavas reportedly weathered relatively quickly, but this specimen was collected fresh. Locality: gilsonite paralava flow in the Wolf Den Fire area, southwest of the historic town of Dragon, southeastern Uintah County, northeastern Utah, USA Some info. provided by Roland Heath. |
| Date | |
| Source | https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/25062799633/ |
| Author | James St. John |
Licensing
- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
|
This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/25062799633. It was reviewed on 18 October 2020 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
| Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| current | 02:42, 18 October 2020 | | 3,056 × 1,580 (3.45 MB) | Ser Amantio di Nicolao | Uploaded a work by James St. John from https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/25062799633/ with UploadWizard |
File usage
The following page uses this file:
Global file usage
The following other wikis use this file:
- Usage on www.wikidata.org
_2.jpg){kind=link}