Indochinites — Relics of a 700,000 year old impact The word “Indochinite” is used to describe a family of black, often shiny tektites that are found in a large area encompassing Indochina, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Tektites are the result of an ancient and extremely massive meteorite impact estimated to have taken place about 700,000 years ago. The heat and pressure of that impact caused molten blobs of magma to be flung up into the air. Some of those pieces traveled thousands of miles before falling back to Earth, not unlike smaller versions of the meteorite that formed them. Many tektites have interesting round or drop-like shapes, which may have been a result of spinning or ablating in the air while still partially molten. Thailand tektites are found primarily in Thailand. They are part of the Indochinite strewnfield that encompasses large parts of Southeast Asia. The exact location of the impact that produced these tektites remains unknown. Thailand tektites are dark, fine glasses, and typically take aerodynamic forms. These forms include dumbbells, teardrops, rods, and spheres. Tektites take these shapes when they’re ejected into the atmosphere and fall, cooling and solidifying as they spin. The surfaces of Thailand tektites are rich and textured, representing moments frozen in time of their once-molten state.
