6.3" Polished Banded Agate Nodule - Kerrouchen, Morocco

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 the 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 rock and/or fossils, resulting in deposition of the silica along the walls of the rock. This process can result in banding patterns as the composition and impurities of the fluids change over time. These banding patterns can either form as flat layers or rounded layers, depending on the surfaces available for deposition.