Polished faces and cross grain shots of Alabama quartzite

All these collected on a 1/2 acre gravel bar of a creek.

Views of cross sections showing layers









Views looking down on layers, glitter must be mica bits pressed flat









a mix under lamp



The mix plus quartz spread out during tumble, wet, cloudy day



Many of these chipped out of pebbles. Pebbles deceptively white due to impact frosting from nature.
So the insides are quit colorful, not so the outer layer.
This one with some of the frost left and not ground away



Photo of the beach and how the rocks are all frosted and white.
Some of the quartzite is incredibly small grained. Very dense and best sawn to make smaller pieces, not easy to chip.
Which suggests very fine compressed and fused sands. Location is at southern point of where quartz minerals washed down from Appalachia.
Much coarser grained quartzite in the mountains with larger mica flakes.
Not so common to find such colors and fine grains mixed in a relatively small area.
Colors likely from leaching of metal salts in creek, and colors intense due to small pieces.
Most of the quartzite has two parallel faces, so plate like. The quartz is rounder.