A unique and popular formation of the glass-like obsidian, known as an Apache Tear, is a popular target amongst rockhounds, new and old alike. In certain areas, they are relatively common, lending themselves well to new hobbyists and even young kids. These formations of obsidian rock are rounded black pebbles that are less than a few inches across. They are a volcanic black glass core, usually surrounded by a rough black outer surface.
As Apache legend has it, there was a standoff between Apache warriors and a hostile outfit of the U.S. Cavalry. Rather than face defeat, the Apache warriors took themselves and their horses leaping over the edge of a cliff to their death below, at a location now known as Apache Leap outside of the town of Superior Arizona. The women and children who grieved the event cried tears of sorrow, which then hardened permanently, into the stones which we now call Apache Tears.
If you ask a geologist, they will probably call it an “obsidian nodule”. Formed when hot lava cooled far too quickly, rendering it into a brittle glass-like state. The round shape, is generally attributed to drop-like conglomerations of hot lava which then cooled rapidly. For example, thinking of a potential formation being from the violent action of the eruption, raining droplets of hot lava into a cold lake.
