[meteorite-list] The Life of Slag/Slag-glass ...was What is this?

[Paul H.]

In “The Life of Slag/Slag-glass ...was What is this?” at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg113477.html
MEM wrote:

“I was explaining the multitude of reasons that slag is 
found virtually  everywhere--including Revolutionary 
and Civil War foundries, long left abandoned to rural 
pastures when I had someone once argue that his 
specimen  couldn't be slag from a rail road because 
there had never been a railroad  within miles.  I then 
showed him on the topo map where an abandoned 
rail right-of-way was less than 200 yards from the 
dirt road he found his  "meteor-wrong" along.”

A person brought me a basketball-size piece of fresh 
brownish green glass that he found in Little Rock, 
Arkansas while bulldozer a site for a strip mall. It was 
quickly identified as steel foundry slag glass that is 
quite popular in Arkansas for use in decorating their 
gardens and other landscaping. This type of steel 
foundry slag glass can be seen as, often large, blocks 
of colorful blue, bluish-green, greenish, yellow, red, 
white, orange, purple, and so forth slag glass lying 
on large tables in front of Arkansas rock shops in and 
between Murfreesboro to Hot Springs areas. From 
what I have fond, the slag originally came from 
foundry at Fort Smith in Sebastian County, Arkansas, 
and is now imported from other states. This slag glass 
can also be found in rock shops all over the United 
States, in people's gardens and fish tanks everywhere, 
and for sale all on ebay. A person does not need to 
even be next to a railroad to find it.

Fortunately, he did not believe this material to be
a meteorite. He did think it was possibly a really 
weird obsidian.

Go see

J. Michael Howard answers questions about 
Geology, Rock Types, and Earth Science
http://www.rockhoundingar.com/askmikeygeology.php

Slag Glass – tumblr
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/slag%20glass

Obsidian in Oklahoma?
http://arrowheads.com/forums/learn-about-material-types/18761-obsidian-in-oklahoma

Slag glass near Austin for those lucky folks going to SAMA 
http://www.mosaicandstainedglass.org/forums/index.php?topic=6753.0

Yours,

Paul H.