Click on any photo for a wonderful close-up showing the waxy texture that makes an agate easy to spot amongst all the other rocky material.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUchW_X4WbCHIZbZsBtRCTKQVzkxTcvKQ9yVsbr9kATVCDoMNMAjVnvFel1_dXnCndRFnQ-mai5a11hYXy6mRf0wKo1tAqbDMQhVomreMsqVTanIMr1ZAzdxvrq9grflZxiX95M6n6IY/s320/4+agates+bittin.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgPcbsnyaC85QZwRStKDBhDXv_wZKjgOOj6QjAEJ5uhZiHi3b3Z7EcqputHaO8q359LubPdgg-QnuW7iUtN1heOBXuqYshguChnWH-gb6oYLTAeQowfTCOysSC-pCE8OUiPh_bce5TBk/s320/4+agates+top.jpg)
Pictured in this main photo are 4 agates I found while exploring the pit. Some were lying at the bottom of rock slides, and others I dug for in the soft walls surrounding the pit. Agate is a microcrystalline impure form of quartz (silica), chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. The following photos are close-ups of the above agate
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5KUFy7mutppKogKI8zW_ExVbJ30R5v_mI9ua3RE94IbOXT3ITDjty2OrHeQdk0KZ-Pg6454Omqo0Cn224LsUzfFQ3Exr7pNO7K3lrUl6rUATaloMT47L2tmHI-yyFBQisLoVYVyOo3M/s320/agate+with+hole+side+B.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDDzgFPiDwQJDeXaKGUjYkJ8EWHYXKDlHWJzgfNONPw5R6dk4br7QMZ_P26q1vQgzkedSEyWx4Ks_AbXt82jacWXPLrnWlE3ISXVtqucakdCw_xtM__2_8a_M-j9HbcGAGLbNMBI04qU/s320/Agate+with+hole+side+A.jpg)
Top left in the main photo, this chunky agate has 2 indentations or holes on one side.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5f_1qvsAx_VV1Mm1bONgwZNX_jSpPKc7YnC5EEUwPBF9FUUwvkl1PClGRwtUC-RsFor7LY4nx3qN5xjEChrcs1y0c7_tKLTJq62jFoKuNTpZ_XpN1CeXgV23Z85Q5RzvrL5fS_NO5j3E/s320/oval+side+A.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jxjZNbINm0n_BNG9EJ-6BGEIrpWXYf_lt60cNMoOqaiX8ddax9aThfnUbztUXeNyynLj5xtC-d7x-6rpJQsGxYPKFbK3N1c7mHETBgypWK5H7NWeAyCGTOXeb7JfCxypXuOeIYiekaY/s320/oval+side+B.jpg)
Top right in the main photo, this egg shaped agate looked like it had a small piece of moss or insect stuck in the middle.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5pYHtKSMVQGhFPs2ec3Yyik0oIbJyP3F5A_uqpFLtPRO8ejcFQpQ_EQDE_cTPD9gu8ajg1uh_ctcj0NTIX0v8lt7Qx0WCEewpiFJdB4Oj_7-JlwlkcFSx9cOT4cCvPp8yzIQtMric3U/s320/square+agate+A.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-j_w653mlnCz1lMMmiOsGBE1aZ6xBx31EG3eH2RNxEslQf1SdH-aPxblhqGYIEfROqRiyYiVwVidC0ZV4jSGePCV3ZLpQcp63OJqilC8aV0JZlUzuH6mc0lZ8PMwz0pVoV7NHHtmgNk/s320/Square+Agate+B.jpg)
Bottom left in the main photo, this is probably the clearest agate I found last summer. If you look on the photo at the top of this post, this agate is on the bottom left. It looks like it has a white spot. But when you hold it to the light, even the spot is translucent.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOMTjkwibHkDFitxj0-PBheijHZ1XvdNbQ1CN9kV_hTsgxdI4STW7_NHHpZ-gyY9RxWnLCrxX4Okhs4IujgPczEMtN0oVQbCqdqvRtpJ-04m4hfU_AxnJrH9ONxZgA2ZosAYzIrSmV_0/s320/Oval+A.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGkG7XXo7YbgL75EF7NTwosqvKvssvMWkwrn80NdUpmqgFqnQTHydw_9d0lDMDVak3VRzTJ5aaYyKVJh3EBb1DJS3OxO1ElfmeTJOh9MNIZXZn9zUk2_FdsRm07TM027oVeUcNrGGt6M/s320/Oval+B.jpg)
Bottom right in the main photo, the lines on this agate show it to be an agatized piece of petrified wood.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdIQT2I0YiZft-8ZDzNSgcJGvU7l4idKFmgCaXPJ7QKW2TBkiFv3QRvsEo4mscmdOaLrYqw1hcOGF51IWg-IumLOI-qTajg6rP7hd7MadohRKOjr7yuABoIJyLdCUPCxhEEuJWoJB-mM/s320/Bowl+side+A.jpg)
The indentation in this agate was formed by a steady drip of water over many years. We're talking hundreds of years here to carve a bowl shape like this out of the agate.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUb4s4Oz3AdVYyvZFg9954XZ0_3HNCRX7iRTwPqBMsWhcKpf3FTPIlRo2auon4aqjDu6jChrCtACQwwmUQ-71Xr5HYMc9xSzr3OuvDfjSdcM-zuphFwm5qGF5s51IYnnWlSxk25tj67M/s320/Bowl+side.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6z0CURwLwCrdq7nJl8d4qKrAFSV9DX1fm6ILXpv08RPmrema-b-8Jc4rxZ5OX_Ug4SsqS15QT7kPuyDTCIYJve9sIqbKEEO-pSuyhVzOy6-bNMccI6eze7v5JsBoiMIJIiPdxWth-WiQ/s320/bowl+bottom.jpg)
Do you like rockhounding? Do you go out for a walk and return with 'treasures' in your pocket?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Come on, tell me what you think...