#crystal dendrites

[jaimekhaji]

this is a slab of shale from Utah and it was my favorite of the day. so so beautiful. while crystal dendrites are usually likened to trees or roots, these reminded me of seaweed !!

[jaimekhaji]

went to a gem and mineral show and got some really cool new specimens !!!

Pictures 1 — 4: Four different angles of a petrified branch from the Blue Forest in Wyoming. These pieces are from the Eocene (~50 million years ago) and are well known for the blue, often botryoidal, agate in their composition. The specimen pictured is partially covered in an agate crust with one side exposed and showing fossilized wood grain. There are also fans of crystal dendrites along the sides of the piece.

Picture 5: A slab of sage amethyst, sourced from Southeast Oregon. Sage amethyst is the collector’s name for this variety of dendritic agate. I loved this piece because most sage amethysts have really condensed and finely detailed dendritic patterns but this one has a really cool, wide pattern to it.

Pictures 6 — 10: Five different tumbled pieces of dendritic agate. All of these are sourced from the Jenny Creek area in Oregon, and are known to collectors as Copco Agate. These agates showcase dendrites deep within the stone, with many deposition layers covering them, kind of like a translucent jawbreaker.