Baraboo Quartzite

Baraboo Quartzite is a Precambrian geological formation of quartzite, found in the region of Baraboo, Wisconsin. While pure quartzite is usually white or gray, Baraboo Quartzite is typically dark purple to maroon in color, due to the presence of iron (hematite) and other impurities. Baraboo Quartzite may display strata created by progressive deposition of layers of sand in the original sandstone from which the quartzite was formed (through metamorphism). Specimens of Baraboo quartzite may also display ripple marks that appear visually similar to the patterns one might see in the sand at a beach. Ripples indicate that the sandstone from which the quartzite was metamorphosed was originally water-laid sediment.