View allAll Photos Tagged agate
Brasilian polished agate plates captured in transmitted light, with a macro lens and extension tubes (magnification 2-3X).
Brasilian polished agate plates captured in transmitted light, with a macro lens and extension tubes (magnification 2-3X).
For Robert Yardley!
Rock-collecting on the shores of Lake Superior is a fun activity (even more fun if you actually find "something"). All of the smoothed beach stones are very attractive when wet, but agates like the one in the picture are a special "prize" for the observant rockhound.
This is a Lake Superior Agate, the "State Gemstone" of Minnesota. In the U.S., it is found on the shores of Lake Superior (Minnesota, Wisconsin and my home state of Michigan.). The colors distinguish it from agates found in other locations. Iron oxides give Lake Superior Agate rich tones of red, orange, yellow and red-brown.
Note:
This small specimen, measuring 1.25 x 1.25 x 0.62inches (3.2 x 3.2 x 1.6cm) was found by my Flickr friend Kevin ("Lakerdog"), I confess I could not find one on my recent trip to the U.P. Many thanks Kevin, for your expertise and generosity..
Agate has a dreamy quality with signature bands made up of mineral deposits layered in a perfectly circular symmetry around its circumference. A combination of igneous rock with silica deposits found in groundwater, the otherworldly bands give this semi-precious stone its trademark appearance.
This uncut raw end is on a agate nodule that comes from Ojo Laguna in Chihuahua, Mexico. Known as Laguna agate, it originates from the Sierra Tarahumara region of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The nodules occur in andesitic volcanic rocks.
Agate is a variety of cryptocrystalline quartz that typically contains 1–20% of the mineral moganite. Both quartz and moganite are forms of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), but they differ in crystal structure—a phenomenon known as polymorphism. Because the crystal structures are too small to see without magnification, agate is described as cryptocrystalline, meaning “hidden crystals.” The brilliant colors in the intricate banding result from trace amounts of iron oxides and other mineral impurities.
This specimen was photographed at the 2025 Wyoming State Gem and Mineral show in Gillette, Wyoming. This is the raw end of the same noodle shown in the preceding photo.
My sister gave me this little figurine several years ago. I have him on this agate slice that just happens to match. Happy Macro Monday!
Partially reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, this Agate House was an eight-room pueblo, built almost entirely of petrified wood, which stood from approximately 900 AD - 1200 AD. This two room reconstruction stands in Petrified Forest National Park, approximately a mile walk from the Rainbow Forest Museum near the Holbrook, Arizona entrance station on US 180.
Cet œuf en pierre d'Agate semble surgir d'une galaxie lointaine pour essayer en vain de voler la vedette au dernier éclipse en date du 08-04-24. #Macro #MacroMondays #Egg
Just a shot of a piece of backlit agate , this piece is a bit thicker than the often seen pieces that are about an eighth of an inch thick , whereas this piece is more like half an inch thick .
Agate is the banded variety of chalcedony,which comes in a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancient Greece, in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors, while bead necklaces with pierced and polished agate date back to the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus Valley civilisation.
The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shore line of the Dirillo River or Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) in Sicily, sometime between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
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Embedded minerals such as copper, iron oxide, chromium, sulphur, etc., turn the micro crystals in this agate specimen the most beautiful shades of green, yellow, brown and red. These colors can be changed by various methods including dying, honeying and heating. Brazilians have used these methods to color their agates for centuries. You may have seen them, slabs of agate in shocking pink, sky blue and emerald city green. I've enhanced the colors of this bouquet using the orton effect! Definitely a lot easier than dying, honeying, and heating! And a lot prettier....
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Nikon D700
60mm f/2.8 micro lens
orton effect applied
© alley cat photography - all rights reserved
Taken for Happy Caturday 30 August 2025 "Circular". I like how it could seem that Agate and the Calico cat on the side of the cat bed are Making Eye Contact. There's a definite resemblance.
Boy when I look back at photos of their early days here, when they'd both curl up together in this cat bed (this when Agate was lean and Jet was Much Too Skinny) - well, Jet is doing all right in her larger form now but yep we do need a little less Agate, sorry gal. (I promise I will try to add this to Happy Caturday for 30 August - but my photo last week was added (very late) and right now it is one of the "two in the last week", so I need to wait to add this one.)
This large cab is most of what is left from one half of a plume agate collected on the Walker Ranch in 1994.
Agates are one of the many minerals and gem stones the Lake Superior region is know for. We got hooked on agate hunting on the lake shore while we were up there. We ran into a character named Dave on the beach. Dave has been a serious rockhound for 50 years now, and has an unbelievable collection of agates he has found. He pulled these out of his back pack and lined them up on a ledge so I could photograph them. They are about the size of a wallnut, which is pretty good size for an agate. He spent an afternoon teaching us how to find agates among the shoreline rocks. We ran into him again the next day and he handed us a bag of smaller polished agates, about a cup full. Such a nice gift! Thanks, Dave!
Macro Mondays ~ First Letter of My Surname
A for Agate
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. Any comments or Faves are very much appreciated.
Agates are very mysterious, especially inside, they can take any existing color and have some very nicely shaped imperfections ! Here there are one blue and one pink agate.
Panasonic GH4 with Lumix G 30mm f/2.8 MACRO
This cut and polished agate nodule, showing vivid bands of color, comes from Ojo Laguna in Chihuahua, Mexico. Known as Laguna agate, it originates from the Sierra Tarahumara region of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The nodules occur in andesitic volcanic rocks.
Agate is a variety of cryptocrystalline quartz that typically contains 1–20% of the mineral moganite. Both quartz and moganite are forms of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), but they differ in crystal structure—a phenomenon known as polymorphism. Because the crystal structures are too small to see without magnification, agate is described as cryptocrystalline, meaning “hidden crystals.” The brilliant colors in the intricate banding result from trace amounts of iron oxides and other mineral impurities.
This specimen was photographed at the 2025 Wyoming State Gem and Mineral show in Gillette, Wyoming. This is the polished face of the same agate shown in the following photo.
2.73 Ibs (1.23 kg)
Width of each half: About 4.72 inches (12 cm)
Height of each half: About 3.54 inches (9 cm)
With a storm front approaching, an Ellis & Eastern eastbound nears its connection with the Union Pacific's Worthington Subdivision at Agate, Minnesota on August 29, 2024.
Impressive bands and crystallized formation. Nature is truly amazing!
www.ebay.com/itm/125694251193?
hash=item1d43f610b9:g:lN0AAOSwNv9jsc-z
Quartz (var. agate), Oregon
Source: Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington, D.C.
Agate is a fine-grained variety of quartz known as chalcedony that shows concentric color banding. The colors in this agate are caused by microscopic inclusions of iron oxide minerals in the quartz. Agates are commonly found in cavities in volcanic rock, where silica-rich water deposited quartz crystals layer by layer parallel to the cavity wall.
Brazil is the major commercial source of agate.