First of all, the patterns & features come in so many types.  Some have fortification banding, with lots of alternating colors of bands, while other “Lakers” have banding of the “water-level” (straight, parallel) type. There’s another type of feature in some Lakers called “tubes”.  The best way to describe tubes, is sort of like circular, straw-like patterns running through a portion of the stone.  Some Lakers have what’s called “peeling”. Picture a part of the stone which was eroded to produce a smooth, very thinly-layered step formation. That’s peeling.  A rather rare type of Laker pattern is the “spaghetti-strand” type, whose pattern speaks for itself.

Another type of Laker is called a “floater”. This type consists of fortificaton banding which is suspended within a section of quartz.  That quartz can, sometimes, be amethyst.  Some Lakers also have “eyes”, with any number of small-to-medium-size eyes (which really DO look like eyes) on the surface of the stone.  Some Lakers have beautiful inclusions, such as “moss”, which resembles little plants, and “sagenite”, which are needle-like, spray formations in the stone.  It is not uncommon to also see well-defined “crystal impressions” in a Laker. These were left by Calcite crystals which were, at one time eons ago, embedded into the rock, and now long-gone.  Be aware that there can often be any number of the types of patterns, features, & inclusions mentioned above combined in the SAME stone!

 But WAIT….THERE’S MORE!   What often draws one’s attention to a Laker is its MAGNIFICENT coloration!   The colors of Lakers are limitless, as any color of the spectrum is possible.  I’d challenge anyone to find a Lake Superior Agate with less than 3 colors in a single stone.  Most Lakers have, at least, 5 or 6 colors/shades in a stone.  The variation of colors can be seen within the banding, tubes, peeling, quartz, moss, sagenite, and on the “husk”, which is commonly referred to as the “matrix” in the mineral world.   Yes, even the husk adds much to the character of a Laker!  The stones that have predominately red & white banding are affectionately called “candy” by collectors.  The multi-colored Lakers are, obviously, incredible.  Another one of my favorite-colored Lakers is the “paint” Laker.  This type comes in various shades of red, orange, brown, & yellow, sort of blending into each other.  There are also the “blue paints”.

To sum it up, I’ve never met a Laker I didn’t like!  If you are enticed by my article, & want to get into the wonderful world of Lake Superior Agates, contact me, & I’ll inform you of the best locations in Minnesota to hunt for and/or purchase these ULTRA-SWEET GEMS of many patterns, features, inclusions, colors, & sizes.

“LONG LIVE ROCK, I NEED IT EVERY DAY!”  (Pete Townshend)

“KEEP ON ROCKIN’ IN THE FREE WORLD!”  (Neil Young)

“ROCKS IN MY HEAD!” ……………..Sheldon

I sent off some of my rock photos from the Lebanon Show that I took to various club members to comment on.  This is a piece of petrified wood, that Dale showed a specific interest in and isn’t it neat. 

Here is what Dale had to say about it:

Hey, what can I say about that beautiful hunk of former wood (tree trunk) that has been transformed into petrified wood. This may have taken millions of years, but, is now worth between $3000.00 and $4000.00 after finding, excavating, hauling, sawing, polishing, and transporting.

Inflation may cause an increase in value as time goes on and as the material becomes scarcer and harder to excavate. I think the center bluish part is opal, while the outer part is agate.

The rock slab is about 30 inches across at the widest part, while the thickness appears to be about 3 1/2 inches and weighs around 350 pounds.

According to the owner, the slab came from China and the price includes the formfitting wooden stand.

Isn’t it an interesting piece?  I should have gotten the information on where you could buy it.  I didn’t though.

My favorite rock or mineral is Calcite. Because Calcite can be all different colors, like ,yellow ,cr?me ,clear ,white ,blue ,green ,and probably other colors too. I also like Calcite because u can find Calcite in crystals or in other forms in which I don?t know how to really describe ,like, a cube of Calcite almost or like a paste glazed on top of a rock.

!!!  I LOVE

CALCITE  !!!  

So, do you think she likes Calcite or what??

I also like fluorite.  I have quite a few pieces of it in my collection.

Fluorite is a mineral that comes in many many colors, but is mostly known for it’s brilliant purple variation.  It can easily compare with amethyst.  Fluorite is often fluorescent, typically in a blue shade. 

When Fluorite is found it often times is in with other minerals. The best way to tell if you are close to some fluorite is by the crystal habits where you are.  If the accompany rocks are harder than calcite, but softer than quartz, chances are you will find some fluorite.

Calcite is a very common mineral.  It makes up approximately 4% of the earth.  It comes in a variety of colors including yellow, orange, pink, blue, red, brown, green, black, grey, and most often various shades of white.  It is also found frequently clear in color.  The crystals are generally rhombohedrons or 3 directional.  They are anywhere from completely translucent to transparent in nature.

Anyways, I wanted to let everyone out there know…this show is going to be great.  The response from dealers was overwhelming, we could have sold twice the tables we did.  That said we are on the lookout again for a new larger location that we can grow at.

The show now needs to have a great viewer turnout.

It is off interstate 81 at Exit 14 at the Quality Inn and Suites this year March 24th and 25th.  The hours are 10 to 6 Saturday and 10 to 5 Sunday.

I hope all the members make it to at least attend the show.  I know I will be at the spin for a rock booth a lot of the time.  I will have Kyra with me though, so maybe won’t be such a good help.  I may be extraordinarily helpful though as Kyra may just love this spin thing.  LOL…

See you there….

I have no idea what it is, but it really looked like this…no camera distortion that I know of.

I welcome your education on what this is and any information you all may have about it.

(The comments button is below, post comment there. It won’t show immediately unless you have commented before. Don’t use your full name.)

IvyHall

That is all for now. Bye…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornblende

Here is the picture of it from the meeting. It isn’t as clear as it should be. I need to practice holding my camera further away… It is a beautiful black rock though.