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Wake County, NC - Agate (Read 3510 times)

Karuna YaBB Newbies Offline RockHoundLounger Posts: 19 Joined: Mar 12^th, 2018 Gender:	Wake County, NC - Agate Apr 11^th, 2018 at 2:46pm	Print Post
	This is Stripy Mt., one of my favorite agate finds. Since I typically find reddish brown stuff around here, this one is special. I call it Stripy Mt., but any thoughts on specific agate naming would be appreciated!!

	5D6E7E51-F6B1-407D-8E36-8FA46269F09D.jpeg ( 2383 KB \| 134 Downloads ) 27BAEB07-5837-466C-AE95-2ABAC6E27F12.jpeg ( 2229 KB \| 116 Downloads )
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JoeM God Member Offline I Love YaBB 2.5 AE! Posts: 4283 Location: Wake County, NC Joined: Sep 30^th, 2010 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #1 - Apr 11^th, 2018 at 6:06pm	Print Post
	Good eye on that find of Stripy Mtn agate! It's very hard to find pieces of agate like that around here since it doesn't come from this state. Maybe Brazil? Don't be too alarmed as you are not the first to find pieces of this sort in local creeks, but the rock itself is not from a local NC source. Rock Mystery # 765.


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Rebecca God Member Offline I Love YaBB 2.5 AE! Posts: 653 Joined: Nov 11^th, 2010 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #2 - Apr 12^th, 2018 at 9:54am	Print Post
	Very nice find. That would polish into a very striking piece. Not to be Contrary Mary and more like Chatty Patty... Joe, are you sure that wouldn't be found there? You don't have any flint over there? Isn't that a ubiquitous (sedimentary?) layer found everywhere in the world? Is there limestone over there? I don't want to be rude, but I think it looks more like banded chert/flint...layered. It is still cryptocrystalline quartz and it IS a stripe pattern and it will make a nice stone.


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JoeM God Member Offline I Love YaBB 2.5 AE! Posts: 4283 Location: Wake County, NC Joined: Sep 30^th, 2010 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #3 - Apr 12^th, 2018 at 8:37pm	Print Post
	Well all you have to do is find some pictures of specimens that look like the Stripy Mtn agate and a reference for the source in Wake County, or anywhere in NC. Simple enough. Here's an example, http://www.mcrocks.com/ftr12-1/CarolinaAgateStreeterJanuary2012.html


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Rebecca God Member Offline I Love YaBB 2.5 AE! Posts: 653 Joined: Nov 11^th, 2010 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #4 - Apr 13^th, 2018 at 9:36am	Print Post
	Interesting. It is quartz and even with a geologist calling it agate, most people that I have run in to that have been hunting agate for years would debate and call it banded chert or flint or seam chalcedony. They love to argue the qualities of patterned microcrystalline quartz till the cows come home. I am also not seeing much of the translucency that is a requisite to differentiate between jasper, flint, chalcedony, and agate. What his work does show me for certain is that layer occurs in a lot of places., and that Summit Lake has some really pretty colors there. I don't think he is incorrect assigning a name of "Carolina Agate" either. That material is the agate that area produces...that specific type of pattern and color. Also the piece Karuna found is prettier than a lot in those pics. But that is all totally subjective and my own opinion. I am sure this debate will go on indefinitely.


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JohnH YaBB Newbies Offline RockHoundLounger Posts: 2 Location: Raleigh Joined: Feb 20^th, 2015 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #5 - Apr 18^th, 2018 at 1:30pm	Print Post
	Quite a few points raised here. To Joe’s comments, I will be posting pictures (technology permitting) of agates found in a Raleigh creek,that do not resemble any of the usual agate found aroun here. However, I’ve seen fortification agates excavated from a farmer’s field. The depth was 25-30 feet from the surface, and the location was the Smithfield area. The banding was very fine with reds, yellows, and orange colors. Rebecca raised many of the terms related to agates (mostly descriptive), some that vary depending on what part of the country you are in, and who is currently talking. I’ve been looking for electron microscope pictures of agate to eliminate some of this ambiguity, but there are not that many pictures out there. The Stripy Mtn agate would be a good one to begin with!


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Rebecca God Member Offline I Love YaBB 2.5 AE! Posts: 653 Joined: Nov 11^th, 2010 Gender:	Re: Wake County, NC - Agate Reply #6 - May 1^st, 2018 at 10:45am	Print Post
	I am wrong. It is agate. I think I got caught up in other people's arguments about the complexities. I think it has to come down to crystal lattice...the structure of the rock. Just like none of us look the same, but are all the same basic biology. Or would that just qualify it as quartz? Is "agate" only referring to the pattern - if there is one present? Agate is such a involved subject...I believe I understand why they call it the Devil's rock now. More on that later...


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