SCOTTISH AGATES |
Scottish Agates - "Scotch Pebbles" Introduction - Origin & Nature |
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"Scotch Pebbles" - Scottish Agates This variety of quartz can make beautiful natural objects when polished.
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Sagenitic AGATE - Kinnouill Hill,
Perthshire. |
Hemi AGATE - Ferryden, Montrose, Angus, Scotland. |
Occurence In all these areas, beach agates can be found. Where the lavas extend out to sea, agates can be weathered out by sea erosion and subsequently washed onto nearby beaches by the action of currents. The agates of the Devonian lavas generally have a wide variety of colouring and form and are normally the source of the best agate specimens to be found in Scotland. The Tertiary basalt lavas, on the other hand, have a more restrictive colour palette to impart upon the agates they produce, in comparison to their Devonian relations. |
SCOTTISH AGATE LOCATIONS Map showing (in dark text) some of the more important agate-bearing areas of Scotland. |
AGATE - The Maidens, Ayrshire. |
Vein AGATE - Galston,
Ayrshire, Scotland. |
"Inner Space" - microscopic view of part of the agate on the left, showing yellow, iron-bearing, colloidal spherules which imbue the agate with colour. |
| Agate Types Nearly all the generally accepted, descriptive agate forms or types are to be found in Scotland, including hemi-agate, sagenitic agate, onyx agate, moss agate, scenic agate... to name but a few. However, it is the more common "fortification agate", of typically concentric banded patterns, which is prevalent throughout most agate-bearing areas of Scotland. Vein agate is far more restricted in its occurence. It is quite possible to find two or more agate forms on the one example. Similarly, some sites can render a wide array of agate forms, while others are more limited with their patterns. |
Fortification AGATE |
Fortification AGATE |
Locations Some locations throughout Scotland are justly renowned for the quality of agates they have produced. However, some of these sites are now, unfortunately, almost history. The factors which have caused this vary from the precise location having been lost through time, the sites are now difficult or impossible to access or, simply, the occurence has become exhausted. Examples of these include the classic "Blue Hole" site near Montrose, in Angus, or that of Burn Anne in Ayrshire. New collecting sites are occasionally uncovered. Prime examples include Ethiebeaton and Ardownie Quarry, Monifieth, both near the city of Dundee, in the old county of Angus, Tayside Region. |
Specimens from the latter site were rated of the best quality for Scotland. Unfortunately, the locality was short-lived and is no longer accessible. EASTERN SCOTLAND: Other sites include the southern side of the Tay Estuary and the Ochil Hills, both in Fife - with the Norman Law area being particularly well-known and productive. Further inland, in Perthshire, there are also numerous sites. Some of these are famed for their distinctive agates though some regrettably now are also apparently exhausted. |
SOUTH-WEST
SCOTLAND: SOUTHERN UPLANDS: TERTIARY LAVAS: Nevertheless, agates are to be found on the islands of Mull and Rhum and elsewhere. New finds remain to be made. |
Agates Plus - A Bonus Free Gift! Other minerals may be found as inclusions in agates. Commonly, these minerals are calcite, dark green, "mossy" celadonite and occasionally fibrous/ acicular, zeolite mineral species ("sagenitic agates"). Quartz varieties such as rock crystal, smoky quartz and amethyst are also found in agates. Some agates from the Tertiary lavas of Mull contain inclusions of very small, simple cubic crystals of golden pyrite. NOTE |
AGATE ("Flame Agate") - Scurdie Ness, Montrose, Angus, SCOTLAND. |
| References/ Further Reading Book - UK
Journal of Mines & Minerals © Minerals of Scotland - 2008. |