382 results for agate

Pennsylvania is not rich in rocks and minerals, and not very great for rockhounding.  There are very limited public lands, and much of it is hunting grounds. Pennsylvania does not have an...

What is the difference between precious stones and semiprecious stones? The dictionary describes semi-precious stones as being less valuable than precious stones. But, of course, that isn’t always ac

West Virginia is, of course, famous for its coal, but not for its rocks and minerals. The western two-thirds of West Virginia is a rough area of hills and valleys cut in sedimentary rocks and...

Rhode Island is one of the worst states for finding gem grade rocks and minerals. Once a plain not much above sea level, Rhode Island has been uplifted and its surface covered by stream action into...

Oklahoma has only a limited variety of rocks and minerals, mostly agate and petrified wood. However, Oklahoma is rich in commodity minerals throughout the state. These natural minerals, which...

Arkansas is a great state for rockhounding because of its abundance of quartz crystals. In fact, quartz was named the Arkansas state mineral in 1967. Southern and eastern Arkansas is sandy river...

What is lapidary? (pronounced lap-i-dar-y) Lapidary is described as the work involved in engraving, cutting, or polishing rocks and lapidary artist is used to describe a person who cuts, polishes, or

Maine is an excellent state for rock and mineral collecting! The northern part of Maine is hilly and often swampy, the southern part is rolling uplands broken by hills, isolated mountains and...

Cabbing Tigereye to take full advantage of its special beauty takes a little extra care. In the world of gemstones, there are so many amazing phenomenal stones. Phenomenal stones are those that displa

Let me state this right up front-I am not an expert in petrified wood. I have been in the lapidary business for over 40 years, and have, on occasion, sold petrified wood, plus I have some very good fr