Hornblende-bearing Rock

This specimen is a hornblende-rich rock from the Homer Tunnel area in Fiordland, a region renowned for its deep crustal rocks exposed by uplift and glacial erosion. Hornblende is a dark, elongate amphibole mineral rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium, commonly forming in intermediate to mafic igneous rocks and in high-grade metamorphic environments.

The specimen shows dark hornblende crystals intergrown with lighter feldspar- and quartz-rich material, suggesting an igneous or strongly metamorphosed origin, consistent with Fiordland’s granulite- and amphibolite-facies geology. Rocks from this area represent some of the deepest levels of New Zealand’s continental crust, making specimens from Homer Tunnel particularly valuable for illustrating crustal evolution and tectonic processes.

This example is representative rather than crystal-specific, serving as an educational specimen demonstrating hornblende as a major rock-forming mineral rather than a display crystal.

58 x 42 x 40mm

126g