Agate: Stunning Microscapes In A Lovely Stone

Most agate samples come from Brazil. They form like encrustations in water pipes, but the water is much hotter and deposits silicon oxide (quartz) in very fine grained crystals called chalcedony. Agate is valued for its variations of colors and forms, but very little was known of its microscopic appearance.

Here I present a portfolio of photomicrographs showing the stunning microscopes hidden in thin slices of agate, passed through by polarized light.

The views depict fragments just a few millimeters wide, and the “interference” colors are produced by polarized light, not by post-processing.

More info: microckscopica.org

A slice of agate on a bed of quartz sand

Despite a variegated look, everything in this view is made of quartz: the grains of sand, the black and the light gray layers in the agate slice, and the crystalline lining in its centre.

Inside a rock: Agat 1

The following dozen of photomicrographs comes from small pieces of agate, just a few millimeters across, thinned down to 30 micron (0,03 mm) thickness. Enjoy!

Inside a rock: Agat 2

Inside a rock: Agat 3

Inside a rock: Agat 4

Inside a rock: Agat 5

Inside a rock: Agat 6

Inside a rock: Agat 7

Macro shot of an agate slice

Inside a rock: Agat 8

Inside a rock: Agat 9

Inside a rock: Agat 10

Inside a rock: Agat 11

Inside a rock: Agat 12

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