MARK'S
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Fulgurites, Fossils, and Minerals

This is a picture that I took while looking for fulgurites on Bear Island (Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro, NC). The island is about 3.5 miles long and less than 1 mile wide, with sand dunes as high as about 50 feet above sea level. A maritime forest is also on one end of the island and shelters deer and other small critters, including dune tigers (feral cats). Sea turtles visit the island to lay their eggs. It is a very fun place to visit, but on the interior of the island where the large dunes are, surface temperatures can reach 120 degrees or more in the summer. That is where I find the fulgurites.

What are FULGURITES? They are works of art produced by nature when lightning travels through the sand. The intense heat melts the sand grains (silica) and makes a hollow tube that is glass-lined on the inside and rough on the outside. In the photo below, you may be able to see the exquisite detail on the exterior. Some specimens have branches, some have bands of light and dark colored sand, some are almost transparent; no two are exactly alike.

The fulgurite to the right stands 7.5 inches tall! If someone were to offer me $3,000 for it, I would have to take some time to think about it, for I may never find another one like it. I have seen pictures of fulgurites from Egypt, which are slightly larger and selling for over $1,000, but the quality of what I've seen from other locations does not even come close to the quality of the specimens pictured here. I read in a book that 'a fine specimen is worth its weight in gold'. Well, to some collectors, these specimens are worth more than gold!