Materials Identification Guide

New Jersey Lithic Material

 











Name Natural Non-heat treated points Heat treated points Color details Primary found in: Associated Formation / Member
Allentown Chert Ranges from a medium to dark gray with white streamers with banding commonly present.  Oolitic and stromatolitic. Northwestern New Jersey Allentown Formation 
Allentown Quartzite   Ranges from a very light gray to a medium light gray.  Northwestern New Jersey Allentown Formation
Alsen Chert Mottled dark gray to a dark brownish gray.  New Jersey Alsen Cherty Limestone Formation of the Helderberg Group
Antietam Quartzite
AKA: Erwin-Antietam Quartzite
  Ranges from bright white to light gray, tan, brown, pink, or red, a greenish brown variation is reported Southern  New Jersey Antietam Formation of the Chilhowee Group
Aquia Orthoquartzite   Ranges from white to tan,
light gray, or brown.  Finer grain can range from tan to brown, gray, yellow, or red.
Southern  New Jersey Aquia Quartzite Formation
Argillite
(Generic type)
  Light to dark green, but may range to various shades of gray. North America Varies
Beacon Hill Gravel Chert / Quartzite Nodules of chert and yellow quartzite. Central  New Jersey Beacon Hill Formation
Beaver Run Chert
Dolomite is a sparkly black which emits a fetid odor when struck with black and knotted chert occur. 
Northern  New Jersey Beaver Run Dolomite Member of the Ontelaunee Formation
Becraft Chert Light bluish gray to medium gray or black  New Jersey Becraft Limestone Formation of the Helderberg Group
Beekmantown Chert
AKA: Narrows Chert
Dark gray often fossiliferous.  New Jersey Beekmantown Geological Group
Branchville Chert Medium to dark gray weathering a reddish brown to buff. Northern  New Jersey Branchville Member of the Epler Formation, Beekmantown Group
Briarcliff Chert Light with darker patches.  Northern  New Jersey Briarcliff Dolomite Formation of the Wappinger Group
Brandywine Blue Gneiss
AKA: Wilmington Blue Rock
  Ranges from a bright blue to a bluish gray. Southern New Jersey Brandywine Blue Gneiss Formation of the Wilmington Complex
Broad Run Chalcedony
AKA: Wissahickon Schist
  Ranges in color from a mottled white to light gray or cream to yellow.  Black specks are present through the material. Southern  New Jersey Wissahickon Formation
Brunswick Mudstone / Siltstone
  Primarily a dark red, but colors of purple, green, yellow, gray, and black also occur. Central  New Jersey Passaic Formation (formerly Brunswick Formation) of the Newark Group
Buttermilk Falls Chert
Ranges from a dark gray to black. Northern  New Jersey Buttermilk Falls Member of the Onondaga Limestone Formation
Califon Chert Ranges in color from black to gray or bluish gray or orange to brown and typically stained green from limonite. Northern  New Jersey Califon Member of the Leithsville Formation
Cecil Black Chert
AKA: Newark Chert
Ranges from a medium gray to black Southern  New Jersey Newark Gabbro Formation
Coeymans Chert
AKA: New Creek Chert
ranges in color from a bluish black to black.  Cloudy patches of fine pyrite and quartz may be present.  New Jersey Coeymans Limestone Formation (New Creek Formation), Helderberg Group
Cohansey Orthoquartzite   Base color of grayish white with mottled colors including yellow to brown, orange to red, or black Southern New Jersey Cohansey Formation 
Crystal Quartz   clear colorless stone similar to clear glass Eastern North America  
Cuesta Quartzite   Ranges in color from pale grayish brown, pink, or reddish. Southern New Jersey  
Epler Chert / Dolomite Ranges from a medium to dark gray. Northern New Jersey Epler Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Esopus Chert / Silicified Shale
AKA: Cherry Valley Chert, Bowmanstown Chert
  Ranges from a dark gray or brown to a brownish black or black. Northern New Jersey Esopus Member of the Onondaga Limestone Formation.
Gettysburg Siltstone
AKA: Hammer Creek Siltstone
  Ranges from a reddish brown to maroon Northern New Jersey Gettysburg Formation (Hammer Creek Formation) of the Newark Group
Glenerie Chert
AKA: Port Jervis Chert
Ranges from a bluish gray to black weathering brown. Northern New Jersey Glenerie Formation of the Onondaga Group
Hamburg Chert Ranges in color from blue to black with white quartz veins running through the material. Northern New Jersey Hamburg Member of the Leithsville Formation
Hardyston Chalcedony   Semi translucent milky white to light blue or light to gray. New Jersey Hardyston Formation
Hardyston Jasper
AKA: Berks Jasper, Lehigh Jasper, Pennsylvania Jasper, Reading Prong Jasper
  Ranges from a dark golden yellow to a bright red or dark brown with mottling as well as tiny veins of clear to white translucent chalcedony. New Jersey Hardyston Formation
Hardyston Quartzite   Ranges from a milky white to light blue to a light yellowish brown or gray. New Jersey Hardyston Formation
Harmonyvale Chert Ranges from a gray to a greenish gray Northern New Jersey Harmonyvale Member of the Ontelaunee Formation
Helderberg Chert Ranges from mottled white to light cream, light gray, and light blue commonly mottled and fossiliferous.  New Jersey
Helderberg Group
Hook Mountain Basalt
AKA: Watchung Basalt
  Ranges from a light to dark greenish gray amygdaloidal basalt. Northern New Jersey Hook Mountain Basalt Formation of the Brunswick Group
Kalkberg Chert Ranges in color from a grayish blue to a black.  This chert is heavily cloudy by opaque patches.  Clastic quartz is present New Jersey Kalkberg Formation of the Helderberg Group
Kittatiny Chert Ranges from a mottled light grayish brown to a dark grayish black with veinlets of light gray chalcedony. Northern New Jersey Kittatiny Formation
Kittery Quartzite
AKA: Cape Elizabeth Quartzite
  Ranges from a light brown to light gray. Northeastern New Jersey Kittery Formation of the Merrimack Group
Lafayette Chert Ranges from a dark gray to black weathering an orangish gray Northern New Jersey Lafayette Member of the Epler Formation, Beekmantown Group
Leithville Chert Ranges in color from black to gray or bluish gray or orange to brown.  white quartz veins or staining of green limonite may be present. Northern New Jersey Leithville Formation
Limeport Chert Ranges from a gray to a bluish gray or black, banding may be present. Southwestern New Jersey Limeport Member of the Allentown Formation
Lockatong Argillite   Primarily a light to dark gray, greenish gray, or black, but a greenish red, grayish purple, or reddish brown may also occur  New Jersey Lockatong Formation, Newark Group
New Scotland Chert
AKA: Corriganville Chert, Minisink Chert
Ranges from a white to very light colors. New Jersey New Scotland Formation (Corriganville Formation) of the Helderberg Group
Normanskill Chert
AKA: Deepkill Chert, Coxsackie Chert
  Range from a light green to a dark green or brownish green with darker bands being present. Northern New Jersey Mount Merino and Indian River Formations of the Normanskill Group
Onondaga Chert
AKA: See page
Vary from light to dark gray to a mottled bluish gray to a dark brown or black or tan. New Jersey Onondaga Limestone Formation
Ontelaunee Chert / Dolomite Ranges from a dark gray to black.  White chert also occurs.
Northern New Jersey Ontelaunee Formation of the Beekmantown Group 
Oriskany Solicified Sandstone   White Western New Jersey Oriskany Sandstone Formation
Orthoquartzite
(Generic type)
  Varies North America Varies
Port Ewen Chert Ranges in color from a dark gray to black New Jersey Port Ewen Formation of the Helderberg Group
Potsdam Quartzite
Quartzitic sandsandstone
  Ranges from a tan or cream to pink and rarely is almost black Northern New Jersey Potsdam Sandstone Formation of the Saratoga Springs Group
Quartz   Milky white with thin veins
North America  
Quartzite   Varies from white to gray, or pink and tan in color North America  
Rhyolite   Gray to grayish black, flow banding may be present alternating from light to darker gray North America  
Rickenbach Chert
AKA: Crooked Swamp Chert
Dark gray Northern New Jersey Rickenbach Dolomite Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Schoharie Chert
AKA: Aquetuck Chert
Homogenous yellowish brown to a very dark gray. Northern New Jersey Schoharie Member of the Onondaga Limestone Formation
Sterling Hill Sussexite   Ranges from pink to a pinkish violet or red with yellow or violet occurring with reduced frequency. Northern New Jersey  
Stirling Carnelian   Translucent and varies in shades from reddish brown to reddish orange. Northern New Jersey Watchung Series basalt formations
Unakite   Mottled green and pink Tennessee , North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey  
Wallkill Chert Ranges in color from black to bluish gray or light gray Northern New Jersey Wallkill Member of the Leithsville Formation
Wissahickon Quartzite / Vein Quartz   gray quartzite with milky white veins of quartz. Southern New Jersey Wissahickon Formation