Tag: quartz

Powerful and Violent Forces Create Brecciated Material

Powerful and Violent Forces Create Brecciated Material

My last posting, “Cryptic Message Leads to Brecciated Pierced Earrings!,” featured brecciated material from The Carver Agate Field. The posting promised more geological information. And, here it is. Brecciated agates or other materials are ‘pieces held together with quartz,’ citing Gemstones of The World, by Walter Schumann, page 134. Sometimes the quartz that holds together the shards of broken rock can form agate between the shards. Rock #4867 In this photo of Rock # 4867, there is a small fortification agate which can be seen between the shards. There is also a lava shard at the top of the photo. Rock #4868 Rock #4868 displays jasper (dark brown horizontal strip near top) and agate shards (lower bottom right) as well as a brown lava shard (lower middle) Rock #4833 Photo 4833 shows yellow/orange jasper shards cemented together by quartz which is mostly not visible except as a bluish material (lower […]

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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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Another Oddball Retrieved from The Carver

Another Oddball Retrieved from The Carver

While there are similarities to the two previous oddballs shown in an earlier posting, this little beauty has red, orange and gold needles radiating from the rind toward the tiny geode center. These needle-like structures are often referred to as ‘rutilated quartz’.   What is cool about these ‘needles’ are the color and the symmetrical  nature  of the ‘needles’ surrounding the tiny geode. This is why rock hunting on The Carver is a constant thrill–always something new and interesting geologically!     previous oddballs

NEW: “Deep Pit” Amethyst Smoky Quartz Galleries

NEW: “Deep Pit” Amethyst Smoky Quartz Galleries

A 2018 discovery on ‘The Carver agate field’ has now been mostly explored. A year of cutting and polishing the agates, amethyst, and smoky quartz geodes from the ‘deep pit’ find is now displayed in these new photo galleries dedicated to this remarkable geological deposit from The Carver. The ‘deep pit’ was a small area approximately 15 x 30 feet within a larger pit that was approximately 500 x 700 feet.  From this larger pit, only the small pit yielded the geodes, agates and mineral specimens shown here. This is a geological oddity about which I have almost completed a more detailed geological report.  This report should be interesting because two highly respected Texas geologists have provided two differing geological opinions as to the  origins of this extremely peculiar geological find. Click on the links below to enjoy these new galleries and ‘stay tuned’ for more geological information about the […]

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A Deep Pocket

A Deep Pocket

A deep excavation on The Carver has produced a small pocket/area filled with amethyst and smoky quartz crystal-filled geodes and blue agate nodules. Some unique mineral specimens were also uncovered. This deep pocket was approximately 10 to 15 feet down in the excavation and involved a productive area approximately 30 by 50 feet in size. This pocket, thus far, is a unique and never before seen geological formation on The Carver agate field. Fall 2018 produced an unexpected treasure trove of rock specimens. The photos speak for themselves, so click here to see examples in the Gallery.  

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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The Scepter

The Scepter

Two exciting new specimens from The Carver! One is a spectacular citrine (yellow quartz) ‘scepter’. Scepter quartz is a first and second generation of quartz crystal growth, one on top of the other, with the second generation, or top of the scepter, being larger than the first generation crystal. The name scepter is taken from the scepters of lore held by kings. Clear quartz (uncolored), amethyst (purple quartz), and smokey quartz scepters are not extremely rare. Citrine, which is a light yellow or gold-brown quartz and, according to Walter Schumann (who I think has written one of the best treatises on gemstones), on page 120 of Gemstones of the World, “natural citrine is rare. Most commercial citrine are heat treated amethyst or smokey quartz”. This scepter specimen has not been treated in any way. Therefore, its coloration as a natural citrine is rare and even more unusual having formed as […]

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