Saturday, May 24, 2014

Kimberley stone jewellery






The Ranford Formation is a freak geological structure in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.
It is situated close to and beneath the waters of Lake Argyle.
The formation is host to a number of stone varieties not found anywhere else on earth.
Formed some 600 million years ago when Australia was part of a supercontinent and animal life had not yet evolved, these stone types have mostly been washed away. Some pockets remain, with the best known being:-
Zebra Stone - a rhythmically banded indurated siltstone in which striping occurs contrary to the bedding plane. No satisfactory explanation for the regular banding has been established. Very little remains.
Ranford Ribbonstone - is formed of the same elements as Zebra Stone but with a greater diversity of strikingly coloured patterns. Striping is absent.
Okapi Stone - horizontal pink and brown layers occur as a capstone over deep sediments. The pinks have a vibrancy in common with the colours of Ribbonstone.
Rainbow Stone - occurs in a separate formation. Swirling colours are linked to iron nodules deposited in a fine grained sandstone. Rainbow shaped bands leap from one iron rich area to another.