Pretty colorful little Fire Agates....:)

curious kat · Feb 1, 2014

...found these on the property, some can be really beautiful....

hbrown22 · Feb 1, 2014

I recognize you from the artifact forum

Those are BEAUTIFUL!! Do you sell them?

Cariboo5 · Feb 1, 2014

Beauties all of them.....

Nature is raw and beautiful at the same time as volcanic activity as violent and destructive as it can be also forms fire agates which have beautiful iridescent rainbow colors such as yours....

You mentioned found on the property....How much property do you have for finding rocks & gems...

curious kat · Feb 1, 2014

Thanks for enjoying them you guys...no haven't sold any of them. The ones posted here are small, maybe only an inch or two in size and they were wet to show off color. I find them on our 5 acres. I was thinking that agates were formed underwater?

hbrown22 · Feb 2, 2014

curious kat said:
Thanks for enjoying them you guys...no haven't sold any of them. The ones posted here are small, maybe only an inch or two in size and they were wet to show off color. I find them on our 5 acres. I was thinking that agates were formed underwater?

The ones I've found here (TN) are the size of softballs and I've found them near the creek. I've also found a few small ones in Lake MI. What part of the country are you from? They are a sedimentary rock.

Cariboo5 · Feb 2, 2014

curious kat said:
Thanks for enjoying them you guys...no haven't sold any of them. The ones posted here are small, maybe only an inch or two in size and they were wet to show off color. I find them on our 5 acres. I was thinking that agates were formed underwater?

You are correct as they are formed ( hydrothermally ) pertaining to the action of hot, aqueous solutions or gases within or on the surface of the earth and relating to the action of water under conditions of high temperature in forming rocks and minerals. I would relate the source of hot water to volcano's or fissures......" I've been wrong before and chances are it will not be the last"

Just found a good site that explains and the following is taken from that site:

"Fire Agate is a rare form of Chalcedony. It is hydrothermally formed when rising hot water, saturated with colloidal silica and iron oxide, enters seams crevices and pockets in the country rock. As this solution cooled, the Silica formed Chalcedony often in botryoidal form on any surface available. As the solution lost Silica, too much iron oxide remained in suspension to re-stablise this. The iron oxide formed extremely thin layers of goethite or limonite crystals upon the Chalcedony. This cycle kept repeating, thus forming Chalcedony with extremely thin layers of iron crystals. These are known as Schiller layers. Latest research indicates when light passes through them it causes the interference colour in Fire Agate. It is the same chemical formula as any other type of quartz S1-O2."

Just a great find on your property.....congrats

MrLee · Feb 2, 2014

Lucky you. I have to drive 180miles to collect them!

The description above is dead on it. I just acquired Agates Inside & Out and it explains how fire agates are formed.

mamabear · Feb 2, 2014

Um, I wanna come play in your back yard! Those are beautiful!!

Eu_citzen · Feb 2, 2014

Wonderful! You should try carving them.

Rob in KS · Feb 2, 2014

Those are waaaay cool.
You should check out some of Eu_citizen's posts and see what he does with stones.

gunsil · Feb 2, 2014

Fire agate is a beautiful type of agate. You are so lucky to have it right around your place!!

curious kat · Feb 2, 2014

...wow hbrown...your agates sound LARGE...have you posted them? We'd like to see please...

I'm in NM.

curious kat · Feb 2, 2014

...well golly everyone thanks for liking them, they are pretty and such nice "gifts" from mother nature!

hbrown22 · Feb 2, 2014

curious kat said:
...wow hbrown...your agates sound LARGE...have you posted them? We'd like to see please... I'm in NM.

I can't remember if I posted them or not. I'll try to take some pix tomorrow. Not as colorful as yours. Mine are pale orange and white.

curious kat · Feb 2, 2014

...yes you should, we'd like to see them hbrown22...

hbrown22 · Feb 3, 2014

All these were found in north Middle Tennessee, near the Kentucky state line.

This is the first one I found, early last year. I call it an agate because of the banding (translucent & opaque alternating). Has a 10" circumference. The core is loaded with quartz crystals, in one of the folds there is a nice one peeking at me

I can't find anyone who has a lapidary to cut it for me. Taking it to my environmental geology professor tomorrow, maybe he knows. Last pic I took under a magnifying glass.

A smaller one, 8" cir. Seem to be a whiter, milkier color. Also loaded with quartz crystals. This one was hard to photograph the bands. Last two pix are under magnifying glass.

Small chunk loaded with crystals. Pic may be too blurry.

Last one. Not an agate, but a cool piece of chert with smokey quartz crystals.

We find these while artifact hunting. I also pick up cool rocks & fossils.

hbrown22 · Feb 3, 2014

One more

This one is a white color and also has fossils. First few are without the magnifying glass, but the ones with it are more true to color. This one is about 6" long and 9" cir in middle.