River bar find!!! Petrified something maybe???? Thank you!

[roro]

It is very light weight for its size... It is flakey on the surface.. To me it has wood looking texture and feel but obviously not wood anymore...It has a conchoidal fractures on its edges...Im not sure what it is but i have guesses... I would like your help thank you!! My friend and i found this in my home town.. We are surrounded by redwood trees here. recently a friend of mine found some petrified wood on our river bar now this.. my very un educated guess and hope would be petrified burnt wood or charcoal i guess i know that makes coal.. But i don't know.... Thank you!!

 

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[IAMZIM]

That is weird....I couldn't even begin to guess...hopefully someone can help!

 

[Kray Gelder]

Could it be a form of amber? Fossilized tree resin. Try rubbing it briskly on your pant leg, then smell it. Smell like pitch? Hold a lighter to one corner and see if it will burn.

 

[roro]

ill give it a try

 

[roro]

seems to burn easily when the torch is aplied.. smells like redwood I will upload the video of the burn when i can Thank YOU!!!!

 

[galenrog]

Two possibilities, in my opinion. 1: Old piece of hardened roofing tar. 2: Obsidian. I am basing this entirely on the images provided.

It is not coal. There are small deposits of coal in Humboldt County, but it is a high sulfur material that typically is more grey than black. Amber is out. No known finds of amber in California.

My best guess is #2 above. Primarily because I have found similar obsidian in both the Smith and Rogue rivers, not all that far from you.

 

[4x4x4]

.....tar

 

[galenrog]

Well, roro, you seen to have posted the results of the torch test while I was putting together my reply. Tar or blackened pitch it is.

Almost too late for coffee.

 

[roro]

 

[hvacker]

Most rocks don't burn easily. It looks like from what's called a tar pig. Even though a pig is fairly soft, it will break like what you've got.
It's easy to check out at any big box.
The redwood smell is a ? but I knew a guy that thought natural gas smelled like hamburgers.

 

[roro]

Thank you all for all your input I do still want it to be petrified burnt wood/ charcoal. But it might not be....I know..... I do have more photos and videos to add but I'm having trouble adding them.... Hopefully i can get them uploaded....

 

[Rasputin]

I think you have a piece of jet (lignite coal) formed from what were originally coniferous trees, hence the redwood smell.

 

[roro]

awesome that would be awesome
I'm going to take more photos at some point to show it burning, the ember it turns into and the ash is has afterwards. my camera and computer are not cooperating.

 

[TrieStateTrekker]

What of the polygonal fractures?