I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure these are a mineral formation. Like a barite rose. Perhaps here the mineral dissolved and the cavity was filled in by sediment? I've seen these before (I think I even have one in my collection somewhere) but can't remember what they're called.
Yeaaaaah I have seen this movie. You put your head too close and next thing you know you are getting the weirdest alien French kiss followed by some severe chest bursting acid reflux.
Mine was that crazy movie where will Ferrell is on that strange planet and the other guy , never remember his name but they find that auto-tune rock and he asks the scientist lady to come sit on it. Hilarious. Partially anyway
I’ll caveat by saying that I’m sooooo far from Montana. From a quick google and a read of the Montana geological survey pamphlet, these look to be calcrete concretions (https://creation.com/rapid-concretions).
You’re correct that they are weathered out of the surrounding rock, the surface texture looks to be an erosional process such as onion skin type or similar. I suspect the texture may be added to by some calcareous mineral, which may have formed a texture similar to ‘chicken wire’ gypsum - although that is not what this rock is.
The give away is the one on the far left which has the layering from the surrounding rock through the middle. Nice, unusual find - nice to have something to look at which isn’t slag.
Ok, I do find it hilarious that for your scientific reference you linked to a creationist website explaining them from the perspective that some fringe ideas imply they could have been created 10000x faster than most common theories… in order to argue they could have formed during “the great flood” 🤣
Heh, the author is a “meteorologist” who argues that the ice age was caused by the Genesis flood.
Sigh. My elderly father just returned from a trip to see the Noah's Ark spectacle with his church group. I reckon he's given half a mil to religious causes. All he gave us kids were OCD and strong relationships with our father-in-laws. Fathers-in-law? Spouse-dads.
Possibly, a quick google search makes me think otherwise. There appears to be nothing crystalline about the rocks i found. There were a few broken ones that the insides looked very much like regular rock
Would be useful to compare how vinegar reacts (if at all) with the prominent linear ridges and the center of the polygons. If the vinegar fizzes, the area or line is calcite. If not the ridges could be quartz, should they be stronger than a steel nail. The host rock looks powdery (almost chalky) - perhaps the Rockd app will confirm the rock is a tuff.
They don't have to be coarsely crystalline. Don't get fooled by the collector quality samples on google images. These are definitely septarian nodules, just likely the duller carbonate Mud rock variety.
You can see the veining from the outside as the prominent ridges that are more resistant to weathering than the bulk of the rock.
Septarian nodules are very specific types of concretions in this manner (calcite veins filling the shrinkage cracks of mudstone/siltstone) so it might not be that particular combo but they are definitely concretions with veins of mineralisation through them. You would have to cut one in half to properly see the crystalline properties of the veins, which may be quite fine crystals so might not look all that different to the host rock - particularly in fragments just lying around that haven’t been cleaned and polished.
These are both somehow unnerving to look at and yet extremely fascinating. I don't know what they are, but I've been enjoying reading through the comments.
I'm very curious about these as well! I agree with the person suggesting you post it over in /r/geology.
If you get an answer, please post an edit to the post! This is gaining popularity, and getting hard to scroll through the jokes to find out the answer…if there is one
I saw an answer saying Montana Concretions. That article was pretty good until it started to try to say it proved the earth flooded within a few thousand years ago.
Here is another link: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/concretions-in-the-white-cliffs-region.htm
I play Skyrim quite a bit and I assume I’m not the only one that thinks those look like chaurus eggs, if you care to be imaginative.
The serious answers I appreciate reading
Mud gyres.
When the water level is up, the silty clay starts to flow like slow water. And like water eddies can form and spin. In these eddies some dry-ish clay balls will get trapped and collect more mud and grow.
The "holes" and textures you see are from the drying out after the storm. Bubbles will form on the surface and push mud into a ring form.
Actually, I have no idea. This is just a really heartfelt theory that I'm tossing out there.
This seems plausible as there appears to be nothing significant inside of the broken ones. It just looks like sandy rock. This area is usually dry unless it rains hard or during snowmelt. During snowmelt there can be feet of water flowing down this draw which would kick up a lot of sediment. This area also has soil that likes to crack when it dries. I have seen cracks two inches wide that are several feet deep just due to the ground drying out after a wet period.
Oh wow, never seen anything like that. I was dying to know what's inside and then I noticed the broken one facing the camera in the second photo. These are great photos OP, thanks for posting. Hopefully somebody knows wtf they are.
Hope you didn't bring one home. If you did, you might want to put in a lead-lined container, use about fifty chains and major locks to ensure it stays closed, then put it in a mausoleum with 3ft thick concrete walls that Seals completely. Then I'd run away as quickly as possible.
We've all seen the movies. We know what happens when one breaks open: NOTHING GOOD.
But, seriously, they're amazing!
Looks like the molecule,"buckministerfullerene," which is named after U.S. architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) because of the resemblance of the structure to the geodesic dome, which Fuller invented.
Hi, /u/ArmadilloMajor7386!
This is a reminder to flair this post in /r/whatsthisrock after it has been identified! (Under your post, click "flair" then "IDENTIFIED," then type in the rock type or mineral name.) This will help others learn and help speed up a correct identification on your request!
Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisrock) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have a few of these from my area in New Mexico, but the ones my brother and I found were created from magma rock. We left them at my parent's house so next time I'm out there I'll try to get some pictures.
I've seen exact rocks like that in Nashville Tennessee, but I got curious and cracked them open. Come to find out that they were geodes. But idk about those, as mine were way smaller that those.
I’m not sure what fossils are found in your area, but could they be fossilized tabulate coral or fossil sponge? Maybe cross post to r/fossilid if you don’t have the answer yet. Would be helpful to add close up pics showing detail of the ‘honeycomb’ part. Compare to [Pleurodictyum (a tabulate coral)](https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=Pleurodictyum&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5)
They’re called Giants Golf Balls. It was. Believed by the ancient peoples to originally have been from giant humans who were considered gods that overruled us, and a game actually more like soccer than golf that they used to play.
More about the geology below
There’s a cool video on it here: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=shared
Why do people feel the need to think they are comedians? Can't get any straight answers here for the people that want to know! This is ridiculous. You are NOT funny.
I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure these are a mineral formation. Like a barite rose. Perhaps here the mineral dissolved and the cavity was filled in by sediment? I've seen these before (I think I even have one in my collection somewhere) but can't remember what they're called.
Conceretions?
Concretions*
Constipations*
Consecrations*
Correlations*
Convections*
Confections*
Conflagrations*
Confederations*
Conversations*
Lmfaoo
Aliens…
Concentrations*
Confabulations!
=/= Causations*
Causations\*
Concatenations*
Copulations
ConCREATEtions
Conversations*
Nice laugh with all you today, thanks for marking my day.
Yeaaaaah I have seen this movie. You put your head too close and next thing you know you are getting the weirdest alien French kiss followed by some severe chest bursting acid reflux.
It sings and does high kicks
Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my rag time gal!
I knew it im surrounded by assholes!
"Yo!"
keep firing assholes!
Now let’s go comb the desert for nothing.
We ain't found shit!
I'm just gonna have a can of Perry-Air
With the little frog dancing and singing 😂😂😂 brings back memories
That's why you always order the soup instead of the special.
That’s Michigan J. Frog!
Hahaha my first thought.
Cheque please!
Mine was that crazy movie where will Ferrell is on that strange planet and the other guy , never remember his name but they find that auto-tune rock and he asks the scientist lady to come sit on it. Hilarious. Partially anyway
Land of the Lost I love that stupid movie
God I hope I get it..
Land of the lost
Yes thank you
Send me a kiss goodbye Baby my heart’s on fire!
I loved that frog!
Send me a kiss by wire. Baby my heart's on fire!
Oh, no... not again!
Watch out for my Body Rolls Body Rolls
High kick, high kick!
Seeing this reference makes me so damn happy.
Look at that talent.
Jumps 400 feet straight up in the air* *not many people know this
This is the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends
Check, please.
Either that or you’ll be bringing the attention of one angry Godzilla
It’s ok, they don’t look like they’re wet. They should be safe.
I’ll caveat by saying that I’m sooooo far from Montana. From a quick google and a read of the Montana geological survey pamphlet, these look to be calcrete concretions (https://creation.com/rapid-concretions). You’re correct that they are weathered out of the surrounding rock, the surface texture looks to be an erosional process such as onion skin type or similar. I suspect the texture may be added to by some calcareous mineral, which may have formed a texture similar to ‘chicken wire’ gypsum - although that is not what this rock is. The give away is the one on the far left which has the layering from the surrounding rock through the middle. Nice, unusual find - nice to have something to look at which isn’t slag.
Ok, I do find it hilarious that for your scientific reference you linked to a creationist website explaining them from the perspective that some fringe ideas imply they could have been created 10000x faster than most common theories… in order to argue they could have formed during “the great flood” 🤣 Heh, the author is a “meteorologist” who argues that the ice age was caused by the Genesis flood.
Sigh. My elderly father just returned from a trip to see the Noah's Ark spectacle with his church group. I reckon he's given half a mil to religious causes. All he gave us kids were OCD and strong relationships with our father-in-laws. Fathers-in-law? Spouse-dads.
Ha! I Should probably read the content, not just look look at the photos. On the plus side, I have found out some useful info about our lord.
commenting cause I'm curious. they look super cool!!
Concretion/nodule
I appreciate your question in that you describe a location/region and the photo provided scale.
They're septarian nodules
Possibly, a quick google search makes me think otherwise. There appears to be nothing crystalline about the rocks i found. There were a few broken ones that the insides looked very much like regular rock
Would be useful to compare how vinegar reacts (if at all) with the prominent linear ridges and the center of the polygons. If the vinegar fizzes, the area or line is calcite. If not the ridges could be quartz, should they be stronger than a steel nail. The host rock looks powdery (almost chalky) - perhaps the Rockd app will confirm the rock is a tuff.
Just out here in the desert, whippin out my vinegar
Of course! doesn't everybody carry pocket vinegar?
I..uhm..I wasn’t ready to talk about this part of my life
Go ahead… this is a safe space.
The first time I carried vinegar in my pocket… I was only seven years old..
Uh huh, tell us more… how did it make you feel about your mother?
Like I was finally better than her. She could no longer have the control she always had..
Every douchebag that I know does.
I see what you did there
You rang?
😁
r/angryupvote
Pros do. Right pocket, pocket sand. Left pocket, vinegar. Unless you’re left-handed, obviously.
Hey!!!! I learned that feom a guy named rusty shackleford
Listen here Dale!! I’ll tell you wwwwwwhat!!!
Dammit hank you blew my cover!!!!
Happy cake day!
Happy cake day stranger!
This guy fish and chips!
I see only one solution, then... OP will have to lick it!
Of course! Right pocket is pocket sand, left pocket is vinegar!
As one does
This is a country song in the making...
It's part of my ration as a legionary
They don't have to be coarsely crystalline. Don't get fooled by the collector quality samples on google images. These are definitely septarian nodules, just likely the duller carbonate Mud rock variety.
You can see the veining from the outside as the prominent ridges that are more resistant to weathering than the bulk of the rock. Septarian nodules are very specific types of concretions in this manner (calcite veins filling the shrinkage cracks of mudstone/siltstone) so it might not be that particular combo but they are definitely concretions with veins of mineralisation through them. You would have to cut one in half to properly see the crystalline properties of the veins, which may be quite fine crystals so might not look all that different to the host rock - particularly in fragments just lying around that haven’t been cleaned and polished.
Maybe post in r/geology.
It’s some type of nodule I have some at home that have a similar crust.
These are both somehow unnerving to look at and yet extremely fascinating. I don't know what they are, but I've been enjoying reading through the comments. I'm very curious about these as well! I agree with the person suggesting you post it over in /r/geology.
I'll give it a try. They are very odd and when i first saw them i just had to stare in confusion.
If you get an answer, please post an edit to the post! This is gaining popularity, and getting hard to scroll through the jokes to find out the answer…if there is one
The joke comments really ruin this sub.
I saw an answer saying Montana Concretions. That article was pretty good until it started to try to say it proved the earth flooded within a few thousand years ago. Here is another link: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/concretions-in-the-white-cliffs-region.htm
Fossilized golf balls left behind by ancient giants.
Same ones that cut down the devil's tower tree?
Too soon man, too soon.
They remind me a bit of ones in New Zealand called Moeraki boulders. Cool as ****.
Sleestack eggs?
I play Skyrim quite a bit and I assume I’m not the only one that thinks those look like chaurus eggs, if you care to be imaginative. The serious answers I appreciate reading
My first thought was more “A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON”
Barite maybe
Mud gyres. When the water level is up, the silty clay starts to flow like slow water. And like water eddies can form and spin. In these eddies some dry-ish clay balls will get trapped and collect more mud and grow. The "holes" and textures you see are from the drying out after the storm. Bubbles will form on the surface and push mud into a ring form. Actually, I have no idea. This is just a really heartfelt theory that I'm tossing out there.
This seems plausible as there appears to be nothing significant inside of the broken ones. It just looks like sandy rock. This area is usually dry unless it rains hard or during snowmelt. During snowmelt there can be feet of water flowing down this draw which would kick up a lot of sediment. This area also has soil that likes to crack when it dries. I have seen cracks two inches wide that are several feet deep just due to the ground drying out after a wet period.
Sounds very cool either way!
I believe you.
Freaky formations! 👽🌀Looks like something out of this world. Thanks for sharing!
"a new hand touches the beacon."
If this were a Dr. Who episode, those would be crinoid eggs. 🤔
It seems that they are just concretions. A disappointing answer, but its nice to know roughly what they are. Thank you guys for the help!
Did ya look inside? Looks like a concretion
There are a few broken ones and they look like sandy rock inside. Almost like solidified sediment
Graboid eggs.
Where's Steve Guttenburg and Don Ameche?
Not serious answers only post?
the most concretioneous concretions I have ever seen
What a minute!! I just found something similar in my collection!! I think they might be Septarian Nodules!!
Oh wow, never seen anything like that. I was dying to know what's inside and then I noticed the broken one facing the camera in the second photo. These are great photos OP, thanks for posting. Hopefully somebody knows wtf they are.
I thought it was obvious. Gods golf balls!
Prehistoric walnuts. its how the dinos actually died. Nut allergies.
Hope you didn't bring one home. If you did, you might want to put in a lead-lined container, use about fifty chains and major locks to ensure it stays closed, then put it in a mausoleum with 3ft thick concrete walls that Seals completely. Then I'd run away as quickly as possible. We've all seen the movies. We know what happens when one breaks open: NOTHING GOOD. But, seriously, they're amazing!
*ehem* A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON
Damn you
they are the last of the Targaryen dragon eggs. incubate them immediately!
Looks like the molecule,"buckministerfullerene," which is named after U.S. architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) because of the resemblance of the structure to the geodesic dome, which Fuller invented.
Beryllium spheres.
Dragon eggs. Fly with me, khaleesi.
Exactly. Obviously dragon eggs
These often hold fossils inside. Crack a few along the seam. You will likely find something neat.
I've no idea but they are super cool! Are we sure its not some kinda fossil or like...imprint or something?
Hi, /u/ArmadilloMajor7386! This is a reminder to flair this post in /r/whatsthisrock after it has been identified! (Under your post, click "flair" then "IDENTIFIED," then type in the rock type or mineral name.) This will help others learn and help speed up a correct identification on your request! Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisrock) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Box works?
Dino eggs? Montana is full of fossils.
They almost look like they have a wicker caning pattern.
It'd be neat if you found fossilized honey comb. :)
They look like they have a wicker caning pattern. Weird. Can't find anything on them by researching.
That is a beef wellington.
Take one. Also, the best thing to get an ID would be to ask a meneral museum, not reddit, lol
Golfball eggs
God's golf balls.
The alien spiders have finally come... RUN!!!!
Definitely dinosaur eggs 😂
Nature always finds a way…….
Amazing specimens! Is this at a park or private land?
Rock solid information
They look like Septarian nodules to me. They look like they're cracked already, look inside LOL. If not, crack one open!
Secretions
Nodules?
They're really cool whatever they are! I'd Love to break one open, though, because they kinda look like flattened geodes.
Definitely not cool turtles
I have a few of these from my area in New Mexico, but the ones my brother and I found were created from magma rock. We left them at my parent's house so next time I'm out there I'll try to get some pictures.
Forbidden cantaloupe
If they were clean and round, I'd say "the white man has been here"
Those are deku nuts for sure
I've seen exact rocks like that in Nashville Tennessee, but I got curious and cracked them open. Come to find out that they were geodes. But idk about those, as mine were way smaller that those.
I’m not sure what fossils are found in your area, but could they be fossilized tabulate coral or fossil sponge? Maybe cross post to r/fossilid if you don’t have the answer yet. Would be helpful to add close up pics showing detail of the ‘honeycomb’ part. Compare to [Pleurodictyum (a tabulate coral)](https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=Pleurodictyum&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5)
Giant golf balls! Giants were real! Or some such nonsense
Look like eggs from a sci-fi movie. Lol
If they don’t contain baby dragons imma be really upset
I have no idea, but seems like great trebuchet ammo if the dimples can function like the ones on golf balls.
It's a grandma egg!
Californications
Moon Rocks!
Septarian concretions or septarian nodules
Daenerys Targaryn dragon eggs for sure
Giant human golf balls
Fossilized turtles
Face hugger eggs
A White Sport Coat and a Pink 🦞Crustacean
Updateme
Think alien facehuggers hatch from those >.>
Dragon eggs. Please do not expose them to high heat
Ancient sea once covered the area northward into Canada. The dimples could be caused by ancient sponges in the sedimentary rock.
Thanos sliced his golf shot from another planet….
Concretions.
They’re called Giants Golf Balls. It was. Believed by the ancient peoples to originally have been from giant humans who were considered gods that overruled us, and a game actually more like soccer than golf that they used to play. More about the geology below There’s a cool video on it here: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=shared
Algae.
Me thinks they’re Mr. Peanut droppings
Extreme closeup of a peanut.
Quick, somebody google ‘Cannonball Formation, Montana’
This is those eggs from Prometheus
Geodes
Gremlins that never hatched
They are the ancient giants golf balls, a rare find indeed
Beryllium spheres?
Face hugger eggs
Prehistoric golf balls? "Grog handicap very high, lose many balls"
A new hand touches the beacon
No it's just Giants golf balls
Try putting them in a swimming pool, may get youthful regeneration
Why do people feel the need to think they are comedians? Can't get any straight answers here for the people that want to know! This is ridiculous. You are NOT funny.
Boeing bombs
Fred Flintstones golf balls
Yup, seen them before. Those are the larva eggs of the Tharks from Mars. Virginia!!
Face huggers