Is this Leland Blue?
Leland Blue is slag glass left from iron smelting, not a naturally formed stone. Blue and teal pieces can carry pale streaks and small cooling bubbles.
Three quick checks
Color, bubbles, and place tell the story
Look for blue, teal, blue-gray, or green color; small rounded pits or cooling bubbles; and a documented connection to the historic Leland smelter.
-
Read the color
Look for blue, teal, blue-gray, or green, sometimes with streaks of white, gray, or black.
-
Look for bubbles
Small rounded pits or vesicles are a telltale sign of slag that cooled quickly in water.
-
Confirm the place
Leland Blue names slag from the Leland smelter. Similar blue slag from another town carries that location's name.
Industrial history, carried by the lake
Leland Blue formed from remnants of iron ore smelting around Leland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The hot byproduct cooled quickly when it was dumped into water, leaving glass-like color and small bubbles. Pieces can now be found along the Lake Michigan shoreline near Leland.
The location matters Leland Blue is a geographic name. Blue slag from another historic smelter should be identified by that place instead.
A Lake Michigan find shaped by industry
- What it is
- Slag glass
- Approximate age
- Late nineteenth to early twentieth century
- Michigan connection
- Historic iron-smelting byproduct associated with Leland, Michigan
- Origin
- Iron-smelting byproduct
- Best-known location
- Leland, Michigan
What would you like to do with it?
Take the full field guide to the beach
The Trading Post's field guide includes clear photos, a broader visual identification guide, tools, tips, and practical help for rockhounding around Lake Michigan.
