What are the types of geodes?

Types of Geodes These include pyrite, calcite, agate, kaolinite, sphalerite, barite, dolomite, celestite, limonite, opal, or smithsonite. While the color of the crystals is one clue to telling you what type of geode you have, it may not be enough to give you the answer.

How do I know what kind of geode I have?

Tell-Tale Signs of a Geode

1. Geodes are usually spherical, but they always have a bumpy surface.
2. Geodes will sometimes have loose material inside, which can be heard when shaking the rock. …
3. Geodes are usually lighter than their size would indicate since the interior doesn’t contain any material.

What is the most common type of geode?

Quartz Crystal



No doubt, the most common crystal found in geode is colorless quartz and amethyst (vivid purple variety of quartz). They both tend to be geodes found in crystallized lava and connected to volcano activity.

What is the rarest geode color?

Some people prefer using a rock saw to cut the rock in half. The rarest and most valuable geodes contain amethyst crystals and black calcite.

What are the 2 shapes of geodes?

Geodes are said to be rock structures whose shape can be anything between spherical and subspherical. The unique thing about them is that the internal cavity of these rocks is lined with minerals.

Do all geodes have crystals inside?

Most geodes contain clear quartz crystals, while others have purple amethyst crystals. Still others can have agate, chalcedony, or jasper banding or crystals such as calcite, dolomite, celestite, etc. There is no easy way of telling what the inside of a geode holds until it is cut open or broken apart.

Where can I dig for geodes?

The finest concentration of geode sites in Southern California is in Riverside and Imperial counties. The most famous of these sites is called the Hauser Geode Beds, which are located at Wiley Well in the northern region of Imperial Valley, CA.

Are geodes worth money?

Geodes are highly valued for their content and appearance. The most valuable geodes are those that contain perfectly formed flawless crystals of amethyst, celestine, calcite, or other rare minerals. Geodes are worth from $2-5 for common specimens and up to several thousand for exceptional several meters.

How do you find gems in creeks?

To find gemstones in creeks and along riverbeds, one should carefully search near eroded stream banks, in shallow, flowing water, and old, dried creek beds. Alluvial gemstones can usually be found a few days after heavy rainfall. At night, use a black light to search for fluorescent gemstones.

How do you break open a geode?

Quote from video:Put this geode in this rock shake it down. And as i have to go all the way to the bottom. And make shake the camera a little bit we're gonna give it a couple little taps. All right i feel it's broken.

How old are geodes?

Although the geode is embedded in rocks that are about 250 million years old, the crystals themselves are much younger than that. Radioactive dating of some of the oldest suggests they formed less than 5.6 million years ago but probably no more than 2 million years ago, the researchers report this week in Geology .

How do you tell if a rock is a geode without breaking it?

The only way to find out for sure if a rock is a geode is to break it apart by tapping it with a hammer, or have someone cut open the rock with a powerful saw. You’ll know once you see the interior and whether or not there is a hollow or solid composition.

Can you cut a geode with a tile saw?

Unlike a soil pipe cutter, a saw will give an excellent clean cut on a geode.

How do you crack a geode in the microwave?

Quote from video:I've lost the water and then we're gonna microwave it for three minutes. Oh crap we gotta plug in the microwave. Okay okay so now we're gonna go three. Minutes.

How do you cut a geode in half at home?

Quote from video:And eye protection. When doing any kind of cutting. You'll also notice there's a kind of a mess here that's because rock saws use a special oil to extend the life of the blade.

How do you clean a cut geode?

Quote from video:They also have a lot of iron staining. And so what you want to do is take them and rinse them out we like to use a pressure washer to do this as you can see after pressure washing.

Can you rock tumble geodes?

You can tumble a geode, but the results may not always be to your liking. If the geode is already in pieces, the inner crystals may be ground off, leaving only the greyish banded quartz rind. Even if the crystals don’t disappear, getting the tumbler’s sand and grit out of them would be impossible.

Can you bleach geodes?

EASY METHOD: Simply wash the geodes in plain water with a bit of laundry detergent (or dish soap), then let them soak in a tub of water with 1/4 cup of ordinary household bleach for two days. This cleans most of the heavy grit off the geodes.

How are Thundereggs created?

Formation. Thundereggs are found in flows of rhyolite lava. They form in the lava from the action of water percolating through the porous rock carrying silica in solution. The deposits lined and filled the cavity, first with a darker matrix material, then an inner core of agate or chalcedony.

How can you spot a thunderegg?

How to Spot Thundereggs? Though thundereggs appear lke rocks, they can be easily identified by the abnormally round and bumpy brown-gray surface. Usually, thundereggs lie relatively close to the Earth’s surface, embedded in the clay of the tuff, where they were formed.

What is a thunderegg rock?

Thundereggs are agate-filled nodules found in various parts of the Western United States. They range in size from 1/4 inch to as large as 5 feet in diameter. Generally, they are about the size of oranges. All are similar on the exterior, but no two are alike in pattern, design or color on the inside.

What is the difference between a geode and a thunder egg?

Thunder eggs, which are technically known as lithophysae are typically found with solid or near-solid cores of chalcedony or agate, whereas geodes are relatively hollow inside with thinner layers of quartz crystals.

What is the difference between a crystal and a geode?

is that crystal is (countable) a solid composed of an array of atoms or molecules possessing long-range order and arranged in a pattern which is periodic in three dimensions while geode is a nodule of stone having a cavity lined with mineral or crystal matter on the inside wall.

How do you break open a thunderegg?

Just dip the attachment into the cerium oxide polish and slowly buff out the agate portions of the thunderegg. Keep following the process until there is no noticeable change in the rock after a buff.

What are thundereggs worth?

Thundereggs are valued between $1 and over $ 100 per slice or cabochon. Q: How to spot thunderegg? Thundereggs were formed in the clay of tuff, which has been later decayed to clay and soft-mud, making thundereggs noticeable compared to average rocks.

Are thunder eggs rare?

Quote from video:They think the oldest extent of the Cascades is about 35 million years old they're pretty good-sized there is one place known around the world for holding the mother lode of thunder eggs.

What do thunder eggs look like on the outside?

Also frequently encountered are quartz and gypsum crystals, as well as various other mineral growths and inclusions. Thundereggs usually look like ordinary rocks on the outside, but slicing them in half and polishing them may reveal intricate patterns and colours.