3.5" Free-Standing, Polished Ibis Jasper - Madagascar

Ibis jasper is the trade name for a colorful type of brecciated jasper found in Madagascar. This jasper is made up of broken, angular pieces of jasper in shades of brown, gray, and cream cemented together by geological processes to form a solid mass.

Breccias can form in several ways. Sometimes they form after weathering, which breaks apart the original rock. The pieces then accumulate at the base of an outcrop or maybe a stream deposit, where they become reburied and solidify back together, forming a solid rock. Other times volcanic processes like eruptions fracture rocks, and then over time these broken pieces resolidify together.

Ibis jasper gets its name because it has a similar color pallete to the Madagascar Ibis, a variety of long-legged waterfowl.

Jasper is a term that can be applied to an opaque variety of chalcedony. The opaqueness is due to a higher concentration of impurities mixed with silica/quartz compared to other varieties of silica, such as quartz or agates. Like agate it may form in a wide variety of colors, and is often multi-colored. In most cases, jasper forms when silica-rich fluids permeate throughout a soft sediment or volcanic debris deposit. The fluids then crystallize around the particles/impurities, resulting in a cementation process. Most often, the impurities present determine the coloration of the deposit following solidification, but other factors can play a role in the color of what is now considered a jasper.