3.5" Polished Agate Nodule - Kerrouchen, Morocco

This is a polished agate nodule half that was collected from the Khenifra Province of Morocco. This agate nodule half features bands of red, blue, purple and white agate hues. It measures 3.5" wide and is up to 1.5" thick.

Banded agate nodules from Kerrouchen (also spelled Karouchen or Kerrouchene) are known for their intense red, pink, white, yellow, orange and brown agate hues. They formed as nodules from silica and iron-rich fluids within Triassic-age basaltic rock. These nodules can reach upwards of 12 inches wide and can be collected from the basalt itself. More commonly, they're collected from apple farms in the valleys where farming processes expose these nodules that erode from the basalt. Both nodular and vein/seam agates come from this region.

Agate is a variety of microcrystalline quartz (chalcedony) that displays translucence and, in some cases, banding. Agate primarily forms when silica-rich fluids fill pockets within rocks and/or fossils, depositing the silica along the walls of the rock. This process can result in banding patterns, as the compositions and impurities of these depositing fluids change over time. These banding patterns can either form as flat layers, creating linear patterns known as waterline agate, or as rounded layers, forming more common ring-like patterns. These patterns depend on the surfaces available for deposition.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Chalcedony var. Agate
LOCATION
Kerrouchen, Khenifra Province, Morocco
SIZE
3.5 x 2.9", up to 1.5" thick
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#181295