Northwest Research Obsidian Source Reference Database
All obsidian sources listed below, except those marked with an asterisk (*), have been analyzed at the Northwest Research Obsidian Studies Laboratory. These sources make up the obsidian source reference universe with which artifact trace element data are compared and correlated. The trace element composition of sources designated by an asterisk are currently known to us only through literature references. For additional source information and alternate source names, take the active state links to the U. S. Obsidian Source Catalog.
NEW: We have now begun to make the results of the XRF analysis of obsidian reference samples available for downloading (as Adobe Acrobat PDF files). Feel free to use these data for your academic or research purposes although we would appreciate it if you would contact us if you plan to publish any Northwest Research data.
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button to the left if you need a free viewer.For information about our basalt source reference database from the Lake Tahoe region, click here.
SOURCE |
REFERENCES or PDF |
Batza Tena |
-- |
Suemez Island |
-- |
Wiki Peak (Nutzotin Mountains) |
-- |
Black Tank |
-- |
Burro Creek |
-- |
Cow Canyon |
-- |
Deadman Mesa |
-- |
Government Mountain |
-- |
Grants Ridge |
-- |
Horace Mesa |
-- |
Kendrick Peak |
-- |
O'Leary Peak/Robinson Crater |
-- |
Partridge Creek (Round Mountain) |
-- |
Presley Wash |
-- |
Red Hill |
-- |
RS Hill |
-- |
San Francisco Peaks (Fremont-Agassiz Saddle) |
-- |
Sand Tanks |
-- |
Sitgreaves Mountain |
-- |
Slate Mountain (Wallace Tank) |
-- |
South Sauceda Mountains * |
|
Superior |
-- |
Tank Mountains * |
|
Vulture |
-- |
Anahim |
-- |
Garibaldi |
-- |
Ilgachuz |
-- |
Mount Edziza (multiple varieties) |
-- |
Alturas Airport Unknown (FGV) |
-- |
Annadel, North Coast Ranges |
-- |
Blue Mountain |
-- |
Blue Spring, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Bodie Hills |
-- |
Borax Lake, North Coast Ranges |
-- |
Bristol Mountains (Bagdad) |
-- |
Buck Mountain, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Buffalo Hills (South Warners 2, Unknown B) |
-- |
Burdell Mountain, North Coast Ranges |
-- |
Callahan Flow, Medicine Lake Highlands |
-- |
Casa Diablo: Prospect Ridge * |
|
Casa Diablo: Lookout Mountain |
-- |
Casa Diablo: Sawmill Ridge |
-- |
Chalk Spring Junction * |
|
Coso: Joshua Ridge * |
|
Coso: Sugarloaf |
-- |
Coso: West Cactus Peak * |
|
Coso: West Sugarloaf |
-- |
Cougar Butte, Medicine Lake Highlands |
-- |
Cowhead Lake, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Del Prat Spring * |
|
East Glass Mountain, Medicine Lake Highlands * |
|
East Medicine Lake, Medicine Lake Highlands (Stoney Rhyolite Core, Yellowjacket) |
-- |
Fish Lake Valley |
-- |
Fish Springs |
-- |
Franz Valley, North Coast Ranges |
-- |
Franz Valley 2, North Coast Ranges * |
|
Fredonyer Peak |
-- |
GF/LIW/RS (Grasshopper Flat, Lost Iron Well, Red Switchback) |
-- |
Glass Mountain Chemical Group, Medicine Lake Highlands (Glass Mountain, Grouse Hill, Little Glass Mountain) |
-- |
Grimes Canyon Fused Shale |
-- |
Guilicos, North Coast Ranges * |
|
Hackberry Mountain * |
Unpublished reference |
Harris Flat, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Jess Valley |
-- |
Kelly Mountain |
-- |
Logo |
-- |
Los Guilicos A and B, North Coast Ranges * |
|
Mono Craters (Panum Dome) |
-- |
Mono Glass Mountain |
-- |
Mt. Konocti, North Coast Ranges |
-- |
Napa Valley, North Coast Ranges (Napa Glass Mountain) |
-- |
Obsidian Butte |
-- |
Queen |
-- |
Railroad Grade, Medicine Lake Highlands |
-- |
Rainbow Mines, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Resting Spring Range |
-- |
Saline Valley 1 (Queen Imposter) |
-- |
Saline Valley 2 |
-- |
Saline Valley 3 |
-- |
South Warners, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Sugar Hill, Warner Mountains |
-- |
Trinity, North Coast Ranges * |
|
Tuscan: Backbone Ridge-Cow Creek |
-- |
Tuscan: Paradise Ridge 1-2 |
-- |
Tuscan: Paynes-Inks Creek |
-- |
El Chayal, Guatemala |
|
Ixtepeque, Guatemala |
|
Jalapa, Guatemala |
-- |
San Martin Jilotepeque (Pachay), Guatemala |
|
Beaver Creek |
-- |
Cochetopa Dome |
-- |
Nathrop/Ruby Mountain |
-- |
Silver Cliff |
-- |
Orito, Easter Island |
-- |
Rano Kau I, Easter Island |
-- |
Rano Kau II, Easter Island |
-- |
Pu'uwa'awa'a, Hawaii |
-- |
American Falls |
-- |
Bear Gulch |
-- |
Bear Gulch 2 |
-- |
Big Southern Butte |
-- |
Big Springs |
-- |
Browns Bench |
-- |
Cannonball Mountain |
-- |
Chesterfield * |
|
Jordan Creek |
-- |
Kelly Canyon |
-- |
Malad |
-- |
Owyhee |
-- |
Partridge Creek * |
|
Reas Pass (Yale Creek) |
-- |
Reynolds |
|
Sinker Canyon |
-- |
South Partridge Creek * |
|
Timber Butte |
-- |
Upper Fish Creek Road * |
|
Wedge Butte |
-- |
Lipari |
-- |
Melos |
-- |
Monte Arci, Sardinia (several varieties) |
-- |
Palmarola |
-- |
Pantelleria |
-- |
Agua Fria, Sonora, Mexico |
|
Lago Barreal, Sonora, Mexico |
|
Los Vidrios, Sonora, Mexico |
-- |
Magdalena, Jalisco, Mexico |
-- |
Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico |
-- |
San Felipe, Baja, Mexico * |
Unpublished reference |
Sierra La Brena, Chihuahua, Mexico |
|
Tres Virgines (Valle del Azufre), Baja, Mexico * |
|
Zinapequaro, Michoacan, Mexico |
-- |
Montana Creek |
-- |
Badger Creek |
-- |
Browns Bench (Brown's Bench) |
-- |
Box Spring * |
|
BS/PP/FM (Bordwell Spring, Pinto Peak, Fox Mountain) |
-- |
Buffalo Hills (South Warners 2, Unknown B) |
|
Butte Mountain * |
|
Castle Mountain * |
Unpublished reference |
CB Concrete |
-- |
Cloverdale Canyon A and B |
-- |
Coyote Spring (FGV) |
-- |
Crow Spring |
-- |
Delamar Range A and B |
-- |
Devil Peak East |
-- |
Devil Peak West * |
|
Double H Mountains |
-- |
Ferguson Wash |
-- |
Garfield Hills |
-- |
Goldfield Hills (Stonewall Flat) |
-- |
Hawks Valley |
-- |
Kane Springs Wash Caldera Variety 1, NV (Delamar Mountains) |
-- |
Kane Springs Wash Caldera Variety 2, NV (Kane Springs) |
-- |
Long Valley |
-- |
Massacre Lake/Guano Valley |
-- |
Modena |
-- |
Montezuma Range * |
Unpublished reference |
Mosquito Lake A and B |
-- |
Mt. Hicks |
-- |
Mt. Majuba |
-- |
Oak Spring Butte (Split Ridge/Pahute Mesa, Tubb Spring) |
-- |
Obsidian Butte, NV, Variety 1 |
-- |
Obsidian Butte, NV, Variety 2 (Airfield Canyon) (Obsidian Butte Variety H-3, Sarcobatus Flat A) |
-- |
Obsidian Butte, NV, Variety 3 (Obsidian Butte) (Obsidian Butte Variety H-5, Sarcobatus Flat B) |
-- |
Obsidian Butte, NV, Variety 4 (Obsidian Butte) (Obsidian Butte Variety H-5, Sarcobatus Flat B) |
-- |
Obsidian Butte, NV, Variety 5 (Unknown C) |
-- |
Oreana |
-- |
Pancake Mountain * |
Unpublished reference |
Paradise Valley |
-- |
Pierson Summit |
-- |
Shoshone Mountain (Fortymile/Topopah/Yucca Wash) |
-- |
Silverpeak |
-- |
Soldier Meadow |
-- |
South Kawich Range (Apache Tear Canyon) |
-- |
South Pahroc |
-- |
Sutro Springs |
-- |
Tempiute Mountain (Butte Valley Unknown B) |
|
White Rock Canyon * |
|
Antelope Wells * |
|
Banco Bonito, Valles Caldera |
-- |
Bear Springs Peak |
-- |
Bearhead Peak * |
|
Canovas Canyon * |
|
Cerro del Medio, Valles Caldera |
-- |
Grants Ridge, Mt. Taylor Volcanic Field |
-- |
Gwynn and Ewe Canyons * |
|
Horace Mesa, Mt. Taylor Volcanic Field |
-- |
Mule Creek |
-- |
No Agua Peaks (North Hill) |
-- |
Obsidian Ridge, Jemez Mountains |
-- |
Polvadera Peak (El Rechuelos), Jemez Mountains |
-- |
Red Hill * |
|
Rio Grande Gravels * |
|
Bald Butte |
Also see Carlon (Bald Butte) |
Barren Valley |
-- |
Bear Creek (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Beatys Butte |
-- |
Beaver Mountain (Dooley Mountain) |
-- |
Big Bend (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Big Obsidian Flow (Big Obsidian Flow, Buried Obsidian Flow) |
|
Big Stick |
-- |
Blowfly Spring (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Brooks Canyon |
-- |
Buck Spring |
-- |
Buena Vista |
-- |
Bull Lake (FGV) |
-- |
Burns |
-- |
Burnt Mountain |
-- |
Butte Creek |
-- |
Carlon (Bald Butte) |
Bald Butte |
Carver Flow |
-- |
Catlow |
-- |
Chickahominy |
-- |
China Hat |
-- |
China Lake |
-- |
Clackamas River |
-- |
Coglan Buttes |
-- |
Cold Point |
-- |
Cougar Mountain |
-- |
Coyote Wells |
-- |
Coyote Wells East |
-- |
Crazy Creek (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Crooked Creek (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Curtis Creek (Indian Grade Spring Unknown 2) |
-- |
Deer Creek |
-- |
Delintment Lake |
-- |
Devil Point |
-- |
Devils Overlook |
-- |
Diatomite Reservoir |
-- |
Dog Hill |
-- |
Double O |
-- |
Drews Creek/Butcher Flat |
-- |
Dry Creek Canyon (FGV) |
-- |
Duncan Creek |
-- |
East Butte |
-- |
East Lake Fissure, Newberry Caldera |
-- |
Ebell Creek, Dooley Mountain |
-- |
Eldorado (Whitman National Forest) |
-- |
Freezeout Lake (FGV) |
-- |
Glass Buttes 1 (Glass Buttes) |
|
Glass Buttes 2 |
|
Glass Buttes 3 |
|
Glass Buttes 4 |
|
Glass Buttes 5 |
|
Glass Buttes 6 |
|
Glass Buttes 7 |
|
Glass Buttes 8 |
|
Glass Buttes 9 |
|
Grassy Mountain A and B |
-- |
Gregory Creek |
-- |
Guyer Creek |
-- |
Hager Mountain |
-- |
Hart Mountain |
-- |
Hawks Valley |
-- |
Horse Mountain |
-- |
Horse Mountain B |
-- |
Hurley Spring |
-- |
Indian Creek (Dooley Mountain) |
-- |
Indian Creek Buttes |
-- |
Indian Creek Buttes B |
-- |
John Day Formation |
-- |
Jordan Creek |
-- |
Juniper Spring Hill |
-- |
Klamath Marsh 1 |
-- |
Klamath Marsh 2 |
-- |
Lemiti Creek |
-- |
Little Garden |
-- |
Little Obsidian Flow, Newberry Volcano |
-- |
Lizard Creek (FGV) |
-- |
Logan Valley |
-- |
Lowell Vitrophyre |
-- |
Massacre Lake/Guano Valley |
-- |
McComb Butte |
-- |
McComb Butte Impostor |
-- |
McKay Butte, Newberry Volcano |
-- |
Mud Ridge |
-- |
Mutton Mountains |
-- |
New Era |
-- |
Newberry Volcano (Central Pumice Cone Flow, East Lake Flows, Game Hut Flow, Interlake Flow) |
-- |
Obsidian Cliffs |
-- |
Parsnip Creek |
-- |
Paulina Peak, Newberry Volcano |
-- |
Poison Creek (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Quartz Mountain, Newberry Volcano |
-- |
Rhododendron Ridge |
-- |
Riley |
-- |
Rimrock Spring |
-- |
Rock Mesa |
-- |
Round Top Butte |
-- |
Silver Lake/Sycan Marsh |
-- |
Skull Springs |
-- |
Sourdough Mountain |
-- |
South Creek |
-- |
South Paulina Peak |
-- |
South Sister Dome Chain |
-- |
Spodue Mountain |
-- |
Squaw Mountain |
-- |
Squaw Ridge |
-- |
Surveyor Spring |
-- |
Sutton Mountains |
-- |
Tank Creek |
-- |
Tough Butte |
-- |
Tucker Hill |
-- |
Tule Spring (Indian Grade Spring Unknown 1) |
-- |
Tumalo Creek |
-- |
Twin Springs Bench (FGV) |
-- |
Unknown X * |
|
Upper Gap Lake |
-- |
Van Gulch (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Variety 5 |
-- |
Venator |
-- |
Wagontire |
-- |
Whitehorse |
-- |
Whitewater Ridge (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Wildcat Basin |
-- |
Wildcat Creek |
-- |
Witham Creek |
-- |
Wolf Creek (Malheur National Forest) |
-- |
Yreka Butte |
-- |
Barangay Caunayan |
-- |
Barangay Manaol |
-- |
Huluga |
-- |
Taal |
-- |
Black Hills |
-- |
Rio Grande Gravels * |
-- |
Black Mountain |
-- |
Black Rock Area |
-- |
Ferguson Wash |
-- |
Kirk Canyon * |
|
Modena |
-- |
Pumice Hole Mine |
|
Topaz Mountain |
-- |
Wild Horse Canyon |
-- |
Agnes Pass A |
-- |
Agnes Pass B |
-- |
Bickleton Ridge |
-- |
Cleman Mountain |
-- |
Copper Ridge Variety A |
-- |
Copper Ridge Variety B |
-- |
Copper Ridge Variety C |
-- |
Copper Ridge Variety D |
-- |
Elk Pass |
-- |
Hosko A (Brooks Memorial State Park) |
-- |
Hosko B (Brooks Memorial State Park) |
-- |
Indian Rock (Unknown Variety A) |
-- |
Rocky Coulee (tachylyte) |
-- |
Satus Creek |
-- |
Stray Gulch (tachylyte) |
-- |
Yakima |
Unpublished reference |
Cougar Creek, Yellowstone National Park |
|
Grassy Lake Reservoir |
-- |
Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park |
|
Tanker Curve, Yellowstone National Park |
|
Teton Pass |
-- |
Baugh, Timothy G. and Fred W. Nelson. 1987. New Mexico Obsidian Sources and Exchange on the Southern Plains. Journal of Field Archaeology 14:313-329.
Church, Tim. 2000. Distribution and Sources of Obsidian in the Rio Grande Gravels of New Mexico. Geoarchaeology 15:649-678.
Haarklau, Lynn, Lynn Johnson, David L. Wagner, Richard E. Hughes, Craig E. Skinner, Jennifer J. Thatcher, and Keith Myhrer. 2005. Fingerprints in the Great Basin: The Nellis Air Force Base Regional Sourcing Study. Report prepared for Nellis Air Force Base by Prewitt and Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas.
Hughes, Richard E. 1983. X-Ray Fluorescence Characterization of Obsidian. In The Archaeology of Monitor Valley: 2. Gatecliff Shelter, by David Hurst Thomas, pp. 401-408. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 59(I).
Hughes, Richard E. 1986. Diachronic Variability in Obsidian Procurement Patterns in Northeastern California and Southcentral Oregon. University of California Publications in Anthropology 17, Berkeley, California.
Hughes, Richard E. 1988a. The Coso Volcanic Field Reexamined: Implications for Obsidian Sourcing and Hydration Dating Research. Geoarchaeology 3:253-265.
Hughes, Richard E. 1988b. Archaeological Significance of Geochemical Contrasts Among Southwestern New Mexico Obsidians. Texas Journal of Science 40:297-308.
Hughes, Richard E. 1994a. Intrasource Chemical Variability of Artefact-Quality Obsidians from the Casa Diablo Area, California. Journal of Archaeological Science 21:263-271.
Jackson, Thomas L. 1986. Late Prehistoric Exchange in Central California. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
Jackson, Thomas L. 1989. Late Prehistoric Obsidian Production and Exchange in the North Coast Ranges, California. In Current Directions in California Obsidian Studies, edited by Richard E. Hughes, pp. 79-94. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 48, Berkeley, California.
Jones, George T. and Charlotte Beck. 1990. An Obsidian Hydration Chronology of Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Surface Assemblages from Butte Valley, Nevada. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 12(1):84-100.
Nelson, Fred W. 1984. X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Some Western North American American Obsidians. In Obsidian Studies in the Great Basin, edited by Richard E. Hughes, pp.27-62. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 45, Berkeley, California.
Shackley, M. Steven. 1991. Tank Mountains: A Newly Discovered Archaeological Obsidian Source in East-Central Yuma County, Arizona. Kiva 57:17-25.
Shackley, M. Steven. 1995. Sources of Archaeological Obsidian in the Greater American Southwest: An Update and Quantitative Analysis. American Antiquity 60:531-551.
Shackley, M. Steven. 2005. Obsidian: Geology and Archaeology in the North American Southwest. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
Shackley, M. Steven, Justin R. Hyland, and Maria de la Luz Gutierrez M. 1996. Mass Production and Procurement at Valle del Azulfre: A Unique Archaeological Obsidian Source in Baja California Sur. American Antiquity 61:718-731.
Skinner, Craig E. 1995. Obsidian Characterization Studies. In Archaeological Investigations, PGT-PG&E Pipeline Expansion Project, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California, Volume V: Technical Studies, by Robert U. Bryson, Craig E. Skinner, and Richard M. Pettigrew, pp. 4.1-4.54. Report prepared for Pacific Gas Transmission Company, Portland, Oregon, by INFOTEC Research, Inc., Fresno, California, and Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Davis, California.
Ward, Graeme. 1977. On the Ease of 'Sourcing' Artefacts and the difficulty of 'Knowing" Prehistory. New Zealand Archaeological Association Newsletter 20:188-194.
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Last Updated: 03/07/2008
Northwest Research Obsidian Studies Laboratory