What is an Indian Marble?

Below is a transcription of the above sign found at the Valley of Fire Visitor Center.

Nodules form when water carrying calcite, silica, or other minerals percolate through sediments and meets hard object: a quartz crystal or something organic.

The water slows down, seeking a way around the hard substance.

This causes the water-borne minerals to be deposited around the subject.

Concentric layers of these minerals form a nodule or concretion with the hard material in the center.

Some fossil dunes in Valley of Fire contain these nodules. They appear as hard, rounded spheres attached to the rock surface or lying on the ground nearby.

They are sometimes called “Indian marbles.”

Please leave our Indian marbles where you find them.

Help us preserve the national treasures of the Valley of Fire.

Category: Sedimentary

Time Period: Mesozoic Era

Composition: Crystalized quartz, calcite, silica, or other minerals

Location: Along the main road near the entrance to Petrified Logs, and at Rainbow Vista