Kambaba Jasper

Kambaba jasper, also called Kabamba jasper or crocodile jasper, is a trade name for a greenish volcanic rock (rhyolite) from Madagascar with blackish, rounded spots. According to Mindat, it is commonly but wrongly sold as a jasper or as a stromatolite (fossil algae rock); it is neither. Thin-section and XRD study by the German gem-testing institute EPI found quartz, aegirine, albite and potassium feldspar, with the dark orbs made of amphibole needles.

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Kambaba Jasper
Kambaba Jasper

8mm

$9.99 Available

Full material guide
Material facts

What the material is, where it comes from or how it is made, identification and care, from the cited sources.

Properties

Nature Natural rock: volcanic rhyolite; not jasper and not a stromatolite
Composition Quartz, pyroxene (aegirine), albite and potassium feldspar; dark orbs of amphibole needles (riebeckite to pargasite in composition)
Color Greenish ground with blackish, rounded aggregates

Origins & sources

Mindat records it as quarried by Norcross-Madagascar from an area of about 6 km² in Madagascar, probably in the Tsiroanomandidy area, although that location has not been verified. The supplier Enter the Earth describes Kabamba jasper as coming from central Madagascar.

Identification

The dark spots are crystalline amphibole aggregates in a volcanic rock, not fossil algae, so claims that it is a stromatolite are incorrect according to Mindat. It should not be confused with the "Kabamby" type of ocean jasper, an orbicular chalcedony from a different Madagascar locality that, according to the supplier Enter the Earth, is often confused with Kabamba jasper.

Care

Not collected yet

History & culture

History

Mindat says the name "crocodile jasper" is said to refer to the stone's resemblance to amphibian eyes.

Cultural meanings

Not collected yet

Traditional beliefs

Not collected yet

Sources

Collected Oct 23, 2026