Apache tears

Apache tears are small, rounded pebbles of obsidian—also called obsidianites—made of black or dark volcanic glass, typically rhyolitic in composition. They have a distinctive conchoidal (shell-like) fracture and are sometimes referred to by the geologic term marekanite. These pebbles usually range from subrounded to subangular in shape and can reach up to about 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter. Their surfaces often show natural indentations. Although they appear opaque and black in reflected light, they may be slightly translucent when viewed through transmitted light. Some contain fine bands or tiny crystal inclusions called microlites. On the Mohs hardness scale, Apache tears rank between 5 and 5.5.

The name “Apache tears” comes from a legend of the Apache people. In the 1870s, around 75 Apache warriors were surrounded by U.S. Cavalry near a mountain above what is now Superior, Arizona. Rather than face capture or death at the hands of their enemies, the warriors chose to ride their horses off the cliff. When their families learned of their fate, they wept, and according to the story, their tears hardened into the black stones now known as Apache tears.