darter
starting to shine!
Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Aug 21, 2017 14:01:23 GMT -5
Does anyone here know anything about a unique variety of agates from Racine? I stumbled across this article that makes mention of them, but there's not much of a description and no revealing photos (I suspect to not spoil the then upcoming rock show they were talking about). journaltimes.com/news/local/a-local-gem----rock-hunter-showcases-agates/article_7aa5155e-9ef6-5677-8a39-9e37e02243fb.htmlI took my kids down to North Beach in Racine to scout the lakeshore. We brought back a small bucket of anything that looked interesting (we're just getting started... don't know how to ID anything yet), but would like to know what to be on the lookout for.
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Post by coloradocliff on Aug 21, 2017 14:23:06 GMT -5
Might ne talking about the Banded and fortification "laker" agates. That the big one but they are all over and not just in Racine. hmm. Suspect maybe a journalist might have made a mistake.. ah shoot that could never happen. Such an honest and competent bunch these days. grin Maybe contact a local rock club . Would be a good thing for you to join a local rock club. Learn a lot quickly and go on group hunts.
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nemesis21
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2017
Posts: 88
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Post by nemesis21 on Aug 21, 2017 14:23:09 GMT -5
Never heard of them. What a terrible article
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Post by fernwood on Aug 21, 2017 17:40:21 GMT -5
From the article link: but the agates and fossilized agates found in Lake Michigan near the Wind Point Lighthouse had their beginnings in a strip of rock that millions of years ago was apparently a barrier reef in a vast salt sea.
The agates were created, Rubel said, when dust particles, animal waste, and various creatures that settled at the bottom of the lake began to melt as a result of the Earth’s heat; turning into an ooze that later hardened.
The rocks can only be found along a roughly 2-mile stretch along Racine’s Lake Michigan shoreline, according to Rubel.
The Racine Formation is the reef beds of the Silurian and contain a diverse assemblage of Trilobites, brachiopods and cephalopods. Most productive exposures were in quarries see Miklulic 1979.
The above sound very similar to the Niagra Escarpment that runs from Wisconsin, though Michigan, disappearing under the Great Lakes, it reemerges in Ontario, and continues on into New York State where it forms the steep drop that is Niagara Falls.
Contrary to popular belief, the Niagara Escarpment is not a fault line or the result of glaciation. It was formed by the settling and hardening of limy ooze at the bottom of an ancient sea which covered much of Wisconsin. The limestone layer created was called Niagara dolomite, and is a veritable timeline of fossil life. Ancient in age, the Ledge is 400 million years old. In comparison, the Appalachian Mountains are 300 million years old, and the Rockies, a young 70 million.
I would like to see photos of some of these Racine Agates and compare them to Escarpment ones.
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nemesis21
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2017
Posts: 88
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Post by nemesis21 on Aug 21, 2017 19:52:49 GMT -5
Sounds more like what I think of as a "cold water agate" which is probably fitting since Racine its pretty far south in Wisconsin.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2017 5:52:16 GMT -5
Another type of Laker!
No pics!
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Post by fernwood on Aug 22, 2017 9:20:08 GMT -5
Another type of Laker! No pics! I would like to see a pic too.
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darter
starting to shine!
Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Aug 23, 2017 19:47:43 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the leads, everyone! Here are a couple of snaps. I forgot to wet down the one with more rocks, but hopefully you experts can still make them out. All of these were found right at the breaking point of the waves, within about a 10 foot radius or less.
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Post by fernwood on Aug 23, 2017 19:54:20 GMT -5
I see some fossils and agates. Also Granite and sandstone. CAn you post larger photos of individuals?
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darter
starting to shine!
Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Aug 23, 2017 20:21:11 GMT -5
The granite and sandstone I recognize (my house is sandstone), but which are fossils? I can get pics of any individual ones that are of interest. I didn't want to start down that path yet thinking I'd be picking the wrong ones.
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Post by rockjunquie on Aug 23, 2017 22:15:29 GMT -5
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Post by fernwood on Aug 24, 2017 10:29:05 GMT -5
I see 6 potential fossils, but tough to explain which ones. Need to see individual photos. Also, if you set up a Flickr account you can post there as a host site and have photos appear here. Photo 2, rows 3, 4, 6, 7 caught my eye as potential fossils. Just need better photos. Also, check out how to ID potential Great Lakes Fossils.
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Post by coloradocliff on Aug 24, 2017 19:02:37 GMT -5
I see some fossils and agates. Also Granite and sandstone. CAn you post larger photos of individuals? Where you seeing the agate Ferny? See the other stuff. Nice conglomerate piece. Most should tumble well. darter might be a really good thing to join a local rock club. Lots of new friends and new places to hunt for things you couldn't imagine. Think about it.
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Post by fernwood on Aug 25, 2017 4:38:46 GMT -5
I see some fossils and agates. Also Granite and sandstone. CAn you post larger photos of individuals? Where you seeing the agate Ferny? See the other stuff. Nice conglomerate piece. Most should tumble well. darter might be a really good thing to join a local rock club. Lots of new friends and new places to hunt for things you couldn't imagine. Think about it.
Possibly in the 2nd photo.
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nemesis21
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2017
Posts: 88
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Post by nemesis21 on Aug 25, 2017 9:46:41 GMT -5
If you're looking for agates on a beach I suggest waiting for a big storm and looking around on a sunny day after that. A lot of beaches, at least in northern MN, get picked over by the influx of tourists. Also, if you don't mind getting wet, looking in the water can yield better results sometimes. I think I've even seen videos of people scuba diving/snorkeling for agates in Lake Superior. Maybe wait for a really warm day to try that, though.
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Post by coloradocliff on Aug 25, 2017 9:55:06 GMT -5
If you're looking for agates on a beach I suggest waiting for a big storm and looking around on a sunny day after that. A lot of beaches, at least in northern MN, get picked over by the influx of tourists. Also, if you don't mind getting wet, looking in the water can yield better results sometimes. I think I've even seen videos of people scuba diving/snorkeling for agates in Lake Superior. Maybe wait for a really warm day to try that, though. Yep Mudpuppies are pretty smart about collecting. Maybe a kayak out to a less traveled and collected places. Lots of finds in landscape rocks, gravel pits etc.
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darter
starting to shine!
Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Aug 28, 2017 21:59:20 GMT -5
If you're looking for agates on a beach I suggest waiting for a big storm and looking around on a sunny day after that. A lot of beaches, at least in northern MN, get picked over by the influx of tourists. Also, if you don't mind getting wet, looking in the water can yield better results sometimes. I think I've even seen videos of people scuba diving/snorkeling for agates in Lake Superior. Maybe wait for a really warm day to try that, though. Ah, that storm idea is a great idea. I was thinking of coming in the spring, but the water is barely 50 degrees by Memorial Day. For this hunt I was actually sitting in about 16 inches of water, a few feet out from shore... That's right about where the waves were breaking before sliding up onto the beach. All the sand was washed away there revealing a nice band of stones waiting to be collected.
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darter
starting to shine!
Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Aug 28, 2017 22:03:51 GMT -5
Well the pictures will have to wait. My youngest got a Lortone 33b for his birthday from his grandparents. He and his sister each filled a barrel with the Racine rocks after I showed them how to check hardness.
Since these are smooth beach stones, am I safe to presume that these will likely only take about a week in 80 grit?
Also, did we do OK to include rocks from 6-7 Mohs in the same barrel? Will the sixes survive?
I'll see if I can get some pics later of the specimens that didn't make the cut, mainly due to softness.
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ancientchicago
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2018
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Post by ancientchicago on Apr 18, 2018 20:09:15 GMT -5
Hello all,
I joined this forums exclusively to respond to this thread. I read that article and then found this forum thread. I have found many of these agates. They are not Lakers. Lake Superior Agates are actually quite rare in Wisconsin and Illinois. Glacial action moved most of those from the Upper Peninsula to the southwest. What we have here in Southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois are a type of "Coldwater Agate" increasingly becoming known among rockhounds as "Lake Michigan Cloud Agate." They are small nodules and fragments of nodules that are usually fairly well structured and translucent. They are primarily grey banded, occasionally with a thin streak of orange jasper. Most commonly they appear orange on the beaches due to iron staining but the weathered rind does not penetrate more than a millimeter. The source of these agates, I believe, is indeed the Niagara Escarpment and its thick walls of limestone and dolostone. Like volcanic-origin agates, these agates likely formed from silica gel lining pockets and seams within the bedrock. Enough silica would have been available from the exoskeletons of sea creatures as they decomposed and chemically altered. Pseuodomorph Chalcedony fossils seem to come from the same source. The Gitche Gumee museum agrees with my assessment after I consulted to confirm.
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Post by fernwood on Apr 19, 2018 2:36:16 GMT -5
Interesting.
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