Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Top 10 Obsidian Sources: Oregon
1. Newberry Volcano
2. Obsidian Cliffs
3. Whitewater Ridge
4. Silver Lake/Sycan Marsh
5. Inman Creek (both A and B varieties)
6. Spodue Mountain
7. Quartz Mountain
8. McKay Butte
9. Glass Buttes Source Complex (all nine geochemical varieties)
10. Medicine Lake Highlands Sources (CA - GF/LIW/RS and East Medicine Lake)

With over 100 geochemical obsidian sources, some of them spread over large geographic areas, Oregon has been hands-down the toughest of the U.S. states to untangle. But with over 30,000 characterized artifacts and over 5,000 analyzed source samples, it's also one of the most thoroughly studied. All of the top 10 sources in Oregon were represented by at least 1,000 artifacts.

1 comment:

  1. Do you have any information regarding McKay butte? I'm going to be going to search for obsidian there once the snow melts, but information regarding the type/quality of obsidian is scarce online. Also, is it on a particular slope of the butte or all over? Thanks!

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