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4.9" Polished Devil's Red Agate - TeePee Canyon, South Dakota
This is a cut and polished agate nodule half collected from TeePee Canyon in South Dakota. The nodule features bands of pink and red agate, and is accompanied by an acrylic display stand.
About Teepee Canyon Agate
Teepee Canyon agate is a distinctive and highly collectible variety of banded agate found in the Black Hills of Custer County, South Dakota. Unlike many agates that weather free from their host rock, Teepee Canyon agates occur within chert nodules embedded in the limestone and dolomite of the Minnelusa Formation. The finest examples exhibit intricate fortification banding in combinations of red, orange, yellow, pink, cream, white, and occasionally black, with particularly desirable specimens displaying the characteristic angular "holly leaf" pattern. Many nodules also contain central pockets lined with calcite or druzy quartz, and more rarely, amethyst.
Teepee Canyon agates are closely related to the famous Fairburn agates of South Dakota, with evidence indicating that the Black Hills bedrock deposits represent a source for agates later transported onto the surrounding plains by erosion. Quality material can be relatively scarce within the host rock, as many of the chert nodules contain little or no agate and may instead have centers of red jasper. This combination of scarcity, vivid coloration, and exceptionally detailed fortification patterns has made Teepee Canyon agate a classic and sought-after American lapidary material.
Teepee Canyon agate is a distinctive and highly collectible variety of banded agate found in the Black Hills of Custer County, South Dakota. Unlike many agates that weather free from their host rock, Teepee Canyon agates occur within chert nodules embedded in the limestone and dolomite of the Minnelusa Formation. The finest examples exhibit intricate fortification banding in combinations of red, orange, yellow, pink, cream, white, and occasionally black, with particularly desirable specimens displaying the characteristic angular "holly leaf" pattern. Many nodules also contain central pockets lined with calcite or druzy quartz, and more rarely, amethyst.
Teepee Canyon agates are closely related to the famous Fairburn agates of South Dakota, with evidence indicating that the Black Hills bedrock deposits represent a source for agates later transported onto the surrounding plains by erosion. Quality material can be relatively scarce within the host rock, as many of the chert nodules contain little or no agate and may instead have centers of red jasper. This combination of scarcity, vivid coloration, and exceptionally detailed fortification patterns has made Teepee Canyon agate a classic and sought-after American lapidary material.
$65
SPECIES
Chalcedony var. Agate
LOCATION
TeePee Canyon, South Dakota
FORMATION
Minnelusa Formation
SIZE
4.9 x 4.25", up to 1.2" thick
CATEGORY
ITEM
#373398
