Over 10,000 years ago during the Ice Age, massive ice sheets covered much of North America including New Jersey. These glaciers trapped rocks and sediment and, as the ice melted, quartz pieces began their long journey toward the sea. Cape May quartz travels from the water of the Delaware River towards the Delaware Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean.
They were first discovered by the Kechemeche Indians, part of the Lenni-Lenape tribe, in limited areas around the Delaware Bay. These translucent rocks were thought to have mystical powers.