What are these shiny black rocks?

[wildcatman71]

Last week we went to the Cave in Rock, IL area and was digging around in an old fluorspar mine....and found these. These are the only ones like this I have ever found there. Very shiny, glassy black rocks. Please let me know what I have here. Thanks!!

 

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[Charon_Sin]

Last week we went to the Cave in Rock, IL area and was digging around in an old fluorspar mine....and found these. These are the only ones like this I have ever found there. Very shiny, glassy black rocks. Please let me know what I have here. Thanks!!

That is Gilsonite

 

[vibetransference]

May I offer an alternative? May still be glass, though. Just not obsidian in the classic sense.

A meteorite which strikes the Earth produces ejecta from th

Last week we went to the Cave in Rock, IL area and was digging around in an old fluorspar mine....and found these. These are the only ones like this I have ever found there. Very shiny, glassy black rocks. Please let me know what I have here. Thanks!!

Hi guys, in case you were not aware.. there is a town called Hicks
e impact site, which can melt from the pressure of the impact, but solidify while still in the air. Usually dark, glossy black, similar to obsidian. Called tektites. Try searching for images on google for tektites.

 

[vibetransference]

Hey all. In case you were not aware, there's a town in Illinois near Cave in Rock called Hicks. There in is a spot in Hicks called Hicks dome. That is an impact crater that turned almost volcanic in that area. There in, (and surrounding areas) exists Obsidian (both black and green) tektites and volcanic glass. The very best way for you to tell if you have obsidian is, does it have little to no air bubbles and does it break like glass. Glass brakes in a curved structure and you can almost always cut yourself or anything else with it. Tech types and volcanic glass are going to be a little more brittle than obsidian the other way you can find out if you have obsidian or not is of course the heat method. With that said, obsidian still is glass so it's going to melt like glass so it's going to take a lot of heat. Hope that helps. I'm from Southern Illinois and I've visited both cave and rock and Hicks Dome and I found all three materials