February 14, 2011
A Valentine’s Day Rock: Heartstones
Posted by Evelyn Mervine
A heartstone is a heart-shaped rock. Many different types of rocks can be heartstones; all that matters is the shape. Many heartstones form naturally through tricks of weathering; others are artificially chiseled and polished into a heart shape.
I often look for heartstones when walking– along a beach, a woodland path, or even a driveway. Whenever I find a heartstone, I think fondly of a bookstore called “Heartstone Books” that I used to visit in Putney, Vermont. Long before I ever studied geology in a formal manner, I used to enjoy looking at this bookstore’s collection of heartstone rocks and was amazed at how many different types of rocks– different colors and textures and sizes– could become heartstones.
I am currently traveling and cannot take photos of my own heartstones, so below are a few heartstone pictures that I’ve scavenged from the interwebs.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Here are some more holiday rocks, in case you missed them:
A New Year’s Day Rock: Travertine Icings and Scums
A Christmas Rock: Fossiliferous Coal
A Thanksgiving Rock: Granodiorite
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Hearstone 1. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 2. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 3. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 4. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 5. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 6. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone 7. Image taken from here. |
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Heartstone Books in Putney, Vermont. Image taken from here. |
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Polished heartstone on gypsum roses. Image taken from here. |
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Heartcut diamond. Image taken from here. |