Manganese Dendrites, Picture Rocks, are formed when the chemical Manganese (Mn) combined with other chemicals seeps into rocks and branches out. At least that what Manganese Dendritologist (geologists) say.
Manganese Dendrites are up to 140 million years old. Or older?
The Dendrites in this website are in Sandstone. They can occur in other rocks, not as cool, but crystal dendrites are also cool.
There are about as many different dendrite designs as there are different stones in the world. They are all pictures from nature, not fossils, and not hand drawn. (except maybe by the hand of God)
Manganese Dendrites can weigh from less than 1 gram to the weight of an entire mountain.
You can buy, sell, or trade Manganese Dendrites. Prime specimens are very valuable, up to several thousands of U.S. Dollars, most are just worthless ugly rocks.
It’s all very subjective.
But there is a grading system to give you a really rough idea of the worth of a dendrite. Some of these Dendrites are Masterpieces, and are valued accordingly.
Manganese Dendrites require little care. Sometimes when they are damaged, you can just glue them back together. And other times when they break apart, you get a double, which is worth many times more than the unbroken dendrite!
They can split apart, (many times actually), and you get mirror images inside.
You can buy them, sell them, hunt for them, collect them, make flooring, walls and furniture out of them, display them in your home, office, fish tank, or museum, and make them into clocks. Also good for (very expensive) paperweights.
Manganese should not be confused with Magnesium, which is not as cool.
Manganese Dendritologists (Mn.D.) from the International Association of Manganese Dendritologists (IAMnD) say:
“Manganese Dendrites are way cool!”
This is a website about Manganese Dendrites. Buddha Rock. Rocks with Pictures.
Check out the Menu above, and learn about these magnificent Rocks.
