Description

Mookaite Jasper is found only in Kennedy Ranges of Western Australia in outcroppings near Mooka Creek, the area for which it is named. The Aboriginal term ” Mooka” means “running waters” and refers to the numerous springs that feed into this area. Mookaite was formed as the skeletal remains or Radiolaria, microscopic protozoa with a hard silica shell, were deposited over millennia as sediment in shallow areas of seabeds. As waters receded, the remains were solidified by additional silica carried in groundwater, along with minerals that produced its beautiful combinations of red, burgundy, mustard-yellow, cream, white, brown, mauve, and purple. Mookaite Jasper is described as chert, opalite, or chalcedony, or a combination of the three, and occurs as nodules in the softer clay beneath the creek bed or as multicolored sheets of chalcedony.