Magnetic North
Columbia River Basalt, pivot mount on a base of rhyolite. I found this piece in a ditch by the road, with this amazing shape and beautiful patina. I polished one face for contrast. It looks like the arrow used on a geologic map to indicate magnetic North, and the rock itself has a strong magnetic field because it contains lots of tiny crystals of magnetite, which all aligned with the earth's magnetic field when the lave was liquid, then were frozen in that orientation when it hardened. In half of the Columbia River flows, these little magnets point north, but the other half point south because they were erupted when the earth's magnetic poles had flipped. It also turns freely on its pivot, much like the needle of a compass.
HxWxD; 14", 9", 10"
16 million years old
Available $750
HxWxD; 14", 9", 10"
16 million years old
Available $750
