Tektites (pronounced tek-tites) are the by-products of
meteorite impacts on Earth. Composed of
gravel-sized, natural glass particles, which are predominantly black, they can
also be brown, gray, or green. They made up of natural glass formed from molten
terrestrial debris thrown into the air after a meteor strikes the ground.
Tektites have no crystalline structure because they cool so rapidly, thus
crystals cannot grow. In that sense, they are similar to obsidian (volcanic
glass), but tektites have lower water content than obsidian glass.
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| A tektite (4 cm length) from Guang Dong, Kwangtung Province, China. |
Tektites occur within “strewn-fields” associated with
meterorite impact craters. Some of the more famous “strewn-fields” are in
southern China, the Czech Republic, and the Ivory Coast of Africa (Ghana).
If you check online, you can find tektites for sale, at a
modest price in most cases. For more information about tektites, see
<www.britannica.com>
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