Kambaba Jasper / Stromatolites

Kambaba Jasper, Stromatolites, colonial structures created by Cyanobacteria (commonly called blue-green algae) are among the oldest fossils on earth, being found in rocks over 3 billion years old. Once the dominant life form on the planet, Stromatolites are now found in only a few places, such as Madagascar.

Cyanobacteria form these mound-like structures by growing through sediment, binding the particles together resulting in successive layers which, over very long time periods, may harden to form rocks. These structures may be from fractions of an inch to several feet in diameter.

Cyanobacteria were likely responsible for the creation of earth's oxygen atmosphere. They were the dominant life form on Earth for over 2 billion years. Today they are nearly extinct, living a precarious existence in only a few localities worldwide.

Fossil Stromatolites constitute our earliest and most pervasive record of life on Earth. Although many Stromatolites are fossils, there are a number of locations on the modern-day Earth where Stromatolites are still forming.

Kambaba Jasper is a rare fossilized jasper from Madagascar. Jasper is a micro crystalline variety of Quartz, a silicon dioxide mineral with a hardness of 6.5 to 7. Jaspers can include up to 20% foreign materials, which account for its wide variety of colors and patterns.

Kambaba Jasper (sometimes called Kabamba Jasper) from Madagascar. It is a Stromatolite Jasper, which means that it is composed of fossilized algae.

However...Chris likes this material because it looks like her "Old 45's" (ancient records...you know... way before Cd's and I-PODS)

Available for Purchase

Not long ago we were contacted by a geologist who wanted to know where we got the "scientific proof" that this stone was a stromatolite. Let us be very clear here...there are ongoing debates about this stone by people more learned than we are. We were first introduced to this stone by a South African Mineral Dealer who told us this stone was "Green Stromatolite Jasper, a fossilized algae that has been around a long time."

He further explained that it was given the name "Kambaba Jasper" by the company who was actually mining this stone. Kambaba Jasper was explained to us as by several geologists years ago as a stromatolite, which is a clump of fossilized algae, with greenish or blackish orbs of petrified algae with predominantly black centers, that fossilized over time turning the algae into stromatolite Jasper.

Stromatolite Kambaba Jasper is from the South Africa Rift that runs from South Africa to Madagascar an island nation off the east coast of Africa. Stromatolite Kambaba Jasper is a sedimentary fossil of algae. So...that being said, we leave the discussion of this unique stone to the professional geologists, who cannot seem to agree at all.

We just love the stone, but specifically the better quality specimens. We have not been able to find many quality specimen for our customers. The market has been flooded with less than desirable patterns and colors of this unique stone. We are happy to list some supurb specimens here for our customers.