Tag: agate

The Perfect Citrine Plume Agate Geode

The Perfect Citrine Plume Agate Geode

Rock #6504 While cutting Carver Agate Field geodes this summer, I saw what to me was the perfect citrine plume agate geode. Some explanation: Natural citrine, which is normally a yellow silica (quartz), is quite rare. This is because much of the citrine seen in jewelry today started out as amethyst which was then heat treated to turn it the yellow citrine color. Natural citrine is quite valuable. So if natural citrine is fairly rare, nearly transparent citrine comprising the entire geode is doubly rare. This citrine geode has added rarity—a perfectly formed golden plume agate. It is also of considerable interest that the nearly transparent citrine allows one to see into the citrine surrounding the geode cavity which glows white from the quartz crystals lining the inside of the cavity. In very bright light, other plumes can be seen deeper in the citrine surrounding the cavity. Lastly, while fractures […]

Read More

Blue Agates Appear Again at The Carver Agate Field

Blue Agates Appear Again at The Carver Agate Field

Blue agates are fairly common and, as these photos show, blue agates from The Carver appear in many beautiful and often times interesting configurations. These photos attempt to show the very interesting blue agates that I discovered during my cutting and polishing of new material from The Carver Agate Field. I hope you appreciate seeing the interesting ways blue agates have appeared this summer. And don’t forget to visit the newest addition to the collection of Galleries here at Texas Amethyst Agate.com: The Summer 2025 Gallery. There you will see many of this summer’s finds and work which I hope you will also enjoy. Rock #6163 Rock #6163 Detail Rock #6164 Rock #6164 Detail Rock #6067 Rock #6069 Rock #5883 Rock #5885 Rock #5917 Rock #5918 Rock #5950 Rock #5953 Rock #5994 Rock #6052 Rock #6082 Rock #6101 Rock #6133 Rock #6300 Rock #6317 Rock #6318 Rock #6412 Rock #6421 […]

Read More

Newly Found/Cut Green, Red, Yellow, and Blue Geodes/Agates

Newly Found/Cut Green, Red, Yellow, and Blue Geodes/Agates

My last two posts were “Two Decade Photo Gallery,” displaying the 1,356 Carver Agate Field polished specimens, followed by a second gallery highlighting 20 years of approximately 1,000 Carver Agate Field cabs. After these exhaustive compilations of approximately 2,300 Carver Agate Field “beauties” came summer chores and gardening. The gardening was challenging and time consuming, but ultimately very successful. I have taken short breaks from my gardening and now, following the killing frost, I am ready to show you some of the beautiful and interesting specimens which I have cut and polished this summer during my breaks. It will take several posts over the next several weeks to bring the best of these new stones to this website. I continue to be amazed and delighted to find new and different material taken solely from the wonderfully diverse and geologically astounding Carver Agate Field of West Texas. The following photos are […]

Read More

20 Years of Cabbing The Carver Agate Field

20 Years of Cabbing The Carver Agate Field

The best way to explore and enjoy the rocks of The Carver Agate Field of Far West Texas is to view this new photo gallery of nearly 1000 cut and polished cabs from The Carver exclusively found and cut by me. The cutting, polishing, and magnification of photos of these cabs is the most effective way to see the geological wonder of this single West Texas volcanic formation which was described by my late friend, mentor, geologist, and self-described rock enthusiast, Bill Halepeska, of Midland, Texas, who observed that The Carver Agate Field is “the most diverse, colorful, and unique agate find in Far West Texas since the early 1960’s”. Click here to see this new Cabochon gallery, and be sure to check out the recently posted 1300+ photo gallery of rock specimens from The Carver Agate Field! Some samples: Rock #784 Rock #785 Rock #3347 Rock #3819 Rock #3838 […]

Read More

New: "Carver Two Decade Photo Gallery" with 1356 photos!

New: “Carver Two Decade Photo Gallery” with 1356 photos!

From images collected over 20 years of exploring, cutting, and polishing stones from The Carver Agate Field, I have selected a few (1356) photos of some of the best rock specimens to share with you. Visit The Carver Two Decade Photo Gallery to view this extensive collection of rock specimens, and be sure to click on each image so you can enlarge it and enjoy all of the details. Rock #3612 A second extensive photo gallery of cut and polished cabochons and free-form designer gemstones, cut and polished over 20 years, will be forthcoming as well. Rock #399 All of these materials are from The Carver Agate Field. These extensive galleries are primarily intended for serious rock enthusiasts and geologists. I have designed this gallery to allow enlargement and enhanced viewing of the crystal/mineral structures and sagenitic materials that make the ‘Carver’ a unique geological formation worthy of serious scrutiny. […]

Read More

COLD SNOWY WEATHER = LOTS OF NEW ROCK SPECIMENS FROM THE CARVER

COLD SNOWY WEATHER = LOTS OF NEW ROCK SPECIMENS FROM THE CARVER

Let’s see what we’ve got today! Rock #5828I love this rock. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge it! Rock #5863Fragmented filament blue agate geode Rock #5844All that sagenitic stuff that makes The Carver rocks geologically interesting Rock #5868Eye agate/fortification agate—Click on the image to zoom in on it. Rock #5858I just like this rock! Rock #5859A thrill to cut and polish Rock #5814 Rock #5815Rocks 5814 and 5815 are both sides of a fist sized blue fragmented filament agate.I loved cutting and polishing this stone. Rock #5883A cross-section of a blue agate nodule with a really cool shape and color Rock #5898A perfect yellow banded agate Rock #5829Lots to unpack here: electric blue fortification agate, plume agate surrounding brown shards of lava Rock #5830Click on the image to enlarge it and zoom on the red/yellow/green blob in the upper left side of this specimen Rock # 5861Click […]

Read More

Cold and Snowy January and February = Lots More Cabs!

Cold and Snowy January and February = Lots More Cabs!

The first half of January 2025 was cold with not much snow, and then it started snowing, and it’s been snowing more or less constantly thru today, February 16, with more on the way in the coming week! So outside activities, other than bringing in firewood for the wood stove, have been very limited and therefore this is a great opportunity to cut and polish stones. This posting is just about the cabs I have cut recently. The next one will feature the polished rock specimens recently cut. There are 14 rocks in this set of cabs I’m presenting today. I hope you enjoy the variety of the new cuttings, it was a hoot for me to cut them! Texas-sized Icicle, but in Maine! Cut wood, then cut rocks . . . Rock #5892Bullfrog Agate Geode Rock #5903Plume Agate Rock #5906Paisley Agate Rock #5880 Rock #5884 Rock #5886 Rock #5887 […]

Read More

How I Selected These Stones for This Post

How I Selected These Stones for This Post

Note: Please click on each photo below to see an enlarged version! Two of my favorite selections, Rock #5801 and Rock #5782 pictured below, are unique but different plume agates. The featured stone, Rock #5801, is just plain interesting when enlarged, as you can see: Rock #5801 Rock #5801 Enlarged Rock #5782 The next cab, Rock #5799 below, is a geologically rare rose quartz geode. Rock #5799 Another selection, Rock #5793 below, was to me reminiscent of a scene from my childhood—a fish bowl agate (named by me). Rock #5793 One of my photo selections below was to me just a beautiful agate. Rock #5758 Other specimens are representative of my favorite type of stone to cut and polish into cabs. The three rocks below are plume/jasp-agates. Rock #5796 Rock #5785 Rock #5784 The last stones I just plain like a lot, are Rock #5777, a brecciated agate, and Rock […]

Read More

Dust Storm Approaching Over a Far West Texas Mesa

Dust Storm Approaching Over a Far West Texas Mesa

The Dust Storm Rock #5740 This dust storm is seen inside a Carver Agate Field geode which I just cut. See the photos above. The other half of the cut geode, shown in the photo of Rock #5736 below, contains within the “mesa brown blob” a cool but quite unusual outline of a blue fortification agate. Rock #5736 Rock #5743 Rock #5743 above is a beautiful plume agate cab I cut yesterday from a Carver agate. Rock #5743 Enlarged In the enlarged photo above, note the fortification agate lurking at 10 o’clock above and to the left of the yellow plume. Another stone cut from this same plume agate is seen in Rock #5742 below. Rock #5742 Rock #5750 Rock #5750 is a geode that looks likes the same yellow material as seen in the plume agate, but without the tree shape. Rock #5745 Rock #5745 Enlarged Above the crack […]

Read More

MORE PICS IN THE Summer 2024 Carver Agate Field Harvest Gallery

MORE PICS IN THE Summer 2024 Carver Agate Field Harvest Gallery

As I previously posted, the apples have been harvested, the garden harvest is nearly complete, and a harvest of Carver Agates cut this Summer of 2024 has been added to a new gallery. And now there are even more! I just added some more great pics to the Summer 2024 Carver Agate Field Harvest Gallery. Click the link above and take a look. These images were added to the end of the gallery, so you will have to scroll down a bit and you will find them. It might be easier to go to the bottom of the gallery and scroll UP to see the new stuff. Please remember to click on the images you want to see in more detail—a new page will then open up and you can enlarge the image for closer viewing. You can also download any image that interests you for later offline viewing. Just right click […]

Read More