Name: from Greek tēktós, mening molten.
Color: black, green, brown, gray.
MineralogyTektites are gravel-sized bodies of natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. They generally range in size from millimeters to centimeters. Millimeter-scale tektites are known as microtektites.
Gravel-sized glassy bodies of natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during large impacts.
A natural glass formed from a meteorite impact melting the local rock. Depending on the nature of the latter, the composition of tektites is variable. Hence, many varietal names are given to tektites from different localities.
The meteoritic source was determined for three fields of scattered tektites (bediasite and georgiaite in North America, moldavite in Central Europe, and ivorite in West Africa). Though, for Australian and Asian tektites (indochinite, philippinite, australite, zhamanshinite, irghizite, and others), the occurrence in meteoritic craters has only been inferred.
Easily confused with obsidian and man-made dark slag.