Lake Superior Agate Face Polished

This is a face polished Lake Superior Agate that I recently made for sale.

The middle-banded section of the agate has been sanded and polished while the top and bottom have been left natural.

Lake Superior Agates formed around the midcontinent rift. As the continental plate pulled apart allowing lava to flow through in what is now the Lake Superior area. Basalt is one of the igneous rocks left behind from cooling magma. as the magma cooled gas bubbles remained trapped in the rock leaving behind voids and pockets in the stone. Over time silica rich water filled the voids depositing silica creating the agates we see today. The agates have a wide variety of patterns most common being banded or moss. Banded agates are the result of silica being deposited in layers one on top of the other. Moss patterns are created from minerals like iron in the silica rich solution reacting with oxygen in the air and oxidizing. This creates the mossy pattern you see in the stone here.

This agate is dark red in color with yellow limonite staining. This agate has a strong fortification pattern around a quartz center.

The dimensions are 1.15"x 1"x .75"
The weight is 23 grams.