Sahara Desert

Tektites are chunks of silicate glass whose origin was long considered a mystery. Today scientists agree these materials (whose name comes from the Greek tektos, meaning “melted”) formed when an asteroid impacted Earth. The extraordinary heat and pressure that resulted from such collisions liquefied terrestrial particles were blasted into the atmosphere that quenched and returned to Earth as glass. Tektites are terrestrial in origin and are named after the locality in which they are found, hence: Australites, Indochinites, Phillipinites, Moldavites, Libyan Desert Glass, etc. Among terrestrial impact glasses, the higher the silica content of the material, the lighter the color. Desert Glass is 98% silica (molten sand) and is sunny yellow; with 80% silica, Moldavites cover a range of greens and originate from what was formerly Czechoslovakia. Now offered is a translucent example of Libyan Desert Glass found in the sands of the Sahara, where it originated from an impact which occurred 28-29 million years ago. Libyan Desert Glass was used to make tools during the Pleistocene and used as jewelry in the Pharaonic Period with examples discovered in King Tut’s tomb.