Polk - Collecting agates and jaspers of North America

It is no secret that North America has an incredible abundance of distinctive, unique, and excitingly beautiful agates and jaspers that are found throughout the United States and its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. There is an almost endless variety of types, patterns, and colors of jaspers and agates that occur in practically every state in the U.S., and in the territories, states, and provinces of Canada and Mexico. Personally, as a passionately dedicated lover of agates and jaspers, it is my intent to make an attempt to share as much of this abundance of riches with you so that you, too, can enjoy even a portion of the amazingly diverse, sometimes rare, and very beautiful bounty of Mother Natures gifts that exist right here in our own backyards.

Polished cabochon with white plume agate on a black basinite backing.

Patti Polk Collection

I am a dyed-in-the-wool rockhound, and I love nothing more than exploring and prospecting for agates and jaspers out in nature with the earth, sunshine, fresh air, darting lizards, and silence. I have spent many years in the field fervently hand-collecting a few thousand or so agates and jaspers to add to my own collection, and as long as my back holds up I definitely hope to be able to continue to have many more years enjoying the wonderfully crazy hobby of rock collecting. Dont get me wrong, I certainly dont claim to be an expert or a professional geologist Im just an avid rockhound who loves collecting agates and jaspers for their beauty and for the joy of the collecting experience, and I am constantly in the process of learning something new about the collecting, characteristics, and lapidary properties of agates and jaspers every day.

My best rockhound buddy Barbara Grill, fully equipped to rock with red wagon and umbrella hat.

A druzy quartz-coated chalcedony Desert Rose from Apache Creek, New Mexico. Patti Polk Collection

A small sampling of some of the agates to be found in the authors yard. Patti Polk Collection

Most of my personal field-collecting experience takes place in Arizona, southern California, and New Mexico. As an agate collector, Im very lucky in the fact that the west and southwest tend to be of the right type of geology that has a good number of locations conducive to the formation of so many fine agates and jaspers. In other words, volcanic environments that occurred during the right geologic time period to create the ideal environment that allows them to form here.

This book is by no means all-inclusive of all known collecting locations, or of every type of agate and jasper, nor is it a textbook on the geology of North America. It is simply a book written to share some examples that showcase the beauty and variety of the agates and jaspers that can generally be found on the North American continent. There are thousands of known locations in the United States alone, and many private locations that are not well known or publicized and many unknown locations still waiting to be discovered by the serious prospector. Even within a specific location, there may be numerous deposits with variations of patterns or color within just a couple hundred yards of each other. It truly is an amazing experience to dig just under the surface of the earth and pull out a mysterious, ancient agate and to know that you are the very first person who has ever held it in their hand or seen its unique beauty.

Funny clipping from an old 1940s rockhound magazine. Still true today! Patti Polk Collection

Arizona rockhounding country. Darren Jones image, Patti Polk Collection

If I am able to share even a tiny bit of my enthusiasm and deep appreciation of these great natural treasures with you, then my job is done. If you are new to the world of agate and jasper collecting, be prepared to have your eyes opened to a palette of vibrant color, infinite pattern, and displays of some of the finest art found in all of nature. If you are a seasoned collector, I hope that you sit back and enjoy some of the old favorites, and just maybe, a few new surprises.

The author in her element. Kim Behnert image, Patti Polk Collection

Agate carving. Patti Polk Collection

Agates and jaspers have a long history of use worldwide by mankind. Historians have dated the use of cryptocrystalline materials as early as 2 million years ago where prehistoric man first learned that by chipping away at the edges of hard rocks that useful tools and weapons could be fashioned. In Lower Paleolithic times, 100,000 - 500,000 years ago, throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia, people were creating pebble tools, hand axes, hammerstones, flaked tools and blade tools. By the Upper Paleolithic period, tool making had evolved into finely crafted spearpoints and knives. Ancient agate artifacts have been discovered in Mongolia, Western Europe, and Asia dating back as far as 9,000 years. The Sumerians of Mesopotamia were the first people recognized for mastering the use of agate in the creation of ornamental beads, signet rings, cylinder seals, and ceremonial axeheads dating back to at least 3000 B.C. The early Egyptians were also using agates for various types of ornamentation that they collected from surrounding desert areas, as were the Mycenaeans from Crete during the Bronze Age. The Romans also used agate in their jewelry, and the Greeks pioneered the use of banded agates in the carving of multi-layered cameos and carnelian, bloodstone, or sard for beautifully intricate intaglios. The first man known to write a recorded history on the use of agates was Theophrastus (372-287 B. C.), a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who gave agate its original name achate from the agates discovered on the shore of the river Achates in Sicily. Theophrastus wrote in his treatise On Stones that agate was a beautiful stone that commanded a high price in his day. Pliny the Elder (23-79 A. D.) also wrote a great deal about the lore of agates in his chronicle Natural History, where he goes into great detail about the use of agates, such as how certain agates protect against the scorpions sting, quench your thirst when held in the mouth, and that the Persians believed that the perfume of agate could turn away powerful or violent storms, amongst many other claims. Fine drinking cups made of agate were held in the highest regard and it was a hallmark of great prestige to possess one.