Fulgurite

I managed to dig up a complete fulgurite section almost 14 cm in length from the clayey soil of my garden after it was struck by lighting during yesterday afternoon's thunderstorm.

Mt. Thielsen, namesake for the surrounding Wilderness Area, is called “The Lightning Rod of the Cascades.” A dormant volcano, its peak is struck by lightning so often that some rocks at the summit have melted into an unusual mineral called fulgurite. This mineral is made of natural hollow glass tubes formed when silica is subjected to high temperatures, such as lightning strikes.