red sandstone?

[transcendental]

I got a box of assorted rocks from a friend, not sure who labeled them but I doubt it's accurate. This was labeled red jasper but I'm pretty sure it's red sandstone. Very brittle, I can scratch it with my nail

http://i.imgur.com/zS5zFdu.jpg

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[transcendental]

The Tray image has a wide verity of stones.. 50/50 some good, some common and some not worth mentioning..

Off the top of my head.. I took notice of: Carnelian, Jasper, Selenite, Agate Geode, Caramel Jasper, Rose Quartz, Fluorite, Aventurine, Smokey Quartz, Bloodstone, and maybe a Star Ruby and or Star Sapphire.

Yeah I'm going to make a new thread detailing that plate full for a second opinion. Most is probably quartz/granite, there's a lot of that around here but a few are really nice. Waiting for a sunny day to photo them in good lighting.... been rainy or overcast past few days

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[Eu_citzen]

Sandstone is composed mainly of quartz. So unless your finger nails are made of topaz or something similar you shouldn't be able to scratch it.
Certain sedimentary stones are made of clay, and those are often softer. But I don't recall the english name for those.

 

[transcendental]

I'll have to look into it. Did a hardness test harder than calcite, softer than flourite so that'd make it 3.5

 

[Eu_citzen]

Anhydrock would fit, according to my book. It's a rock made of anhydrite and gypsum. Sometimes also called rock anhydrite.
Hardness: 3½, doesn't react with dilute hydrochloric acid.

 

[transcendental]

Anhydrous didn't fit, my next guess is a mudstone with a high iron content. Was thinking claystone but it's too gritty

 

[Eu_citzen]

Anhydrite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's some info on Anhydrite. It was just the best guess from the hardness, have you done the acid test yet?
Why shouldn't anhydrite fit?

 

[transcendental]

Anhydride cleavage doesn't fit, this thing has no cleavage I can see, also why I didn't think claystone fit. Unfortunately I don't have any acid to test it

 

[Eu_citzen]

If it is fine grained cleavage might not be apparent. It's a rock, not a mineral as such.

 

[ncuke]

From the picture it looks like it may only be red on the outside and tan on the inside? It does look quite grainy for jasper... At first glance it reminded me of a Triassic sandstone which is typically red in color...