Help Identifying Something

My 10 year old son is an avid nature lover and collector of everything he finds whilst out on the nature trails.
Last night while hiking in the bush with my oldest son he found this rock which we have never seen the likes of before, and cannot identify.
It is about a foot long and about 3 inches high, and the only thing I can relate it to is that it looks like sponge toffee, but very heavy like a regular rock that size.It is filled with holes and visible layers to it, and some of the holes have hard white deposits around them.
I thought it might be some kind of sandstone, but it is not brittle or flaky like sandstone.
Any help would be appreciated.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f6998cb52ef5.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/78194021d01c.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 24-5-2009 by AccessDenied]

reply to post by AccessDenied


Hi, I'm no geologist, but does your locale experiance any volcanic activity.
It looks like some kind of Igneous rock, form through heat.
Looks almost like the colour of limestone, is it hard, or is it brittle?
Was it found close to any nearby construction?

reply to post by AccessDenied


That looks like a stone I once found in a river bed in south dakota.

Have you thought about cracking it in half? You might have some tiny fossils in the middle of it.

I would wait for the other members to get their say in on it though.

Rock Cycle Pictures
Igneous Rock
Sedimentary Rock
Metamorphic Rock

[edit on 5/24/2009 by Tentickles]

Petrified coral comes to mind.

Do you have any close up shots?

Ok, it was found in the forest, just off a nature trail...no sign of tiny sea creatures or other shell type fossils inside,I thought of coral as well, but I'm not sure.
The only thing that seems to flake off it is the white deposits around the holes..
The only body of water anywhere close is a large beaver pond.
I don't want to break it in half as my son likes it the way it is.
I tried to take a close up shot, but it came out blurry.
edit to add- no volcanic activity in the area, but where we live is an area built up over what was once and still is surrounded by swampland.

[edit on 24-5-2009 by AccessDenied]

Originally posted by Chadwickus
Petrified coral comes to mind.

Do you have any close up shots?

Would have to agree that it is looks like some kind of coral. At first I thought it was a big gold nugget, like the ones you get on that old game "Goldfields"

Take some close up shots and put a ruler next to the rock for size reference. Looks kind of like coral to me.

reply to post by AccessDenied


Are there anymore deposits of this stuff near where your son found the original? Maybe you can find it in a cleft or in abundence.
Coral from a forest? Maybe its ancient coral; is the sea nearby?Or any historical evidence of an ancient inland sea where you reside?

I live in rural Ontario, Canada..no sea here.
If there was more there, he didn't find it.
If it was petrified coral, wouldn't it be light in weight for it's size? say not even 1/2 pound?
This thing weighs about 3 pounds.It's heavy, and I wouldn't want to drop it on my foot.
I keep thinking the white deposits are either salt or calcium.
If it was some type of coral, no idea how it got so far back into a wooded area.

reply to post by AccessDenied


yeah I would go more along the lines that it is probably a chunk of sore mineral ore, possibly Bauxite; which is Aluminium ore.
Google some pictures of Bauxite and let me know what you think!

reply to post by AccessDenied


yeah I would go more along the lines that it is probably a chunk of sore mineral ore, possibly Bauxite; which is Aluminium ore.
Google some pictures of Bauxite and let me know what you think!

Originally posted by KRISKALI777
reply to post by AccessDenied

 

Hi, I'm no geologist, but does your locale experiance any volcanic activity.
It looks like some kind of Igneous rock, form through heat.
Looks almost like the colour of limestone, is it hard, or is it brittle?
Was it found close to any nearby construction?

One problem with that, the OP said that it was very heavy, like a regular rock of that size. If that is the case, this it is not igneous. Igneous rock is very porous, due to the fact that it is created through heat. this causes air bubbles in the rock. Some types can even float. sorry about the science lecture. anyway, I too was thinks along the lines of coral, and being that it was found on land, it is probable that it is petrified. Right on Chad, star for you.

I'm not sure about Bauxite. It looks too porous and homogenous. It doesn't look like coral, either.

Too heavy to be pumice though, right? I'll keep looking.

It could still be fossilized coral, coral has been around for ages and once there was probably water where you're sitting.

Let's try this

www.newarkcampus.org...
Volcanic Tuff?

www.newarkcampus.org...
Rhyolite?

[edit on 5/24/2009 by ravenshadow13]

reply to post by AccessDenied



Limestone created in an aqueous environment would be my guess.

Geology 101 a very longtime ago is my only point of reference.

reply to post by Creeping Death

Igneous rock is very porous, due to the fact that it is created through heat. this causes air bubbles in the rock.

Have another look at the OP picture supplied. Do you see a cavernous texture to this rock? If its porous macroscopically, there's a good chance its microscopic as well, therefore- its probably carvernous throughout the whole rock.
Questions: 1) how does coral come to be in the middle of a forest, far from the coast?
2) What is the physical stature of the lady trying to lift the rock,
3) have you seen any Bauxite lately?

reply to post by KRISKALI777


www.prcorporation.net...

It doesn't look like any of the bauxite I've ever seen.

reply to post by whaaa


That could bring us right back to coral or bone, calcium carbonate.

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Yeah, I just looked at some pictures of Bauxite I've got here, and altough theres a resemblance; no cigar for me!
Although it doesn't look like any calcium deposit I've ever seen!
And why is coral in the forest

what if a crap load of bugs come out of it overnight?

reply to post by MR BOB


That would make it a load of bug-crap?