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Mozarkite -- Missouri's Official State Rock A myriad of images appear to anyone hearing the word "Ozarks"-- mountain folk; hillbilly's, rough, hilly country; cool, bubbling springs; clear-flowing streams; float fishing for the wily bass; caves lined with stalactites and stalagmites; and to rock and mineral collectors, hobbyists, and lapidaries a place to hunt for MOZARKITE. The name MOZARKITE is a contraction of "Mo" -Missouri; "zark"- Ozarks; and "ite"- meaning rock. Mozarkite is a form of chert (flint) consisting essentially of silica (SiO2) with varying amounts of chalcedony. Mozarkite has won distinction as a particular form or variety of chert because of its unique variation of colors and its ability to take a high polish. Typically, the colors are different hues of red, pink, and purple with varying tints of green, gray and brown. It is admired by lapidarists throughout the nation. Interest in collecting mozarkite in Missouri started in the early 1950s, in Benton County. The majority of occurrences are in west-central Missouri, south of the Missouri River, and west of the Lake of the Ozarks. MOZARKITE occurs in the Cotter Dolomite of Ordovician age, which means it is some 450 million years old. It is found in residual boulders in the soil on hillslopes, along ditches, and in roadcuts where the boulders are exposed in the soil formed by weathering of the Cotter Dolomite. MOZARKITE is found in the Ozark region of Missouri as far north as Marshall and is abundant in Benton and nearby counties. A crypto-crystalline variety of quartz blended with agate and jasper, beautifully patterned in ripples and ribbons. MOZARKITE comes in many colors (though mostly green, red or purple), ranging from soft to brilliant. It has a hardness of 7 and is suitable for cutting and polishing. Missourians have used the name mozarkite to designate this beautiful member of the quartz family, and the name is now becoming better known outside Missouri. In 1967, the 74th Missouri General Assembly designated the colorful MOZARKITE as the official state rock, at the same time designating galena its official mineral. Background Information on Missouri State Rock - Mozarkite The formation of mozarkite and all cherts is a part of our state's geologic history. The history begins with the formation of limestone and sandstone under the ancient shallow seas that once covered most of our state. As early as Cambrian times (600 m.y.a.) and possibly earlier, thick deposits of limestone were laid down in our state by countless marine animals and plants that lived and died in this "mid-American sea". The marine animals included Foraminifera, tiny sand-grain sized one-celled protozoa. Foraminifera formed shells of limy (calcium-bearing) material and lived from before Cambrian times to today. Larger animals that formed fossils seen all over Missouri include crinoids, worms, corals, bryozoans and molluscs. All of their shells were made of CaCO2. Sand or silica (SiO2) was eroded and transported down into the sea by rivers from its original igneous beds of Pre-Cambrian granite. The calcite that formed calcium carbonate was transported from the land as well. As the sea water became saturated with calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide, these compounds settled to the bottom and formed layers of limestone, dolomite (another form of limestone with manganese from erosion) and sandstone. Shales and other sedimentary rock layers formed. By Ordivician times (500 m.y.a.) our whole state was submerged beneath the sea. For the next 250 million years our state was uplifted by tectonic forces that left it dry land only to be re-submerged several times. Sedimentary rock layers continued to form leaving behind a detailed history of Missouri during the Paleozoic era. By Permian times (270 m.y.a.) our state was dry land again and the sea was gone (permanently?). Now the forces of weathering, erosion and transportation began to shape our state. Meanwhile, under the layers of sedimentary rock, the various chemical solutions such as CaCO2, SiO2, MgCa(CO3)2) deposited and hardened into various rock types. One kind, chert, chemically replaced layers of limestone and dolomite or it precipitated out of the mixture of compounds in the sea. Chert is cryptocrystalline quartz (SiO2) which means that the crystals of quartz that comprise it are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Layers or bands of chert formed between layers of Missouri's ever present limestone and dolomite. It can easily be seen today in roadcuts as bands of off-white or light gray layers. The forces of erosion remove the chert from the softer limestone but since chert is much harder it does not weather as fast. Some chert rocks are worn smooth as pebbles in our common streams and became a valuable source of gravel for construction and landscaping. Chert comes in many colors but usually it is white, tan or gray. Secondary coloration is sometimes picked up by iron deposits that give it a red, pink or orange color and by the action of plant life in rivers that stain it green or black. To determine the true coloration of the chert it should be broken so that the inside is exposed. Some cherts of different colors can form under special circumstances if they were precipitated in the presence of iron oxides, clays and other minerals. These cherts show pastel colors throughout their matrix and this can be called flint, jasper, or mozarkite. As is true for all cherts, mozarkite has a hardness of 7 to 7.5, a density of ~2.65 g/cm3, and consists of 95-99.5% silica. Mozarkite is brittle with a splintery or conchoidal fracture and can be found in the Missouri Ozarks as nodules, "lenses" or still in beds of limestone. It is usually associated with fossils and can contain some marine fossils although not as frequently as in the beds of dolomite in which mozarkite is found. Much chert and mozarkite is found today in typical Missouri red clay and sandy soils. In certain areas of our state, when roadcuts are made, new finds of Mozarkite are uncovered. Mozarkite comes in all colors, pink, brown, purple, rose, and wine predominating. The imaginative eye sees patterns showing pictures of scenes, faces, and wildlife in the polished stones. The pastel colors in this special form of chert are the result of minor impurities in this crptocrystalline silica An analysis of these 13 impurities show the following results: Silica Si High Aluminum Al Low Iron Fe Present Manganese Mn Low Titanium Ti Trace Calcium Ca Not detected Magnesium Mg Low Sodium Na Low Potassium K Low Copper Cu Trace Boron B Trace Nickel N Trace Silver Ag Trace Mo.Division. of Tourism Mo.Dept. of Natural Resources The U.S. Geological Survey The U.S. Dept. of the Interior Mozarkite can be polished through lapidary processes to create exceptional beautiful gem quality stones. These polished stones can be made into pendants, cabochons, polished slabs, book ends, and belt buckles to name a few. Mozarkite is a popular gem quality stone collected by rockhounds and lapidaries. While it may occur throughout the Ozark region of our state, there have been only a few abundant deposits found. The major area for finding mozarkite is in Benton County around the city of Lincoln. Smaller deposits are known from south of St. Louis and in Laclede County near Lebanon. Legends of Mozarkite Native Americans may have valued this colored chert as a special form of flint used for making points. Flint is another form of chert and so the properties of mozarkite would have allowed it to be used in this way. In the Indian legend of Taum Sauk Mountain and Mina Sauk Falls, it is possible that mozarkite played an important role. The Piankeshaw Tribe inhabited the region around the St. Francis River and the igneous granite mountains of southeast Missouri. A yearly custom among the Piankeshaws was to row their canoes up the Mississippi to the Missouri and as far west as the Osage River (present day Lake of the Ozarks). Here they traded with the Osage Indians near Warsaw in Benton County. One valued article for trade was a colored chert which the Osage traded with tribes all over North America. The location of the Osages' source of this chert was a closely guarded secret and the penalty for revealing its location was death! On one of the trading treks, the beautiful daughter of chief Taum Sauk, Mina Sauk, became enamored with Eagle Eye, an Osage warrior. Eagle Eye returned with the Piankeshaws to the St. Francis Mountains where the couple were blissfully married. Soon after, however, the Osage declared war on the Piankeshaws, claiming that Mina Sauk had used witchcraft to induce Eagle Eye to reveal the location of the Osages' secret chert mine. The Piankeshaw medicine men declared Mina Sauk a witch and, in an effort to appease the Osage, hurled Eagle Eye from the top of the mountain. Grief-stricken Mina Sauk leaped from the mountain peak to fall beside her dead husband. Immediately a storm occurred and flashes of lightning pierced the ground where the two bodies lay, whereupon a clear stream of water poured out of the side of the mountain carrying away Eagle Eye and Mina Sauk. The Osage Indians fled in terror and this legend is remembered today because the highest peak in our state is named Taum Sauk and at its base flows a waterfall known as Mina Sauk. It is possible that the "secret Osage chert mine" was a deposit of mozarkite. Rock collectors today are still searching for this mine of mozarkite where it is believed they will find millions of tons of this "Glory Rock of the Ozarks". It is thought to be in Morgan, Benton, Henry, Hickory, St. Clair, Camden, or Cedar County. Another early story about mozarkite is possibly found in the journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. On the 5th and 6th of June, 1804, the expedition reached present day Moniteau County. At the mouth of the Little Manitou Creek, they encountered a painting of the fierce Indian God, Manitou, on a large projecting rock. While no Native Americans were observed in the area, their tracks were found along the sandy beach. On June 7th the expedition passed Big Manitou Creek in Howard County, where they observed "a limestone rock, inlaid with white, red, and blue flint and embellished or covered with uncouth paintings of animals and inscriptions (petroglyphs). We landed to examine it but the place occupied by a nest of rattlesnakes, of which we killed three." Manitou was a Spirit Force of Good and Evil and sacred snakes were said to guard him. Is it possible that Lewis and Clark left the first written mention of the rock later to become known as mozarkite? Modern Day Mozarkite The modern "discovery" of mozarkite occurred in the late 50's with the construction of U.S. highway 65 that connects Springfield with Sedalia. Roadcuts in Benton County uncovered large deposits of this beautiful chert and rock collectors began to polish and work the stone into many beautiful pieces. The late Philip Widel of Blackwater, Missouri, traveled for 30 years throughout the United States to rock shows displaying his "mozarkite". It is not known if it was Mr. Widel or an earlier rockhound who coined the name. In 1966 Byron Purteet of St. Louis and Oliver Roskan of Kansas City initiated efforts with the state legislature to have mozarkite declared the state rock. During legislative hearings many lawmakers wanted to know if there was such a thing as mozarkite! The 74th Missouri General Assembly declared mozarkite the official rock of Missouri in 1967. Minnesota also recognizes mozarkite as their official state rock. Today the best place to find mozarkite is through commercial dealers at gem or rock shows where they have been polished and mounted. If one wants to collect rough deposits, the best place to look is still in Lincoln, Missouri. Linville Harms of 1804 East 14th Street, Sedalia, Missouri 65301 maintains a commercial dig on his 52 acres just north of Lincoln. The land is near the junction of U.S. 65 and County Road HH. With permission and a moderate fee you can collect high-grade material that Mr. Harms will backhoe from the soil. Another smaller but important deposit can be found in the watershed area of Rock Creek just south of St. Louis on Highway 21. Contact any local or statewide lapidary club for the latest information on mozarkite deposits.