Materials Identification Guide

Saskatchewan Lithic Material

 











Name Natural Non-heat treated points Heat treated points Color details Primary found in: Associated             Formation / Member
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. Southern Saskatchewan  
Athabasca Quartzite   Ranges in color from a brown to a gray or silver gray color.  Inclusions may be present. West central Saskatchewan McMurray Formation
Azurite            
Basalt   Ranges from black to gray Southern and western Saskatchewan Volcanic
Beaver River Silicified Sandstone
AKA: Beaver Creek Quartzite, Muskeg Valley Microquartz
  Slightly mottled ranging in color from brown to orange and light to medium gray Northwestern Saskatchewan  
Calcite            
Flaxville Quartzite Gravel   Light gray color Southern Saskatchewan Flaxville Formation
Greenstone            
Gronlid Siltstone   Black in color with a gray shale cortex Southwestern Saskatchewan  
Knife River Flint
Knife River Chert, Knife River Chalcedony
  Ranges in color from a root beer, tea, coffee, or caramel brown Southern Saskatchewan Eocene Golden Valley Formation
Lake of the Woods Chert Ranges from a white mottled with green to a homogenous dark green to black color East central Saskatchewan South Kakagi Lake Formation
Lake of the Woods Rhyolite
  Ranges in color from a greenish gray to less commonly a gray.  Streaks of brown to orangish brown may be present. East central Saskatchewan  
Obsidian
AKA: Volcanic Glass
  Black to black with bands of dark reds (mahogany obsidian) or white flakes (snowflake obsidian) Western to southern Saskatchewan Volcanic
Petrified Wood
AKA: Agatized Wood, Opalized Wood
  Vary in color based on the minerals present during the process Saskatchewan Varies
Porcellanite
Generic type
  Ranges from white to brown or various shades of gray Southern Saskatchewan Varies
Rhyolite   Gray to grayish black, flow banding may be present alternating from light to darker gray North America Volcanic Activity
Rocky Mountain Quartz Gravels            
Slate            
Salt and Pepper Quartzite
Northern Quartzite variant
  Matrix that ranges from white to light gray, bluish gray or a light tannish brown white with black inclusions West central Saskatchewan  
Swan River Chert Ranges from a creamy white to gray, pink to a rust, or pale yellow to deep orange, commonly has banding Southeastern Saskatchewan Souris River Formation, Point Wilks Member
Taltheilei Quartzite            
Tuff
AKA: Solidified Volcanic Ash
  Contains greater than 75 volcanic ash and ranges from white to tan, gray or pink. North America Volcanic activity