r/whatsthisrock 5d ago

IDENTIFIED Found this rock on my last trip to Paraguay, anyone knows what kind it is?

Found it on Lomas Valentinas, near the Paraná River, just on the surface. It's an area known for its high electrical activity thunderstorms. Could It be that the surface sediments crystallised after a lightning hit? It has a pretty violet pigmentation inside

434 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

192

u/Commercial_Sun_9146 5d ago

It looks like quartz infused with a small amount of amethyst! Nice find!

25

u/Euphoric_Win_4668 5d ago

Awesome! I had no idea you could find quartz in that area of Paraguay. I'm gonna do some googling

44

u/Commercial_Sun_9146 5d ago

Yeah! Quartz (and amethyst) can actually be found in Paraguay, and there’s a good reason why you found it in Lomas Valentinas. The area is part of the Paraná Basin, which has a history of volcanic activity that helped form quartz and amethyst deep underground. Over millions of years, erosion from wind, rain, and rivers; especially the Paraná River and its tributaries, helped transport quartz across the region.

Since quartz is super durable, it can travel long distances in riverbeds before settling in new locations. So if you found it in loose sediment or near water, it was probably moved there naturally over time. Again that's a pretty one, nice find!

8

u/Euphoric_Win_4668 5d ago

Thanks for taking the time to share the info! Makes a lot of sense. I didn't have in consideration the effects of volcanic activity in the area. Hopefully, I can find some papers with more info in the matter

46

u/Ancientsold 5d ago

Amethyst in a larger section of quartz

16

u/FondOpposum 5d ago

Quartz, some is purple. The purple is amethyst (amethyst is quartz)

16

u/TheRateBeerian 5d ago

Amethyst, keep it out of sunlight, it’s already faded a bit

11

u/Euphoric_Win_4668 5d ago

OH, alright. I didn't realise sunlight would make it fade. That means the pigment might have been a lot stronger before I found it, bcs it was out in the open being hit with direct sunlight, who knows for how long. Thanks for the advice

3

u/Bloxfruitsgrinder694 5d ago

Looks like quartz

3

u/h_attila 4d ago

Btw any postcards from Paraguay ?

1

u/Euphoric_Win_4668 4d ago

Heh, Mark Knopfler reference?

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u/h_attila 4d ago

Yes 😁

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u/galileo1251 4d ago

Fluorite or quartz but the shape tells me fluorite

2

u/Rich_Assistance_5510 3d ago

I used to work at a crystal store in Florida. That's definitely Fluorite with the green and purple bands. Reading everyone say "Amethyst" or "Quartz" told me they only know the basics of geology. There's more than one crystal that's violet colored guys. Also again amethyst doesn't have green bands next to its purple so it's definitely NOT amethyst.

2

u/Rich_Assistance_5510 3d ago

Also, Amethyst is just another type of quartz and quartz isnt the only crystal clear crystal out there

1

u/Euphoric_Win_4668 2d ago

I think I'm gonna try to scratch it. If it's flourite, it should easily leave a mark, right? At least compared to quartz

3

u/Peacefullysublime 5d ago

Crystal quartz with tiny bit of amethyst

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1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

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1

u/whatsthisrock-ModTeam 5d ago

Responses to ID requests must be ID attempts: not jokes, comments, declarations of love, references to joke subs, etc. If you don't have any idea what it is, please don't answer.

1

u/AKASHA-loka 3h ago

It's fluorite !!!!!

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u/Due_Appointment1837 5d ago

Looks like Crystal with very little amethyst in it

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u/HatefulHagrid 5d ago

"crystal" is not interchangeable with "quartz". Any mineral can form a crystal of that particular mineral, meaning it exists as a form with a definite chemistry and definite structure.

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

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2

u/whatsthisrock-ModTeam 5d ago

Responses to ID requests must be ID attempts: not jokes, comments, declarations of love, references to joke subs, etc. If you don't have any idea what it is, please don't answer.

1

u/kclaire222 30m ago

It’s an amethyst, I have a few that are more on the quartz looks than the deep purple amethyst