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A First! Ametrine Geode Discovered on The Carver!

A First! Ametrine Geode Discovered on The Carver!

By /June 16, 2021 /0 comments /Geology

Ametrine is a single stone which is part amethyst (purple quartz) and part citrine (yellow quartz). While I have found some great amethyst geode crystals on The Carver, citrine geode crystals are rare indeed. The most exotic and rare was the perfect citrine crystal I named The Unicorn after the mystical single-horned animal which has never been, in fact, found in nature. Rock & Gem magazine featured this stone which can be seen on this website. What has until now never been seen by me in the thousands of nodules and geodes I have discovered on The Carver and cut open is the combination of purple micro-crystalline quartz and citrine banding in a single band in a single geode. Pictured here is 1/2 of the ametrine geode (photo #4225) and three cabs from the same geode which I have cut and polished. As you view each photo, the citrine portion […]

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Rock & Gem Magazine Gets It Right

Rock & Gem Magazine Gets It Right

By /November 14, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

Rock & Gem Magazine’s three articles about The Carver Agate Field have now been published–with a necessary correction to the latest article which appeared in the December issue (see the cover below). The three articles are: The New Carver Agate Field: Is It Worth The Hype? Rock & Gem Magazine vol. 47, issue #8 (August 2017) The Unicorn Citrine Scepter and Yellow Agates. Rock & Gem Magazine vol. 48, issue #8 (August 2018) Captivating Find at the Carver Agate Field: Geological Mystery Draws Interest, Rock and Gem Magazine vol. 50, issue #10 (October 2020) the correction The most recent article and correction is the latest geological mystery solved by my geologist friend, Bill Halepeska, and me. This Rock & Gem article and its correction tracks in abbreviated form the geological mystery we discovered on The Carver–which we believe we have solved. Click the image for a larger, more readable version. […]

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NEW Article + Correction in Rock and Gem Magazine, October 2020

NEW Article + Correction in Rock and Gem Magazine, October 2020

By /November 14, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

In October, Rock & Gem Magazine published the article geologist Bill Halepeska and I had authored in volume 50, issue 10. There were, unfortunately, factual errors that occurred during the editing process. Here at last is the published article, along with the correction. Click each image to open up a larger version for easier reading. And the Correction

Rock & Gem Magazine October 2020: “Captivating Find At The Carver Agate Field” reviewed

Rock & Gem Magazine October 2020: “Captivating Find At The Carver Agate Field” reviewed

By /October 5, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

In October 2020, Rock & Gem Magazine published an article, “Captivating Find At the Carver Agate Field,” by John Carver and Bill Halepeska. The article as published by Rock & Gem is an abridged, edited version of the original work submitted to Rock & Gem by Carver and Halepeska. The Rock & Gem article in its summary captioned “Authors’ Opinions” incorrectly states that Bill and I came to different geological conclusions. The fact is just the opposite. We collaborated extensively and reached consensus that the ‘deep pit’ nodules and geodes formed in and then weathered out of gas bubbles formed in lava before hardening. Since these nodules and geodes are only in one small area of the ‘deep pit’, we do not believe that they were formed where found, nor weathered out in their current location. We both believe they were formed elsewhere (in the Paisano volcano, several miles to […]

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The End of the Beginning

The End of the Beginning

By /August 1, 2020 /4 comments /Geology

In April, 2020, the exploration of The Carver Agate Field ended after approximately 12 years.  That was the beginning. The task has now turned to cutting, polishing and exploring the huge volume of The Carver rocks collected over the last 12 years.  This process has moved to the new ‘Carver’ headquarters being constructed at this time (see photos). Years of further exploratory work will be featured on TexasAmethystAgate.com.  During construction, however, there will be a delay extending into late fall.  Until then, I expect a major feature article  about The Carver Agate Field to appear soon in Rock and Gem Magazine.  This article, expected in the September issue, will be the ‘end of the beginning’ of the surface geological exploration of The Carver.   The article will be published here as soon as it has been published in Rock and Gem.  The article, co-authored with Midland geologist, Bill Halepeska, will reveal […]

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7+ Pound Banded Blue Agate with Geological Oddity Found Inside

7+ Pound Banded Blue Agate with Geological Oddity Found Inside

By /April 10, 2020 /2 comments /Geology

The ‘deep pit’ on The Carver agate field ‘popped’ a 7+ pound,  6 1/2″ x  3 3/4″ banded blue agate beauty! While the ‘deep pit’ photo gallery on this website has lots of photos of ‘deep pit’ beauties, this specimen contains a large yellow inclusion (on the left side of the photo below) which has a blackish dendritic agate formation in and on its surface. A dendritic agate is a tree-like or fern-like image.  The word dendrite is Greek for “tree-like.”  Normally, these dendritic formations from The Carver have formed on the outside surfaces of a geode or nodule, as shown below in photo 2849.  What is geologically odd is that this dendrite formed on the yellow material which broke off and fell into the gas bubble pocket, which was then encased inside the larger blue agate when it later formed. I believe this was likely an 8-step geological process, […]

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Metallic Mystery Agate

Metallic Mystery Agate

By /April 1, 2020 /2 comments /Geology

This agate formed in association with a yellow jasper (which is predominantly comprised of silica). Before I cut this Carver find, it displayed a curious metallic sheen which was in fact what initially drew my attention to it.  The sheen was very different from the sheen observed from other quartz and jasper materials.  This metallic sheen appears quite clearly on the bottom of the pictured cabochon. The rounded surface of the cabochon shows agatization and two visible “vugs.”  The stone from which this cab was cut also had a curious and unexpected heft (weight) that, combined with the metallic sheen, suggested a metallic component had mixed with jasper and formed  a metallic mystery agate that had not been previously observed on The Carver agate field. If I can find out what metal is involved I will update you.  

Agate “Vugs”

Agate “Vugs”

By /March 26, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

Some, but not all, agates contain “vugs,” tiny voids often filled with quartz crystals.  They are a sort of miniature geode.  The crystals when present are usually very petite (sometimes microscopic). Note that two of the three vugs pictured in the image below have visible quartz crystals.  Some lapidists view vugs as imperfections to be avoided when cutting a stone.  I, however, love to include vugs when cutting cabochon. I like to see the sparkle that often emanates from the vug when a tiny crystal catches a ray of light. Including a vug in a cab adds beauty, uniqueness, and perhaps, as some believe, mystical powers.  I do not know the technical name for the type of agate shown. In fact, many agate types are unnamed or have local names which have been applied to them.  If you would like to name this type of agate, let me know what […]

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Chaos vs. Orderly Perfection

Chaos vs. Orderly Perfection

By /March 18, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

Formed within tuff, a white volcanic ash which has been compressed and hardened, over millions of years, to a very limited extent, is what I describe as a “chaos agate.” That is not an official agate designation, however.  Apparently, a hodgepodge of mineralization mixes with and in a silica-rich solution which subsequently hardens within the tuff. Since this type of agate forms in a ashy mass, the agate has no orderly shape or form. Chaos Agate On the other hand, here is the orderly perfection  of a cabochon from a cross section of a geode.  If you follow this website, you are probably aware that the orderly shape is from the gas bubble in the lava in which geodes form.  A silica-rich solution and mineralization fill the gas bubble and create the geode’s shape.  The gas bubble fills with silica and mineralization through the ‘fill tube,’ so called, which is […]

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New from the Carver Agate Field: Is It Jasper? Agate? Jasp-Agate?

New from the Carver Agate Field: Is It Jasper? Agate? Jasp-Agate?

By /February 2, 2020 /0 comments /Geology

These definitions will help us decide! Jasper:  opaque (light does not penetrate); any color of chalcedony which is a micro-crystalline (requires magnification for crystals to be seen) form of quartz. Agate:  a banded translucent (lets light through) chalcedony of any color, most often found in nodules, geodes, or cracks in silicaceous volcanic rocks. Jasp-agate:  a chalcedony with characteristics of both agate and jasper.  The basic component is silica (quartz) which may be either micro or macro crystalline (crystals can be seen without magnification).  It can be opaque, transparent or translucent (sometimes all three appear in the same specimen).  It can be banded like an agate or it can be like a jasper with agate structures which form within cracks or fractures or vugs (small cave-like voids) in jasper. If you would like to see some of the Carver Agate Field jaspers and jasp-agates, take a look at the new JASP-AGATE […]

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