Materials Identification Guide

Wyoming Lithic Material

 











Name Natural Non-heat treated points Heat treated points Color details Primary found in: Associated                 Formation / Member
Absaroka Chert Primarily green in color Northwestern Wyoming  
Agate Jasper   Ranges from yellow to brown or green.  Part if the material will be banded and be translucent while the remaining material will be mottled and opaque. Wyoming  
Algal Chert
Tiger Chert variation
  Streaked ranging from most commonly a light gray to light brown, less commonly a very light gray to black or a very light brown to a very dark brown South central Wyoming Bridger Formation
Almond Orthoquartzite   Purple South central Wyoming Almond Formation of the Mesa Verde Group
Amsden Chert Ranges from most commonly gray or blue, but tan is also present. North central Wyoming Amsden Formation
Angel Agate   Pale greenish gray color with a chalky white cortex Central Wyoming Split Rock Formation
Aspen Porcellanite   Ranges in color from white to pink. West central Wyoming Aspen Formation
Bacon Ridge Porcellanite   Pearly gray Southwestern Wyoming Bacon Ridge Formation
Badlands Chert Ranges from a yellowish brown to a pale reddish purple or dark yellowish orange Northeastern Wyoming  
Badlands Moss Agate   Translucent medium yellowish brown to dark yellowish orange with dendritic inclusions.  Northeastern Wyoming  
Basalt   Ranges from black to gray Wyoming Volcanic
Baxter Porcellanite   Ranges from a tan to a dark brown. Southwestern Wyoming Baxter Formation
Bear Canyon Agate   Banded ranging from black and white to a dark gray and light gray. North central Wyoming  
Belvoir Ranch Chert Ranges in color a dark brown to a purplish or reddish brown color.  Purplish veins and white circular inclusions are present. Southeastern Wyoming  
Big Horn Chert
AKA for Phosphoria Chert
Ranges from colors of red, maroon, purple, orangish red, green, black and white. Central, northern, and western Wyoming Phosphoria Formation
Big Horn Plume Agate   Clear white or light blue matrix with black or metallic plumes North central Wyoming  
Big Sandy Petrified Wood
AKA: Petrified Palm Wood
  Ranges from tans to dark browns.  Wood grain and white inclusions are present.  The cortex is commonly white. Southwestern Wyoming Green River Formation
Black Buttes Jasp-Agate   Ranges from a reddish brown to a dark gray with white quartz veins, quartz filled vugs and inclusions of yellow to orange, dark brown, purple. West central Wyoming  
Black Hills Quartzite   Ranges from a tan to brown or purple to maroon or gray. Northeastern Wyoming Fall River Formation
Blue Forest Petrified Wood   Opalitic blue with grain and rings present. Southwestern Wyoming Laney Member of the Green River Formation
Browns Park Chert   Similar to chalcedony with a opaque base of white and translucent hues ranging from light yellow, light to dark gray or light brown.   Colorado, Wyoming Browns Park Formation
Cedar Mountain Agate / Jasp-Agate   Multi-colored agate / moss / flame / plume agate with dendritic inclusion and jasp-agate is red and yellow with white and blue streaks. Northwestern Wyoming Bishop Conglomerate Formation
Chadron Chert   Mottled and ranges from tan or yellowish brown to red or gray.  Vugs filled with chalcedony or drusy quartz may be present. Southeastern Wyoming Chadron Formation
Cloverly Quartzite   Ranges from a light gray to gray and a grayish red to a purple. Wyoming Cloverly Formation
Cougar Creek Obsidian   Black with many white "snowflake" inclusions
Northwestern Wyoming  
Crazy Horse Petrified Wood   Ranges in color from black to tan or blue with a wood grain appearance  The cortex is white. Southwestern Wyoming  
Crazy Woman Creek Petrified Wood   Colors of white, tan, brown, and black, a wood grain appearance is present. Central Wyoming  
Crescent Hill Chert Primarily homogenous and ranges in color from purple to red or orange, black and green.  Inclusions are commonly present. Northwestern Wyoming Crescent Hills Basalt Formation, Absaroka Supervolcanic Group
Cumberland Flats Petrified Wood     Southwestern Wyoming  
Deadwood Quartzite   Type 1  course grain quartzite ranging from dark red to orange
Type 2  fine grain quartzite ranging from a yellowish gray to brown
Northeastern Wyoming Deadwood Formation
Deep Lake Metaquartzite   Ranges from a grayish white to a dark gray or brownish gray. South central Wyoming  Early Algonkian
Delaney Rim Agate   Mottled ranging from white, black, and tan to brownish black and brown. Southwestern Wyoming  
Dollar Mountain Chert / Chalcedony   Mottled ranging from caramel / yellow / brown to red / pink / maroon or light and dark gray. Central Wyoming Bighorn Formation
Dry Head Agate
AKA: Big Horn Agate
  Banded and ranges in color from red, pink, yellow, orange, white and brown with swirls and "eyes" present. North central Wyoming Phosphoria Formation
Dry Lakes Agate     Central Wyoming Split Rock Formation
DuBois Moss Agate   Ranges from green to gray with brown or black dendritic inclusions. West central Wyoming  
Eastern Petrified Wood
AKA: Lake Butte Petrified Wood
  Ranges from reds to yellows with inclusions of milky white.  wood grain" and rings are present in the material.  The outer cortex ranges from chalky whites to pale yellows. Northwestern Wyoming Langford Formation
Eden Valley Petrified Wood   Various colors of agate often including full limbs, knots, cracks, braches, burrows and grain.  The outer coating if coated with algae. Southwestern Wyoming Green River Formation
Elimia Agate
AKA: Turritella Agate
  Black to brownish gray or brownish black matrix with light gray snail shells. Southwestern Wyoming Green River Formation
Elk Creek Basalt   Ranges from a dark gray to black Northwestern Wyoming Elk Creek Basalt Member, Washburn Group, Absaroka Supervolcanic
Emmons Peak Quartzite
AKA: Uinta Quartzite
  Ranges from an off white to a red. Southwestern Wyoming Emmons Formation
Fairburn Agate
AKA: Tee Pee Canyon Agate, Guernsey Lake Agate
  Alternating circular bands of fibrous chalcedony alternating between yellowish brown with a narrower whitish band East central Wyoming Chadron Formation, White River Group
Flathead Quartzite
AKA: Alpreston Quartzite
  Ranges light reddish to an orangish red. Northwestern Wyoming Flathead Quartzite Formation
Flattop Butte Chalcedony
AKA: Flattop Mesa Chalcedony
  Ranges from opaque white to translucent lavender with specks of blue and pink. Southeastern Wyoming Chadron capstone
Fort Union Porcellanite
AKA: Powder River Chert
  Ranges from most commonly a light gray to a light purple or red. Northeastern Wyoming Fort Union Formation
Fourmile Gulch Petrified Wood     Southwestern Wyoming Bridger Formation
Gallatin Petrified Forest Wood
AKA: Specimen Ridge, Bighorn Peak Petrified Wood
  Ranges from reds to yellows with inclusions of milky white.  "Wood grain" and rings are present in the material.  Northwestern Wyoming Sepulcher Formation
Goose Egg Chert   Ranges from a gray to a dark gray or reddish gray color Central Wyoming Goose Egg Formation
Harabell Porcellanite   Light green tuffaceous porcellanite Northwestern Wyoming Harebell Formation
Hartville Chert
AKA:Hartville Uplift Chert, Hartville Uplift Jasper
Ranges from most commonly colors and hues of yellow, orange, red, brown, and purple with black mottling and dendrites common Southeastern Wyoming Hartville Formation
Hartville Quartzite
AKA: Hartville Uplift Quartzite
  Ranges from white to a light to medium gray, tan or red, white streaking may be present. Southeastern Wyoming Hartville Formation
Hilliard Porcellanite   Platy and opaque ranging from a tan to dark brown in color. Southwestern Wyoming Hilliard Formation
Hogback Chalcedony   Ranges from light gray to brown with small lighter colored circles.  Mottling may be present Northeastern Wyoming  
Hogback Quartzite   Ranges from light tan to dark brown. Northeastern Wyoming  
Irish Rock Chert Ranges from a light grayish green to a dark blackish green,  but may range to hues of caramel or red. Northwestern Wyoming  
Jack Creek Quartzite   White Wyoming Jack Creek Formation
Jack Morrow Hills Petrified Wood     Southwestern Wyoming  
Kingsbury Chert Dark colored chert Northeastern Wyoming Kingsbury Member of the Wasatch Formation
Laketown Chert Light gray Southwestern Wyoming Laketown Dolomite Member of the Guilmette Formation
Lamar Valley Petrified Wood
AKA: Amethyst, Mountian, Specimen, Fossil Forest
  Ranges from reds to yellows with milky white wood grain, rings are present, outer cortex ranges from chalky whites to pale yellows. Northwestern Wyoming Lamar Formation
Lost Canyon Moss Agate   Red moss agate East central Wyoming  
Lysite Agate
AKA: Lysaght Agate
  Banded and plume agate with fortification lines ranging from reds to browns and white to clear or blue. Central Wyoming Lysite Member of the White River Formation
Madison Chert
AKA: Montana Chert
White to a grayish white with black dendritic inclusions.  Northwestern Wyoming Madison Limestone Formation
Medicine Bow Plume Agate   Translucent milky white chalcedony with dark inclusions forming plumes. South central Wyoming  
Medicine Peak Quartzite   Ranges from a violet gray to a steel gray. South central Wyoming Medicine Peak Formation
Minnekahta Chert Medium brown with a red mesh of hematite and limonite and round quartz inclusions. East central Wyoming Minnekahta Limestone Formation
Morrison - Cloverly Porcellanite
AKA: Morrison - Clovery Chert
  Variegated with colors ranging from gray to blue or red and yellow.  Commonly mottled and streaked by fossilized roots and burrows. Central to eastern Wyoming Morrison and Cloverly formations
Morrison - Cloverly Quartzite
AKA: Morrison - Cloverly Orthoquartzite
  Ranges from a tan to brown or purple to maroon or gray. Central to eastern Wyoming Morrison and Cloverly formation
Muddy Mountain Chert Brecciated with colors ranging from most commonly a reddish brown, but black, blue and white layers do occur. West central Wyoming Muddy Mountain Chert Member of the Madison Formation
Northeastern Petrified Wood
AKA: Bison Peak, Barronette Peak, Mount Hornaday Petrified Wood
  Ranges from reds to yellows with inclusions of milky white.  "wood grain" and rings with a cortex ranges chalky whites to pale yellows. Northwestern Wyoming Lamar Formation
Obsidian
AKA: Volcanic Glass
  Black to black with bands of dark reds (mahogany obsidian) or white flakes (snowflake obsidian) Wyoming Volcanic
Obsidian Cliff Obsidian   Most commonly black, but can range from black to brown, mahogany, gray or green.  Northwestern Wyoming  
Opeche Chert
AKA: Opeche Siltstone
Reddish color East central Wyoming Opeche Formation
Park Point Obsidian   Most commonly mahogany (black with brownish red), but black occurs less often. Northwestern Wyoming  
Parker Peak Ignimbriote   Black with white crystalline inclusions Northwestern Wyoming  
Pawnee Grassland Quartzite   Ranges in color from a pinkish to a yellowish tan. Southeastern Wyoming Pawnee Creek Bed Formation
Petrified Wood
AKA: Agatized Wood, Opalized Wood
  Vary in color based on the minerals present during the process Wyoming Varies
Phosphoria Chert
AKA: Tosi Chert, Big Horn Chert
Ranges from colors of red, maroon, purple, orangish red, green, black and white. Central to western Wyoming Tosi Member of the Phosphoria Formation
Platte County Chert Mottled and ranges from a light purple to a reddish purple.  Vugs filled with course darker purple quartz are commonly present. Southeastern Wyoming  
Porcellanite
Generic type
  Ranges from white to brown or various shades of gray Wyoming Varies
Powder River Porcellanite     Northeastern Wyoming Powder River Formation
Prairie Agate   Concentric banding and is a marbled mixture of chalcedony and different colors of jasper East central Wyoming Chadron Formation
Quadrant Quartzite   Ranges from white to a pale yellow or pale pink color. Northwestern Wyoming Quadrant Formation
Quaking Asp Mountain Jasperoid   Light to dark gray agate with  banding red, yellowish orange and gray jasp-agate and veins of quartz.. Southwestern Wyoming  
Red Creek Quartzite
Uinta Quartzite variant
  Very crystalline white quartzite. Southwestern Wyoming  
Red Desert Black Palm Wood   Black South central Wyoming  
Red Desert Agate / Jasper   Primarily shades of red with shades of white, yellow, yellowish brown, and gray. South central Wyoming  
Rex Chert Ranges from a brownish red to purple or an ashy gray to black Southwestern Wyoming Rex Chert Member,
Phosphoria Limestone Formation
Rhyolite   Gray to grayish black, flow banding may be present alternating from light to darker gray North America Volcanic Activity
Schmitt Chert   Northwestern Wyoming Mission Canyon Limestone and Lodgepole Limestone formations of the Madison Group
Seminole Mountain Jasp-Agate   Contains alternating layers of brown jasper and grunerite, dark gray quartz, and magnetized black magnetite South central Wyoming  
Sevenmile Ridge Chert
Tiger Chert variation
Most commonly very dark brown to black, but may range to a medium brown with a light brown mottling. Southeastern Wyoming Bridger Formation
Sheep Canyon Dendritic Jasper   Ranges from a yellowish brown with black speckles to a light grayish brown with red speckles Northwestern Wyoming  
Shirley Basin Petrified Wood / Jasp-Agate   Wood has colors of white to brown to black.  The jasp-agate is a pink breccia matrix cemented with a reddish brown or gray to black. Central Wyoming Windy River Formation
Silicified Dinosaur Bone         Wyoming  
Six Mile Hill Petrified Wood     South central Wyoming  
Slater Agate / Chalcedony   White outer coating, interior dark gray to black agate surrounding a milky white center with small black inclusions. Southeastern Wyoming Guernsey Formation of the Hartville Uplift
Spanish Diggings Agate   Mottled and banded red gray and red. East central Wyoming Fall River and Lamoka Formation of the Inyan Kara Group
Spanish Diggings Chert Mottled and ranges from a brown to gray. East central Wyoming Fall River and Lamoka Formation of the Inyan Kara Group
Spanish Diggings Dendritic Jasper   Greenish yellow color with dark dendritic inclusions. East central Wyoming Fall River and Lamoka Formation of the Inyan Kara Group
Spanish Diggings Quartzite
AKA: Fall River Quartzite and Lamoka Quartzite
  Range from a medium to very light shades of brown, gray, and purple or purplish gray, may be homogenous to variegated or banded East central Wyoming Fall River and Lamoka Formation of the Inyan Kara Group
Spanish Diggings Red Breccia   Brecciated with shade of red. East central Wyoming Fall River and Lamoka Formation of the Inyan Kara Group
Spanish Point Agate   Ranges from white to a light tannish white or grayish white with dark dendritic starburst and inclusions. North central Wyoming White River Formation
Spearfish Chert Ranges from a grayish red to purple East central Wyoming Spearfish Limestone Formation
Stefoinite Brecciated Jasper   Brecciated with shades of tan, brown, and white. Southwestern Wyoming  
Sweetwater Moss Agate   Brown cortex with a light gray to blue matrix and black dendritic inclusions. South central Wyoming Split Rock Formation
Tensleep Quartzite   Most commonly a light tan to tan, but grays, greens, reds and pinks do occur. West central Wyoming Tensleep Sandstone Formation
Teton Chert White Northwestern Wyoming Teton Formation
Teton Pass Obsidian
AKA: Crescent H Obsidian
  Ranges from black to gray and is banded. Northwestern Wyoming  
Tiger Chert
AKA: Bridger Basin, Green River, Oil Chert, Zebra Chert, Shavetail Chert
  Primarily dark brown with wide tan banding.  If the material is smaller, the tan could be primary with the darker brown bands. Southwestern Wyoming Bridger Formation
Tin Cup Jasper   Jasper breccia or banded  with angular fragments of ranges from deep red to a dark brown, butterscotch yellowish brown West central Wyoming  
Tongue River Silicified Sediment
AKA: Tongue River Silica
  Grayish brown sediment, pseudoquartzite, or arenaceous chert Northeastern Wyoming Slope / Bullion Creek formation
Tower Region Petrified Wood
AKA: Yancy's Forest, Roosevelt Lodge Petrified Wood
  Ranges from reds to yellows with inclusions of milky white.  "Wood grain" and rings are present in the material.  Northwest Wyoming Lamar Formation
Trapper Creek Agate   Colors of brown to to cream with dendritic inclusions.  Wyoming Madison Limestone Formation
Tuff
AKA: Solidified Volcanic Ash
  Contains greater than 75 volcanic ash and ranges from white to tan, gray or pink. North America Volcanic activity
Turritella Agate
AKA for Elimia Agate
  Black to brownish gray or brownish black matrix with light gray snail shells. Southwestern Wyoming Green River Formation
Twin Creek Agate   Irregular banded with red and golden yellow flame jasper. Southwestern Wyoming Amsden or Phosphoria Formations
Upper Lamar Petrified Wood
AKA: Miller Creek, Cache Creek, Cache Mountain, Abiathar Peak, The Thunderer
    Ranges from reds to yellows with inclusions of milky white.  "Wood grain" and rings are present in the material.  The outer cortex ranges from chalky whites to pale yellows. Northwestern Wyoming Lamar Formation
Wamsutter Oolitic Chert
AKA: Green River Oolitic Chert
Ranges from an off white to a medium brown with white oolitic specks throughout the material North central Wyoming Green River Formation
Whiskey Basin Petrified Wood     West central Wyoming Bridger Formation
Whiskey Butte Chert Algal chert ranging from black to dark brown or tan with light blue opal inclusions. West central Wyoming Laney Member of the Green River Formation
White River Group Silicate
Generic type
  Ranges from light to medium gray, to a light brown, pink, blue or lavender with inclusions, splotches, mottling.  Eastern Wyoming White River Group
Whitewood Chert
AKA: Deadwood Chert
Colors of light gray, pinks and reds, and tan. Northeastern Wyoming Whitewood Limestone (dolomite) Formation
Wiggins Fork Petrified Wood
AKA: DeBois Petrified Wood
  Colors of red, brown, gray white and green.  Banding and wood grain is present. West central Wyoming Wiggins Formation
Yellow Tree Jasper   Ranges from a yellow to a light brown or light orange with black "tree like" dendritic inclusions. Central Wyoming  
Youngsite Agate
AKA: Hartsville Uplift Agate
  Ranges in color from a yellowish tan to a rosy pink or a  grayish silver.  Gray undertones may be present.
East central Wyoming Guernsey Limestone Formation