Tag: geology

From Western Europe to Northport, Maine

From Western Europe to Northport, Maine

Eons ago, the featured stone was part of western Europe. It was part of the European plate which, according to plate tectonic scientists, crashed into the North American plate. When this occurred, a small portion of the European plate broke off and was left stranded. It attached to the North American plate when the two plates subsequently parted again. This plate movement slowly increased the distance between Europe and North America, which created the Atlantic Ocean. As these plates continued to move apart, there was a ripping of the ocean floor in the Atlantic, which explains the volcanic activity that is still going on in Iceland and the mid-Atlantic Ocean area. Amphibolite / Rock #5142 So……what about this stone? The featured stone is from that part of the European crustal plate which rammed into what is now Northport, Maine, where my son Josh lives and I have a small camp. […]

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The End of the Beginning

The End of the Beginning

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

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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Agate “Vugs”

Agate “Vugs”

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

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

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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West Texas Baconite from the Carver Agate Field

West Texas Baconite from the Carver Agate Field

This pink and white banded agate looks like a bacon slice and so that is the name I gave it. The upper edge of the ‘baconite’ contains petite quartz crystals–technically euhedral quartz crystals–that formed in the center of a geode of which this is a part. The outer rind of the geode is seen at the bottom edge of the ‘baconite’ specimen.  

Brecciated Jasp/Agate from The Carver Agate Field

Brecciated Jasp/Agate from The Carver Agate Field

The Carver has produced red and yellow jaspers, sometimes mixed with green.   Yellow and red are seen in this photo.  After the jasper had initially formed, volcanic forces cracked/fractured the jasper into angular shards. Eventually a silica solution in either a liquid or semi-liquid state filled the fractured shards and then hardened, cementing the jasper back together.  These shards that are cemented back together are called brecciated.  Since some of the silica filling in the areas between the shards took on a banding (see particularly the upper left corner of the stone), we see a fortification agate which has formed within the brecciated jasper. For this reason, this specimen can be described as jasp/agate (part jasper, part agate) which is brecciated.

5 NEW Diversity Galleries for 2019

5 NEW Diversity Galleries for 2019

Wow! Three months collecting rocks on ‘The Carver’ in the fall of 2018 and January 2019 has yielded amazingly varied and beautiful geodes, agates, and jaspers. I have selected 108 specimens that I believe show the extraordinary variability of color, banding, and sagenitic inclusions (those neat weird shape things you can see hidden in each rock specimen). There are 5 galleries in this set 2019 Diversity Gallery #1 2019 Diversity Gallery #2 2019 Diversity Gallery #3 2019 Diversity Gallery #4 2019 Diversity Gallery #5 If you have questions or comments about any specimen, I would like to hear from you. ‘The Carver’ agate field is all about geological diversity.  I hope you enjoy viewing these new galleries.  

Small Pocket Yields Amethyst and Smoky Quartz Geodes and More

Small Pocket Yields Amethyst and Smoky Quartz Geodes and More

A small but rich pocket, recently uncovered on ‘the Carver’, is yielding an amazing number of geodes and nodules. The nodules contain banded blue and gray agates and many contain amethyst and smoky quartz crystals found within geodes (hollows) within the nodules. One large geode has a spectacular void with a sparkly druzey cavity. This pocket, which is still being explored, has yielded hundreds of nodules and geodes, some as small as a finger nail, some exceeding 17 pounds in weight. On one particular hunting foray, the pocket yielded blue, gray, and white banded agate nodules of the following weights: 17.6 pounds, two at 13 pounds each, 8.2 pounds, two at 3.4 pounds each, and 2.7 pounds. On another rocking foray, an astounding quantity of medium-sized nodules was recovered. I am in the process of cutting and polishing many of these nodules, although with the number involved the task will […]

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Geologically Significant: New Amethyst Agate Geode Find

Geologically Significant: New Amethyst Agate Geode Find

A 16+ pound amethyst agate geode found on ‘the Carver’ has recently been cut into 3 pieces, and polished. The geode rind is purple amethyst and approximately 1 1/2″ thick in most places. This thick amethyst rind encircles an approximately 5 1/2″ x 2″ crystal-filled hollow center. The amethyst crystals in the geode center are covered with a secondary surface mineral crystallization of a yellow/beige color. Even more interesting, the yellow/beige mineralization layer coating the amethyst is, in places, coated with a gray/black crystallization layer apparently involving a third type of mineral (I am seeking expert assistance to identify the mineralization involved). The gray/black mineralization layer appears to have intruded into the geode through the rind of the geode, into its center. This intrusion is visible on the photos shown.   Amethyst Agate Geode Slice A Amethyst Agate Geode Slice B   This specimen is geologically significant because it was […]

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