Museum of Geology & Natural History:

Cone-in-Cone Structures

Museum Hours: 8:00am - 4:45pm EST weekdays; closed weekends and holidays.

Please call ahead if you wish to meet with a geologist: (304) 594-2331

Cone-in-Cone Structures

Cone-in-cone is a peculiar geologic structure consisting of nests of cones, one inside another, standing vertically and arranged either in thin beds or at the edges of large concretions. Some cones are less than an inch in height, and others are as much as 10 inches high. They have a ribbed or scaly appearance. Most cone-in-cone is composed of impure calcium carbonate, but occasionally the structure has been found in gypsum, siderite, limestone, and hard coal. This specimen is primarily siderite, an iron carbonate mineral (FeCO₃), weighing 57 pounds and measures 15 x 11 x 6 inches. It was found in a road cut near mile marker 75 on I-64 in Kanawha County, WV and donated to the museum by Joe Bowles from Charleston, WV.