Mysterious, Magical Moldavite
This little-known and "otherworldly" stone is
full of beauty and mystery.
With its strange wrinkled
surface, glassy moldavite looks
like a man-made prop for a
science fiction movie. However, the stone occurs naturally
and is found scattered across
central Europe, from the Czech Republic to Austria to
southern Germany. With colors ranging
from olive green
to brown, moldavite is a rare type of stone called
tektite, the origins of
___1___ are still uncertain. Two main theories have been ___2___
for their origins. Both place it in outer space.
Among geologists,
the generally-accepted theory of tektite's origins is as
___3___. Throughout history, the earth has been struck by
countless meteorites that
slam into the
crust with
tremendous speed and pressure.
Not quite 15 million years ago, ___4___ meteorite,
enormous in size,
smashed into the earth in
central Europe. The ___5___ heat of the
impact instantly liquefied
the surrounding rocks, and
molten rocks were
flung high into the atmosphere.
The molten materials cooled and
hardened rapidly as they fell back to earth,
producing moldavite. There are
three other tektite fields on earth, and ___6___ they were all
produced by different meteorite impacts.
Another theory, which is less popular, places
tektite's origins on the moon. Some scientists have
noted
similarities between tektite and rocks that exist
below the surface of the moon. Some of these rocks reach the
surface of the moon through volcanic
processes. The theory states that our planet's tektite was
actually blasted into space by
an enormous moon volcano ___7___.
To end on an even more mysterious note: gem enthusiasts
claim the stone's cosmic
origins grant it magical
powers. |