What’s In A Name?

I absolutely love to name Yooperlites. I don’t give them names like Hermann and Xavier, but rather names that identify them by their characteristics. These names are not formally accepted in the geological world, but ones that I have attached to specific patterns on the rocks that we find.

The patterns on these rocks alone is enough to study. How did they become so diverse? Why do some have lines and others don’t? Why are some so bright they make you look away while others have hardly any sparkle? So many questions worth exploring. I have put a few pictures here of some of the rocks that we have found and named. We have our favorites. Maybe you can find a favorite too? I bet you will.

Snowflake

This specific find was huge, and had a perfectly smooth concave center. This pattern covers the entire rock. Did you know that if a Yooperlite is cut open, that the fluorescence goes all the way through? We do have a reel up where we cut one open. It’s quite fascinating.

Gold Dust

These are the hardest rocks to photograph for some reason. We have a very difficult time. When taking the photos, or the videos for reels, this rock tends to show two different colors, one brassy and the other gold. This capture shows a great representation of how they fluoresce. I credit this to David who is a VERY patient photographer. He probably took this shot 12 times. I tried and could not get one good shot out of 15 attempts. Everyone loves gold, but what do you think of a Gold Dust Yooperlite?

Snakeskin

I seriously doubt we will find anything like this again. This is one rare rock. It really does look like snakeskin. In all of our years of hunting, we have never found another one. You can see the purple color hue, which I believe to be feldspar. The combination of the fluorescent sodalite and the feldspar in this one is unique. Does a Snakeskin Yooperlite creep you out, or is it something that might become your favorite?

Cosmic

When you look into the deep dark night sky, you can see constellations and colors like you see in the rock on the left. The rock on the right is another Gold Dust sample. We went to a beach in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a bit ago and the night sky was so clear and full of stars. There was no light, only the deep dark sky. I was amazed at all of the stars. Our world is a gift to be explored. If you love the night sky, this type could be your favorite.

Lined Bright

I absolutely love these, they are my favorite. We find them with many different patterns. Recently, we found one where the lines outlined a heart shape. Snowflake pattern can be seen here too. This rock could be considered a mix, but with such poignant lines, it fits better in the Lined Bright category. This rock is pretty big too, and a nice find. Do you agree? Are these your favorite?

Super Bright

When you see a Super Bright, you almost have to look away. I have before. On a deep dark night at the beach, the glow from the rocks is emphasized. There are more deposits of fluorescent sodalite in these Yooperlites. It’s quite fascinating to see one of these in person. Most of the Super Brights we find are smaller. This sample is a bit bigger. Are you feeling the groove for Super Brights?

Starry Night

This can be considered a Cosmic Yooperlite, but named Starry Night due to the vast amounts of dotted deposits of fluorescent sodalite. If you compare this rock to the Cosmic rock listed above, you can see some differences. This one actually looks like it holds many stars in the night sky. It has a more even appearance with the blue purple base. A lot of the Starry Night and Cosmic rocks have big black spots on them. Both of the rocks featured in this blog post have the big spots. Is this one a favorite?

Mixed Pattern

Sometimes we find rocks that are cross categorical, meaning they meet the requirements for many different patterns. I just call these Mixed. This one is Super Bright, Lined, and Snowflake all wrapped up in one beautiful rock. Mixed Yooperlites encompass a lot of diversity. Could this type be your favorite?

Julia’s Rock

OK, Julia’s Rock is not a real category, but we have decided to call this kind of Yooperlite, Julia’s Rock. I can bet you are curious as to why? My son and his girlfriend wanted to hunt with us, and of course we obliged. That night, we found so many Yooperlites and Julia had the pleasure of pulling this rock out of the sand. This is a very rare unique Cosmic, Mixed pattern. If you look at this beauty, you can see lines, but in a swirled pattern. We have never seen any other rock like this in our years of collecting. This and the Snakeskin pattern are unique and rare. Added to the swirls are lines, super bright, and some cosmic. Cool story. Cool find. Is this your favorite?

I adore the Lined Bright and David loves them all. Did you find a favorite??

Happy Hunting,

Janine