Monday, June 22, 2009

Wierd Agate

While at Muskallonge, a couple of people headed over from the museum to show me this wierd agate. The variety in the banding beats any agate I've ever seen. One of the other vendors thinks it is man-made. I'm not sure that I agree. Although I didn't take a picture of the top of the specimen, it appears to have matrix. Also, some of the bands are clearly translucent chalcedony, while others are macro quartz. My guess is that this is a natural specimen formed in a marine environment, probably in a sedimentary rock seam.

Have any of you ever seen a rock like this? Any ideas or opinions?


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1 comment:

  1. DaveJune 28, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    That is a beautiful one (aren't they all?) but not that unusual. I couldn't guage the size of it, but I'd say if larger than increasingly hard to find. We get up there several times a year and routinely find odball rocks - the unique geology of what's under Lake Superior is the source.

    Dave from Ohio

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