Natural Lake Superior Agates

Very often people have suggested that in order to fully appreciate Lake Superior agates, it is necessary to cut and polish them. In most cases this is not true. These agates are almost 1.2 billion years old. After becoming free from the basalt rock in which they formed, they have been dragged by glaciers and rolled in the waves of Lake Superior as well as the lakes and oceans that existed in the upper mid-west prior to Lake Superior. Thus, in most cases the husk has worn off the agates exposing the beauty of their banding without the need of lapidary.

For today's posting, I decided to go through the pictures of agates found by people who visit the Gitche Gumee Museum and include close up shots. All of the agate structure in these agates are visible on the outside. In my opinion, if there is beautiful structure showing it usually is better to not cut or polish the specimen.