Rainforest Jasper is a kind of Rhyolitic lava that can be found in volcanic areas. It has greens, browns, and yellows that are reminiscent of the darkness of a rainforest, with its filtered light through green leaves and the brown forest floor. Rainforest Jasper is the green form of Rhyolite and comes from Western Australia. However, because everyone refers to it as Rainforest Jasper, we will continue doing that here as well. This stone is actually a rhyolite and not a jasper. A remarkable, pale, blue-green jasper, with patterns somewhat resembling those of malachite, occurs in a deposit at Ettutkan Mountain, Russia. Other examples can be seen at Llanddwyn Island in Wales. For example Oregon’s Deschutes or Biggs jasper and Idaho's Bruneau jasper from the Bruneau River canyon are particularly fine examples. While "picture jaspers" can be found all over the world, specific colors or patterns are unique to the geographic region from which they originate. Healed, fragmented rock produces brecciated (broken) jasper. Diffusion from a center produces a distinctive orbicular appearance, i.e., leopard skin jasper, or linear banding from a fracture as seen in leisegang jasper. Picture jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns such as banding from flow or depositional patterns, dendritic or color variations resulting in what appear to be scenes or images on a cut section. A few are designated by the place of origin such as a brown Egyptian or red African jaspers. The classification and naming of jasper varieties are attributed to various well-defined materials includes the geographic locality where it is found, sometimes quite restricted such as "Bruneau" (a canyon) and "Lahontan" (a lake), rivers and even individual mountains many are fanciful, such as "forest fire" or "rainbow", while others are descriptive, such as "autumn" or "porcelain". Hydrothermal circulation is generally thought to be required in the formation of jasper. Patterns arise during the consolidation process forming flow and depositional patterns in the original silica rich sediment or volcanic ash. Jasper is an opaque rock of virtually any color stemming from the mineral content of the original sediments or ash. When Jasper is dull and lacking interesting colors or patterns, it is not Jasper but rather Chert. Some forms of Jasper are banded, and these banded Jaspers may appear similar to Agate, but unlike Agate they are opaque. Jasper is usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, but may be used to describe other opaque colors of Chalcedony such as dark or mottled green and orange. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Jasper contains enough impurities and foreign material to make it opaque. When a small amount of impurities or foreign materials are added to microcrystalline quartz, the color changes and its ability to transmit light decreases. Microcrystalline quartz in its pure form is semitransparent. Opaque means that neither light nor images pass through. Watch our YouTube series on Royal Imperial Jasper.Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony, which is a microcrystalline variety of the mineral Quartz. Our stock changes frequently so be sure to check back for updates and new merchandise. If you are interested in the sources for some of these rocks and some of our mining adventures, you may want to visit our mining pages.Īll sales are on a first-come, first-served basis. Outstanding examples of other agates and jaspers in private collections, which are not for sale can be seen in the Gallery. The types of specimens represented below are for sale and organized by rock type. The Gem Shop, Inc.specializes in fine agates and jaspers. Click on a picture below or a category above to start viewing.
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