Novaculite, also called Arkansas Stone, is a
microcrystalline
A microcrystalline material is a crystallized substance or rock that contains small crystals visible only through microscopic examination. There is little agreement on the range of crystal sizes that should be regarded as microcrystalline, but t ...
to
cryptocrystalline
Cryptocrystalline is a rock texture made up of such minute crystals that its crystalline nature is only vaguely revealed even microscopically in thin section by transmitted polarized light. Among the sedimentary rocks, chert and flint are cryptoc ...
rock type that consists of
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
in the form of
chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a c ...
or
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
. It is commonly white to grey or black in color, with a
specific gravity
Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest ...
that ranges from 2.2 to 2.5. It is used in the production of
sharpening stone
Sharpening stones, or whetstones, are used to sharpen the edges of steel tools such as knives through grinding and honing.
Such stones come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and material compositions. They may be flat, for working flat edge ...
s. It occurs in parts of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Os ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, as well as in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and parts of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. The name ''novaculite'' is derived from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
word ''novacula'', meaning a sharp knife, dagger, or razor,
in reference to its use in sharpening. The first recorded use of the term ''
whetstone'' was in reference to a honing stone from Arkansas.
Occurrence
Novaculite beds are present in the
Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...
of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Os ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, and in the
Marathon Uplift and
Solitario regions of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Novaculite is very resistant to
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...
and the beds stand out as ridges in the Ouachita Mountains.
There are also occurrences in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Origin
The novaculite beds of the south-central United States were deposited in the
Ouachita Geosyncline, a deep-water marine trough, during
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
to early
Mississippian time. Sedimentation consisted primarily of
siliceous
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
skeletal particles of marine organisms such as
sponge spicule
Spicules are structural elements found in most sponges. The meshing of many spicules serves as the sponge's skeleton and thus it provides structural support and potentially defense against predators.
Sponge spicules are made of calcium carbon ...
s and
radiolaria
The Radiolaria, also called Radiozoa, are protozoa of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm. The ela ...
, and very fine-grained, wind-blown
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical fo ...
particles; there was very little
argillaceous
Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates (e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4), sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths, and other cations found on or near some planetary surfaces.
Clay minera ...
sedimentation during novaculite deposition.
[McBride, E.F. and Thomson, A. 1970. The Caballos novaculite, Marathon region, Texas. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 122, 129. p.] The novaculite beds were later subjected to folding and uplift, and probably low-grade
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of ch ...
, during the
Ouachita orogeny in early
Pennsylvanian time.
Use
Because novaculite is very hard and dense, it has been mined since prehistoric times, first for use as arrow and spear points, and later to make sharpening stones. Novaculite-rich sharpening stones from Arkansas are called ''Arkansas stones'';
stones produced in the
Ottoman empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
(Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) were called ''Turkey stones'';
and novaculite stones were also produced in Japan.
The weathered upper strata of Arkansas novaculite, known as
tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
*Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...
or "rotten stone", are rich in silica and have found a niche market as a performance additive or filler in the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and
elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''elastic ...
industries. Tripoli is mined just east of
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is ...
by the Malvern Minerals Company.
[Nichols, John C., ''Minerals on the Ouachita National Forest,'' USDA Forest Service 12 May 2008]
/ref>
References
{{Reflist
* Folk, R.L., and E.F. McBride, 1976, ''The Caballos Novaculite revisited Part I: "origin of novaculite members ''. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. 46659-669
* Folk, R.L., and E.F. McBride, 1978, ''Origin of the Caballos Novaculite''. in S.J. Mazzullo, ed., Tectonics and Paleozoic facies of the Marathon Geosyncline, West Texas: Permian Basin Section, Society for Sedimentary Geology, SEPM, Publication no. 78-17:101-130.
* Frondel, C., 1962, ''The System of Mineralogy of J. D. and E. S. Dana, v. 3, Silica Minerals'': 7th ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 334p.
* King, P.B., 1937
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
Professional Paper 187
* Krumbein, W.C. and Sloss, L.L., 1963, ''Stratigraphy and Sedimentation'': 2nd ed., W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 660p.
* Lowe, D.R., 1975, ''Regional Controls on Silica Sedimentation in the Ouachita System''. Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...
Bulletin. 86:1123-1127
* Lowe, D.R., 1976, ''Nonglacial varves in lower member of Arkansas Novaculite (Devonian), Arkansas and Oklahoma''. American Association of Petroleum Geologists
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with more than 40,000 members across 129 countries as of 2021. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as ...
Bulletin. 60:2103-2116.
* Lowe, D.R., 1977, ''The Arkansas novaculite: some aspects of its physical sedimentation''. in C.G. Stone, and others, eds., Symposium on the geology of the Ouachita Mountains. Arkansas Geological Commission Miscellaneous Publication 13:132-138.
* Lowe, D.R., 1989, ''Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and depositional setting of pre-orogenic rocks of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas and Oklahoma'', in R.D. Hatcher, Jr., W.A. Thomas, and G.W. Viele, eds., The Appalachian-Ouachita orogen in the United States. The Geology of North America. F-2:575-590, Geological Society of America, Boulder.
* McBride, E.F., 1989, ''Stratigraphy and sedimentary history of Pre-Permian Paleozoic rocks of the Marathon uplift'', in R.D. Hatcher, Jr., W.A. Thomas, and G.W. Viele, eds., The Appalachian-Ouachita orogen in the United States. The Geology of North America. F-2:603-620, Geological Society of America, Boulder.
External links
Arkansas Geological Commission: ''Novaculite''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20201110020239/http://archeology.uark.edu/novaculite/index.html Arkansas Archeological Survey: ''Arkansas Novaculite: A Virtual Comparative Collection''
Minerals
Economic geology
Industrial minerals
Ouachita Mountains
Sedimentary rocks
Chert