Quartz Tumble - Updated 6/17/2024

Really liking that last yellow one. Have found similar to that around here.

Thanks.  Although I didn't post closeups of all the bad ones.  LOL.  

Thanks

I like the yellow too.  

Thanks.  Too bad I can't find a 10 pound chunck of it.   

Quartzite is a great rock to tumble. It can often be found with few fractures being a more homogenous rock than crystalline quartz. It can be a bit porous and absorb metal salts giving it cool colors. You may find creeks that have large amount there.

Your territory is beautiful.

S Alabama is loaded with heat compressed sand(quartzite). I love collecting it from the quartzite monoculture in the medium sized creeks so common there:

www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/albums/72157662367140412/with/22565659004

Just below and at the fall line of mid to south Alabama is loaded with fine quartzites.
At and above the fall line is the layers of quartzite, the streams flowing over the layers downstream are where the cobbles and pebbles are for about 20 miles.
The top layers usually have 'fused' super fine sand composition, the lower layers have fused coarser sand(sugar quartz).
As if the sand settled in turbulent water, coarse settled to bottom, finer sands to the top layers.

The only reason I mention this is because the top layer super fine sand based quartzite is difficult to differentiate from chert, it is almost glass like or grainless. This top layer is rarely more than 2 inches thick and hard to find. The coarser layers are 6 to 12 inches thick and more common. Ancient men pursued the fine grain quartzite to make their arrowheads.

This is some Alabama quartzite from a particular location stained by some type of exotic metal salts:

jamesp, that chertish material is great!   Looks like some of the ones in your earlier polished photos may be that kind.