Georgiaite is a rare form of

tektite Tektites () are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz Eduard Suess (1867–1941), son of Eduar ...

found only in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the southeastern United States. These tektites are found in part of the North American

strewn field A strewn field is the area where meteorites from a single meteorite fall, fall are dispersed. It is also often used for the area containing tektite, tektites produced by a large meteorite impact.''Tektites in the geological record: showers of glas ...

coming from what is believed to be the

Chesapeake Bay impact crater The Chesapeake Bay impact crater is a buried impact crater, located beneath the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, United States. It was formed by a bolide that struck the eastern shore of North America about 35.5 ± 0.3 million years ago, in the late Eoc ...

in the late

Eocene epoch The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''Ēṓs'', 'Dawn') and ...

over 35 million years ago. Two strewn fields and tektite groups are currently associated with this impact: the black bediasites in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and the green georgiaites in Georgia. Georgiaite has been found only in the eastern part of central Georgia with only between 1,000 and 2,500 known specimens . They are most commonly found as splash-form tektites. Georgiaite 1

Characteristics

Georgiaite specimens that have been found typically have a round shape and pock marked surfaces caused from the extreme conditions of its formation. Georgiaite most commonly is translucent with an olive green color. The size of Georgiaite can vary but most samples collected average around at most. Georgiaite, like other

s, are

silicate A silicate is any member of a family of polyatomic anions consisting of silicon and oxygen, usually with the general formula , where . The family includes orthosilicate (), metasilicate (), and pyrosilicate (, ). The name is also used ...

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

and most closely resemble

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

. Unlike other North American tektites, Georgiaite contains

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

and

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

while showing no traces of any other major elements.

Locations

Georgiaite has been confirmed to be found only in central and eastern counties in

. The majority of all Georgiaite that has been collected has been from

Bleckley County, Georgia Bleckley County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,583. The county seat is Cochran. History The county was named for Logan Edwin Bleckley, a soldier and ...

and

Dodge County, Georgia Dodge County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2020, the population was 19,925. The county seat is Eastman. Dodge County lies in the Historic South and Black Belt region of Georgia, an area that ...

but other surrounding counties have also found samples in smaller quantities.

Collections

There are several known collections of Georgiaites used for educational purposes, geological study, and for the public to view. One such collection can be found at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

There is also a large donated collection at the

Fernbank Museum of Natural History Fernbank Museum of Natural History, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a museum that presents exhibitions and programming about natural history. The museum has a number of permanent exhibitions and regularly hosts temporary exhibitions in its expansive fa ...

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

References

Impact event minerals Glass in nature {{Glass-material-stub