thank you so much! so, i'm confused...it's quartz sandstone. does that mean it's not granite? is yours honed or polished? this would definitely be a working surface, not just decorative

thanks again!

It's not granite. Stone names are terribly mixed up/misleading and most stone yards don't actually know what the rocks really are, geologically speaking. But what's really important is the behavior/properties of the rock, not the name.

Ours is polished. And on a work surface it will be great, no worries. But still, I always recommend that people get a sample and do some tests for scratching, staining, and etching. It's a good idea to do that just to be sure.

Karin- what should one expect to pay per sqf for this quartz? I assume it's more of a higher price stone? Thank you!!

Hm, I have no idea. Ours was a remnant so the price of the stone was negligible compared to the labor. Somehow my impression is that it's not super pricey but I don't know.

Hi Karin,
I'm new to the Garden Web and noticed two threads you participated in regarding granite. How fortunate to have a geologist on this site! We installed Wild West green countertops last week. I've been dying to learn more about this amazing stone and was thrilled to find this thread. It was surprising to learn that this is actually a quartz sandstone. I would absolutely love to know what all the various colors are comprised of... the light and dark green, the coral dots (feldspar?) and the deep red veins? Would you be willing to share some of your knowledge about this?

Hi Andcamp,

Yes, I can absolutely share some info about Wild West.

The swoopy patterns are called cross beds, and tell us that the quartz grains were laid down by a current. In the picture here, the water was flowing from left to right, as one can tell by the shape of those swooping layers. So, this is likely a stream bed or a shallow-water coastal area where the water was flowing in a uniform direction. In a tidal area, for example, you'd see the water direction alternating directions with the incoming and outgoing tides.

The quartz grains themselves are clear. The red color is from the mineral hematite, which is iron oxide. This tells us that the rock formed in an environment that had oxygen available. That makes sense. Oxygen is available in shallow water. In very deep water, you get black rocks because the iron stays black and does not turn red via oxidation (aka, rusting).

The overall red/pinkish zones are from the red-colored hematite being in the cement that is bonding the quartz grains together. The dark red zones are from tiny, iron-bearing (dark grey or black) minerals that are surrounded by red hematite. You can only see this if you look at the rock with a strong magnifying glass.

The current also sorts minerals by their size and density. In our rock, there are layers that are very rich in the dark red color. That's because the tiny iron-rich minerals are dense, and all were deposited together. After that, they all turned red as they "rusted."

The spots of red are areas where the hematite is concentrated. This is most likely from a single grain of iron-rich mineral that subsequently oxidized and turned red.

The green layers remain a bit of a mystery to me. The usual reasons for green minerals in a sedimentary rock do not seem likely here. For example, the most common cause of green minerals would be a lack of oxygen. But as we know from the red hematite, that is not true. Another possibility is a green mineral called glauconite that does form in sandstones sometimes. So it could be that, and I did find a few glauconite grains when I searched with a magnifying glass. (And I love that DH doesn't even flinch when he walks into the kitchen and finds me doing this.)

So - does that make sense? Let me know if this answered your questions or just raised more questions.

Enjoy your new stone, it's such a beauty!

Karin

Thanks so much for this great information Karin! Is this a picture of your wild sea granite? I definitely see the similarities. They are such beautiful stones. The cross beds are fascinating and are like a snapshot of that flowing water.

I laughed when I read your comment about the magnifying glass. My DH walked into the kitchen this morning to find me examining the stone with a flashlight ( I couldn't find our magnifying glass!). He just rolls his eyes.

You mentioned that your Wild Sea has garnets. Do you think the Wild West would have them as well? How would I distinguish them from the red hematite? Would they appear less granular and more Quartz-like?

There are a couple of odd looking spots and I'm wondering if they're some type of organic matter caught in the stone. I attached a picture. What are your thoughts?

Green is the predominant color in this stone so would that mean that it is comprised mostly of glauconite? What would that mean I terms of strength and durability?

It occurs to me that you could have a second career as a granite consultant! I would have loved to have you with me at the granite yard! You are a treasure trove of information. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

Ah, too funny about our stone inspection habits! For the record, I actually had both the flashlight and the hand lens out today while I was sussing out the green color.

I was wrong about the garnets. When we first got the stone I thought that's what the dark red spots were. They have a lot in common with the way garnets look (color, shape, size). But once I really looked with the hand lens I could see it was the hematite cement in between the grains that's making the red spots.

If green is your predominant color, that's still just the cement. The rock is still mostly made of quartz and is therefore perfectly durable. Although, now that I look again, yours might have some green grains in addition to green color in between the grains. You might just need to dig out that magnifying glass after all.

I don't know what those odd spots are. I might need a better photo. They sort of look like lenses of clay but the shape isn't quite right for that.

Yes, that is our slab in the photo. We just used stone in a few accent places in the kitchen. Here is a pic of how it looks installed. I made sure they kept the cross bedding going the same direction throughout the three pieces, so the water is flowing from left to right all the way across the peninsula. The fabricators got a kick out of that!

And yes, I would not mind at all to get a little side job as countertop consultant. How fun would that be!

Karin, your Wild Sea countertop is stunning. I love the pink tone and the striations that the cross-bedding made. Just beautiful! I can completely understand why you would want the "water" to flow in the same direction...I would too if I could see it the way that you do.
I found my magnifying glass and you are correct, there are grains of green in this granite. Some are quite vivid. I've attached a picture but they're tough to see in this pic.
One distressing thing I've noticed is that my stone has two very thin cracks running along veins. One crack is in a corner and not too worrisome but the other is on the overhang of the peninsula. My contractor (who had nothing to do with the purchase or installation of the granite) said it is just a part of that vein and not to worry about it (it really is very thin but does run down the side and underneath too). Just wondering if your stone has similar issues?
Anyway I managed to get a few better pics of the mystery blobs and will post them for your inspection.
It's great fun to learn from you!

Karin, this is Mystery blob 1

Karin, this is mystery blob 2

Karin, last one...mystery blob 3
Thanks!

Andcamp,

Those are excellent photos, thank you!

As best as I can tell from the photos, the mystery blobs look like little areas of clay or silt. If you look close you'll see very fine layers and tiny grains. These were formed where the water pooled up instead of flowing quickly.

Yes, our stone has a couple of tiny, thin cracks along some of the layers, but I can't even feel them. This rock seems to be well-cemented (meaning the minerals are held together tightly), even though there are natural layers within the rock. Can you feel the cracks in yours? Either way, my hunch is that it's OK. The layers don't run very far, so neither do the cracks. I might worry a tiny bit if the cracks run parallel to the edge of the counter, or are arranged in such a way that a whole weak section is unsupported from below.

I'm still uncertain about exactly what the green is. Glauconite remains my best guess, but I'm not super confident about that. Green color in sedimentary rocks is most commonly from un-oxidized iron, but that doesn't make much sense either. I'll continue to ponder that one!

Karin, I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear your input about the cracks. My contractor said exactly the same thing and also noted that it would be cracks running parallel to the edge that would be concerning (these are not). We can feel our cracks but they seem very shallow and again very thin.
Thanks for the info about the mystery blobs. All of this information has been so interesting and informative. You're very kind to lend your time and share your expertise. Thank you!

About to purchase some wild west granite! Thanks for the information. Very interesting

andcamp, what are you using for cabinets, floor and backsplash? We are doing light maple shaker cabinets, hardwood oak floor, and a simple backsplash to complement the stone. Maybe a neutral since the stone is so strong.

Hi Lisa,

we went with maple "spice" cabinets and a tile floor. We got super lucky with the backsplash - it's a green glass that goes beautifully with the granite and it was the first tile we chose (again, super lucky). We did a large square tile floor, again in a subtle green tone. We had a tough time with that tile...many, many samples. In hindsight I would have done a wood floor because finding that tile was very difficult (but we do love it).

the Wild West granite is my favorite part of our kitchen. I am constantly admiring it and I've received many compliments on its beauty and unique look.

Best of luck with yournew kitchen!

Thanks. How does your granite run? I convinced DH to go with the darker cabinet. Still deciding on the floor. What was your tile? I would really appreciate it the name and a picture!

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Our granite runs from the front of our kitchen to the back (the long way) and all pieces run the same way.

Our floor tile came from Daltile and is from their "Concrete Connection" collection. The color is City Elm. We went with a 20 x 20 square tile.

Thanks to all in this thread! Going with cuisimax maple cavalier tone carpet. A medium tone. Still obsessing about floor and pendant. Prob hdwd. Love this thread!

One tip that might be helpful (sure did help us)...bring your cabinet sample and tile or hardwood floor sample to the stone yard (if possible) and hold everything up against your slab. That helped my husband and I to eliminate many tile samples and also helped to reassure us of the ones we ultimately chose (we made many trips to that stone yard!).

I'm sure your kitchen will turn out beautifully. Best of luck and send some pics when it's done!

andcamp, your kitchen is really pretty. Love the cabinets and the backsplash. Would love to see close up of the counters.

Thanks so much, tinker1121. This is a picture of our slab in the stone yard and a picture of it installed in our kitchen.

i actually think it's much prettier in person. You lose some of the color variations in the photos.

I really like it!

Love it, love it!!! Thanks for sharing.

so happy to find this thread on wild sea! we are close to choosing this slab for our countertops. the length between the blue tape is what were thinking for our longest span (103") with the sink cut out where the inner blue tape is. then we have 2 smaller sections measuring 34x25 and 45x34. we are thinking to have the 2 smaller ones cut with as much of the bottom green as possible running horizontal, as it feels like mountains rising out of the green ocean. the 45-34 will be a small eating peninsula and the smaller for a small area next to the stove. any input/ideas? thanks!!

Oh what a beautiful slab that is! We have Wild Sea too, so I'm already a fan, but yours is perhaps the nicest slab I've seen. It really does look like a mountain range.

It looks like you are using it wisely. I agree with your choices. Actually every part of the slab looks totally usable. I love how the fabricator put hearts on your favorite parts. Or at least I assume that's what that is. (Or some amorous graffiti artist went wild in the slab yard?)

Enjoy the giddy excitement!

thanks!! it is their last wild sea slab and are discontinuing it...how anyone could pass this one up is beyond me; i wonder how nice the other ones were! and yes, she put hearts for the areas we wanted.

This truly is a beautiful slab. I love the section you chose and I can also see the mountains in the pattern. I can't believe the granite yard is discontinuing it. Sometime I think people assume that the movement will be overwhelming but I actually find it to be very peaceful. My wild west stone reminds me of the flowing water that created the wavy pattern. Please send pics when it's installed! Enjoy!

karin_mt -- The 'green' in this thread interested me. I was able to confirm the name of our granite through a link here, and now I'm curious. It's Costa Esmerelda (sort of a 'dollar green'), and the chart lists its origin as Iran. There are no others listed coming from there. Is it unusual for granite sold in the US to come from that part of the world? Can you tell me anything about this granite? I have never even sealed it -- installed 14 years ago -- but we are just two adults. Thanks for any insights on this.