What is an agate? I have collected agates in Western Washington and on the Oregon Coast for years. Several fellow rockhounders have said, “That’s not an agate. None of those rocks are agates.” That made me wonder. What, really, is an agate?
I did some reading about agates online and found out that in general, agates are banded. Many of the Oregon Coast agates I’ve found (and many of the river agates I’ve collected) have no bands but have the rest of the characteristics of agates (a waxy feel and look, varying degrees of translucence).
So, today, I searched one of my favorite rivers near Vancouver, Washington, and found some agates, a couple pieces of jasper and (maybe) a piece of petrified wood. After each find, I show closeups of the rock and ask, “What is this? Is it an agate? Is is petrified wood?”
I’m hoping to get some feedback from the rockhounding community on what these rocks are and exactly how to identify agates.
