Far, Far, Away

Polished beach pebbles, Chiloe Island, Chile

Yes, I know, this blog is supposedly about Pacific Northwest rockhounding, but it is also a chance to highlight some of the oddballs in my collection.  Last year, I spent 2 months working on the island of Chiloe in southern Chile. While there, I was told by locals - who knew about my interest in rocks - about a nearby beach with "beautiful stones." Intrigued, I had them take me there. It was a nondescript little bay, like many others along this ragged coast, but I did notice that the beach pebbles had a striking variety of patterns, and the smoothness and heft of silica-rich stone. I collected a few pockets-full (God, how I wish now that I had gotten more!) and brought them home to polish.

The six samples above show how wildly different the stones were, in patterns and colors, yet all had the same relative hardness, and shine. But none are recognizable as agate (no transparency) or jasper: some have what looks like sedimentary layering, while others have no linear structure at all.  Clearly there is something interesting going on in the geology of this bay, but I have not been able to find any references online.

If anyone can suggest what these rocks are, I will tell you where I found them. I only wish I had an excuse to go back...