What is this washout and what are the materials in it? Ancient ocean floor?

Rific

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I was doing some field searching and after some heavy rains this area became more heavily washed out revealing a basin of sorts. Does this look like an ocean floor remains, volcanic flow, or some type of slag dump pit? The things ive found in and around it are very different. I'm not sure what slag really is but someone please tell me if this is a type of slag. Most objects in this basin are very light weight, vesicular, and remind me almost of a coal or some kind of carbon on some inside parts. There are a couple of layers, one layer is made up of almost entirely smaller than golfball sized fragments like a tephra. The other layer almost reminds of of compacted sand or a heavily weathered member closely related to anorthosite or andesite. The one object plucked straight out from one of the layers is dense, still vesicular, and instead of being slightly magnetic at spots like the rest of the material, this is truly magnetic. There is also a very heavy stench of sulfur.

My wildest guess would be some sort of layers that underwent some type of acidic leaching. Im just a novice though.


Basin washout:
IMG_20170407_201252_583.jpg IMG_20170407_201259_973.jpg IMG_20170407_201318_056.jpg IMG_20170407_201342_093.jpg IMG_20170407_202143_422.jpg



Materials found on top of the washout, and one heavy magnetic object that was plucked from a differant layer than the rest:

Magnetic heavy:
IMG_20170407_214542_785.jpg IMG_20170407_214643_403.jpg

Rest are lightweight and only slightly magnetic at spots, one seems to have a piece of wood intergrained in it and almost reminds me of a volcanic bomb, others seem like a tephra??:
IMG_20170407_214533_118.jpg IMG_20170407_215012_258.jpg IMG_20170407_215106_705.jpg IMG_20170407_215143_876.jpg IMG_20170407_215236_430.jpg IMG_20170407_215358_695.jpg IMG_20170407_215429_845.jpg IMG_20170407_215552_444.jpg


and here is a video if it helps

edit: I suppose the bomb is heavy but the many smaller fragments all around (which may have came from bombs) are air light
 

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Rific

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Pics didn't load and won't open as a new tab either. Sorry.

Thank you for letting me know. I believe I've corrected the problem now it works on my end at least. Let me know if it doesn't
 

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Rific

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I guess what I'm asking is: Is this some type of scoria or slag?:find:

This wouldn't be from some recent eruption either, so the scoria in mind would be weathered and decomposed...Does this fit the bill?
 

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smokeythecat

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Ok, a lot depends on where it was from. You wouldn't find the material in lots of states, what state and county did it come from? I can do a quick check for the local geology.
 

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DDancer

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:icon_scratch: Does not appear to be a slag pit that got uncovered. Smokey's thought may help~ general location? I'm stuck between a hotspring and a volcano...
 

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Moesia

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By the way, you said you read. What do you read or have read i am curious?
 

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Eu_citzen

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I'm really undecided, not having seen enough to tell what's going on here.
There appears to be a granitoid intrusion at 0:06 in the video.

The "magnetic heavy" looks a lot like a failed smelt of which I've done a few.. Could be be a slag-dump?
 

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Rific

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Okay, I think I've figured it out now! I believe the stuff in the seam is called Buchite! And it goes right along with my ideas of everything that has happened in this area! The area of interest is in southeast PA, and I believe either a meteorite or some volcanic activity caught the coal seam on fire! The items from the seam are too unconsolidated, too light, and not uniform (different mix of material) to be slag. And as a matter of fact in my earlier post I said it reminded me of some kind of carbon or coal!

Now that it has been identified, does anyone know what kind of goodies might be near by or where one might better look for them? At the end of the seem, beginning, middle, on top, 5 foot underneath?
 

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Eu_citzen

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I'd be far off calling it identified as buchite. Most noticeably due to the unaltered granitoid next to it.
Before the industrial revolution slag could look very different from smelt to smelt. My money is still on slag.
 

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