Materials Identification Guide

Virginia Lithic Material

 











Name Natural Non-heat treated points Heat treated points Color details Primary found in: Associated Formation / Member
Aaron Slate
AKA: Sandy Tuff
  Ranges from a pure greenstone to a almost pure argillite Southeastern Virginia Aaron Formation of the Virginia Carolina Slate Belt
Abbyville Gabbro   Dark greenish gray Southeastern Virginia Abbyville Gabbro Formation
Accomack Mudstone   Ranges in color from a light or medium brown to a yellowish mustard brown. Eastern Virginia Yorktown and Omar formation estuarine deposits
Allentown Chert Ranges from a medium to dark gray with white streamers with banding commonly present.  Oolitic and stromatolitic. Northern Virginia Allentown Formation 
Allentown Quartzite   Ranges from a very light gray to a medium light gray. Northern Virginia Allentown Formation
Amber Chalcedony
AKA: Weathering Amber Chalcedony
  When freshly fractured is a translucent amber with snowflake like inclusions, when weathered has a chalky white to yellow appearance Southeastern Virginia  
Antietam Quartzite   Ranges from bright white to light gray, tan, brown, pink, or red, a greenish brown variation is reported Northern Virginia Antietam Formation of the Chilhowee Group
Argillite
(Generic type)
  Light to dark green, but may range to various shades of gray. North America Varies
Arnolds Valley Jasper
AKA: Rockbridge Jasper
  Ranges in color from yellow to red with white streaks of quart. North central Virginia Chilhower Group
Arvonia Slate   Ranges from a dark gray to a grayish black. Northern Virginia Arvonia Formation
Beasley Bay Jasper   Ranges from a mustard yellow to a brownish yellow or red. Eastern Virginia Kent Island Formation
Becraft Chert Light bluish gray to medium gray or black New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia Becraft Limestone Formation of the Helderberg Group
Beekmantown Chert
AKA: Narrows Chert
Dark gray often fossiliferous. Northern Virginia Beekmantown Formation
Bellefonte Chert Ranges from a light to medium gray Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia Bellefonte Dolomite Formation of the Beekmantown Group. 
Berea Sandstone   Ranges in color from a light gray to a buff Northwestern Virginia Waverly Group
Bonifant Jasper
AKA: Bonnefont Jasper
  Mottled mustard yellow to a yellowish brown or a variegated red East central Virginia porphyoblastic garnet-biotite gneiss formation
Bourne Chert
AKA: Brunswick County Chert
Predominantly brown to cream, red, or violet, but ranges from pink, yellow, brown, orange, and light blue also occur. East central Virginia  
Bremo Quartzite   Light gray East central Virginia Bremo Quartzite Member of the Arvonia Formation
Broad Run Chalcedony
AKA: Wissahickon Chalcedony
  Ranges in color from a mottled white to light gray or cream to yellow.  Black specks are present through the material. Northeastern Virginia Wissahickon Formation
Brook Run Jasper   Ranges from a mustard yellow to a yellowish brown or red with white quartz streaks running through the material.    Northern Virginia  
Buffards Quartzite   Ranges from a milky white quartz to a dusty red quartzite. Central Virginia Buffards Quartzite Member of the Arvonia Formation
Calvert Silicified Sandstone   Ranges from a light gray to a bluish gray or dark gray Eastern Virginia Calvert Formation, Chesapeake Group
Catoctin Greenstone
AKA: Catoctin Metabasalt
  Ranges from a green to a greenish gray or gray. Northern Virginia Catoctin Formation
Catoctin Metarhyolite
AKA: Highland Metarhyolite
  Ranges from a gray to a  bluish gray, blue, or purple.  Banding, mottling, or breccia with a tannish color may be present. Northern Virginia Catoctin Formation
Chepultepec Chert
Knox Chert Variant
(Ridge and Valley Chert)
Ranges from yellow to white and oolitic Western Virginia Chapultepec Member of the Knox Formation
Chilhowee Mudstone   greenish-gray in color Western Virginia Chilhowee Group
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. Northern Virginia Coeymans Limestone Formation (New Creek Formation), Helderberg Group
Conococheague Chert Ranges from a gray to a bluish gray, brownish gray, or black.  Small blue to white inclusions may be present. Western Virginia Conococheague Limestone Formation
Copper Ridge Chert
(Ridge and Valley Chert)
Ranges in color from medium to dark gray to black Western Virginia Copper Ridge Member of the Knox formation
Crystal Quartz   clear colorless stone similar to clear glass Eastern North America  
Culpepper Hornfels   Range from a brown to reddish brown or greenish brown and gray to black.  Northern Virginia  
Erwin Quartzite 
AKA: Erwin - Antietam Quartzite, Hesse Quartzite
  Ranges from bright white to light gray, tan, brown, pink, or red.  A green brown variation is reported in Amherst County, Virginia Southern Virginia Erwin Formation of the Chilhowee Group
Flint Run Jasper   Mottled mustard yellow to brown, but gray, red, blue, and green also occur as streaking or inclusions and quartz inclusions. Northern Virginia Between the Beekmantown Formation and the Blue Ridge Formation  
Fort Chiswell Chalcedony   Mottled with light colors of white tan, and gray. Western Virginia  
Fort Payne Chert
AKA: Iuka Chert, Lauderdale Chert
  Ranges in color from black to a grayish blue, or white to a bluish white.  Bluish gray is the predominate color with bluish hues Western Virginia Fort Payne Formation
Greenbrier Chert
AKA: Alderson Chert
Ranges in color from light to dark grays, browns, black, and pale red. Northwestern Virginia Greenbrier Formation
Hardy Creek Chert Ranges from a brown to a gray or an olive black Western Virginia Hardy Creek Limestone Formation
Harpers Ferry Quartzite
AKA: Oolitic Quartzite
  Ranges from a light gray to light blue with round speckles colored dark gray to a bluish gray or cream to light gray Eastern Virginia Possible Harpers Formation of the Chilhowee Group
Helderberg Chert Ranges from mottled white to light cream, light gray, and light blue commonly mottled and fossiliferous.  Northern Virginia Helderberg Group
Hillsdale Chert Black weathering gray. Northwestern Virginia Hillsdale Limestone Formation
Honaker Chert / Dolomite
AKA: Nolichucky Chert
Dolomite is a light to medium gray with banding present, minor chert nodules of dark gray to black with algal banding Western Virginia Honaker Formation / Nolichucky Formation
Hunterville Chert  Ranges from a yellowish gray to a gray or dark gray. North central Virginia Hunterville Chert Formation of the Oriskany Group
Indian Run Chert Mottled with shaded of medium to dark gray and white. North central Virginia  
Kanawha Black Chert Vary from a black to a bluish black /gray to a dark gray Northwestern Virginia Kanawha Formation, Pottsville Group 
Kingsport Chert Ranges from white to a medium to dark gray. Western Virginia Kingsport Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Knox Chert   Dark blue to bluish gray with translucent mottling.  Red Knox Chert has a reddish color with slight mottling. Western Virginia Knox Formation
Laurel Run Chert Ranges from a light to dark gray or black with tan, pink, and white also occurring. Western Virginia
 
Lenoir Chert Dark Gray Western Virginia Lenoir Limestone Formation
Libertytown Metarhyolite Ranges from a dark purplish to a bluish black or red with macrophenocycts of pink and white feldspar. Northern Virginia Libertytown Metarhyolite Formation
Licking Creek Chert
Black with sandy texture inclusions. Northern Virginia Licking Creek Member of the Helderberg Formation
Lincolnshire Chert
AKA: Murat Chert
Ranges from a very dark gray to olive black. Western Virginia Lincolnshire Limestone Formation of the Cliffeld Group
Little Cattail Creek Chert / Chalcedony
AKA: Williamson Chert, Dinwiddie Chert
  The most common colors range from a light tan to brown and gray to blue with a mottled creamy gray-blue being the most common. Southeastern Virginia  
Liver Jasper   Red liver colored jasper with hematite spherules Northern Virginia  
Longview Chert
Knox variation
Primarily reddish, but white to gray colors do occur Western Virginia Longview Member of the Knox formation
Luray Jasper   Maroon red with epidote inclusions Northern Virginia  
Macot Dolomite / Chert Ranges from white to a light to medium gray with with mottling or streaking ranging from pink to red or green Western Virginia Mascot Dolomite Formation of the Newala Group
Mitchell Chert Ranges from white to dark brown with the most common colors being from a light cream to yellow, light gray to blue, and pink to violet. Southeastern Virginia  
Mogothy Quartzite
AKA: Magothy Quartzite
  Ranges in color from gray to bluish gray or purple, banding or mottling may be present.  Small fossils may give a peppered appearance. Northeastern Virginia Mogothy Formation
Morrow Mountain Rhyolite
AKA: Uwharrie Rhyolite
  Homogeneous dark gray to black and many shades of green, flow banding may be present. South central Virginia  
Mount Rodgers Rhyolite   Ranges in color from a dark white to gray and light pink to purple with banding being present Southwestern Virginia Mount Rodgers Formation
Newman Chert Ranges in color from  yellow to tan, red, and orange Western Virginia Newman Limestone formation
New Market Chert
AKA: Row Park Chert
Ranges from a dark gray to black. Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland New Market Limestone Formation of the St. Paul Group
New Scotland Chert
AKA: Corriganville Chert
Ranges from a white to very light colors. Northern Virginia New Scotland Formation (Corriganville Formation) of the Helderberg Group
Nittany Chert Ranges from a medium to dark gray with siliceous oolites.  Red jasper also occurs in this formation. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia Nittany Dolomite Formation, Beekmantown Group
Nottoway River Quartzite   Two variations, one is a light blue and the other is a root beer brown.
Southern Virginia  
Oriskany Solicified Sandstone   White Northern Virginia Oriskany Sandstone Formation
Orthoquartzite
(Generic type)
  Varies North America Varies
Patuxent - Mattaponi Quartzite
AKA: Mattaponi Quartzite
  Ranges from gray to a white, light yellow, pink or red.  range sin color from a dark white to gray,  cream to yellow, and pink to red. Northwestern Virginia Patuxent / Mattaponi Formation
Patton Chert Ranges from a dark gray to black.
Western Virginia Patton Limestone Member of the Greenbrier Limestone Formation
Pinesburg Station Chert Ranges from a white to very light gray. Northern Virginia Pinesburg Station Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Point of Rocks Jasper   Ranges from a mustard yellow to a yellowish brown with grays also occurring. Northeastern Virginia  
Poteet Chert Ranges from a dark olive gray to olive black. Western Virginia Poteet Limestone Formation
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 Eastern North America  
Rich Patch Chert Primarily a light to dark gray, but white to pink, cream, brown and grayish browns occur.  Northwestern Virginia  
Ridgely Quartzite   Ranges from white to a light tan or a medium gray or pink. Northern Virginia Ridgely Sandstone Member of the Oriskany Formation
Rockdale Run Chert Ranges from a light to medium gray.
Northern Virginia Rockdale Run Limestone Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Rose Hill Quartzite
AKA: Ferruginous Quartzite, Hematitic Sandstone
  Ranges in color from a brownish purple to a medium purple or a blood red. Northwestern Virginia Rose Hill Formation
Runion Agate   Black to brown plume agate Northern Virginia  
Shear Zone Chalcedony
(Mylonite)
  Ranges from a translucent white to yellow, pink, or orange and commonly has inclusions or patches of green or gray.  Northwestern Virginia  
Shady Chert Ranges from a bluish gray to a yellowish gray blue, or white with mottling commonly present.  Western Virginia Shady Dolomite Formation
Shiver Chert Ranges in color from a medium gray to black Northern Virginia Shiver Formation of the Helderberg Group
Sideling Hill Chert Ranges from a grayish blue to a medium to dark gray or white.  Streaking or banding may be present.  Northwestern Virginia Probably New Creek Limestone Formation (Coeymans Formation).
Sinks Grove Chert
Greenbreir Chert variation
Black weathering gray. Western Virginia Sinks Grove Limestone Member of the Greenbrier Limestone Formation
Skidmore Island Chert Homogenous and ranges from a white to a cream or light tan Eastern Virginia Unknown formation
Stonehenge Chert
AKA: Stonehenge - Chepultepec Chert
Ranges from a dark gray to black. Northern Virginia Stonehenge Limestone Formation of the Beekmantown Group
Tomstown Chert Ranges from beds of bluish gray to a yellowish gray blue, or white with mottling commonly present and nodules of white. Northern Virginia Tomstown Dolomite Formation
Trading Run Chert Light color ranging from a mottled white to gray, cream to yellow, and pinks with iron staining commonly present. Northern Virginia Helderberg Formation
Tuscarora Quartzite
AKA: Massanutten Quartzite
  White and gray Northern Virginia Tuscarora Quartzite Formation of the Judy Gap Group
Unakite   Mottled green and pink Virginia  
Virginia Beach Jasper   Ranges from a brownish yellow to a light yellowish tan, gray, or red. Southeastern  Virginia Tabb Formation
Waynesboro Chert
AKA: Rome Chert
Ranges from a very dark gray to black Northwestern Virginia Waynesboro Limestone Formation (Rome Limestone Formation)
Weverton Quartzite   Feldspathic and ranges from a grayish white to medium light gray. Northwestern Virginia Buzzard Knob Member of the Weverton Quartzite Formation, Chilhowee Group
Woodway Chert Ranges from a dark gray to olive black. Western Virginia Woodway Limestone Formation