Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - Artistic Quartz or an Agate?

bitfiend (59)in #geology • 6 years ago

Got a little delayed due to a busier than expected weekend! Here's a Sunday something for the #rockhound crew. If you like rocks, you're in! I've been super tired lately and I also just got a new 50 inch 4k TV. Originally I used a 1080p 50 inch but my wife took that over when we moved. Having the 50 inch back made gaming fun again so I even ordered a capture card so that I can start streaming again. I used to stream on twitch but streaming on one pc got tedious. Now that I have two, I can use a capture card for better performance. That means dlive broadcasts are in the near future. Of course, don't hold your breath. Spring/Summer is here so I need to get out too!

I want to say this is an agate but I think it may just be a quartz. The reason why I think it's a quartz is the shape. However; I have mentioned in the past that just because it looks like a quartz doesn't mean that it is. Let's inspect further! I actually found an agate the other day that looked like a quartz up until I flipped it. I'll show you in a future post! The lights off segment was difficult on this one too. Just like the last one, it's just too thick to glow right. This made it extremely difficult to get clear shots because the lighting was off. I thought I got better shots though.

Lights Off

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Through the 60mm Macro Lens

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No Shine

I found this one on Agate Beach a few months ago. I found a lot of nice rocks there that I've been able to share and I hope to go again soon. The problem is that this specific spot is very popular amongst rockhounds so now that the ice is gone I'm sure all the awesome agates are too. It's best to wait for a good windstorm before I go back. Some of the details in the macro section were hard to get focus on, but I think there's enough detail that explains why I think it's an agate. The bubbly stuff reminds me of a geode too.

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Through the 60mm Macro Lens

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Shine

This section kind of blew me away a little. The quartz that appeared in the middle was not clearly visible until I applied the oil. There's really not much to say but look at this hidden gem! So at the beginning of the post I said it might be a quartz. I'd say that upon further inspection, this bad boy is an agate! Just look at those macro shots and decide for yourself!

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Through the 60mm Macro Lens

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How Big is it?

^{Precious Metal to go with Precious Rock! Nothing too fancy, just a copper penny!}

Flashlight Settings	ISO 100 35 mm f/4.5 1/100 sec
Settings both Lights Off & On	ISO 800 55 mm f/5.6 1/50 sec
Camera	Nikon D3400 24 MP
Lens	AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Lens	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm 1:2.8 G ED
Location	Superior, WI

Fun Fact: I took a total of 81 pictures of this rock bring you the best quality! It takes me about 45 minutes to take the pictures, another 45 minutes to pick the best ones and re-scale them, plus another 20-30 minutes to make the post!

I don't miss the Jewer's Loupe at all for these rock posts! It actually gives me more time to pick quality crops from the macro shots I take. I am certainly glad that my wife bought it for me!

I still haven't looked up when the moon will be in view, but last night I saw it! Based on the phase that it's in, I can understand where it's been! Hiding! Well, here's a sweet moon picture! It's fun observing the phases of the moon. I need to catch it low on the horizon. It gets orange and big. It happens quite frequently around here and for some reason I recall it being a rare occurrence.

^{Taken on 5/19/18!}