Lake Superior Agates, Gemstones & Rocks
Part 2 - Minerals & Agate "cousins"

My first Lake Superior Agate found on the beach at Black River Harbor
near Ironwood, Michigan. Unfortunately mistakes in tumbling
resulted in some fractures.

Go Here for Guide Books on Lake Superior Beach Rocks and Lake Superior Agates

Agate Hunting & Rock Picking Directory

Part 1 - Identifying Beach Stones & Agates around Lake Superior

Part 2 - Recognizing Rocks & Agate Collected on Lake Superior Beaches (you are here)

Part 3 - Identifying Agates versus Agate Wanna-Be's

Rock Tumbling Lake Superior Rocks & Gemstones

Tumbling and polishing Agates - Agate pictures & some tips on using tumbling pellets

Lake Superior Agate Festival

Pictures of Lake Superior Agates - Moose Lake Geology Interpretive Center

See our Guides to the Best Agate Picking Beaches around Lake Superior.

The first two reference books for Lake Superior beach rocks and agates I found helpful are: Sparky Stensaas' "Rock Picker's Guide to Lake Superior's North Shore" and Susan Robinson's "Is this an Agate." Armed with Sparky's and/or Susan's book plus some of the pictures and descriptions I've provided here, perhaps will help you ID what you are collecting.

Another rock pickers reference book that helped me with agate hunting is "Understanding and Finding Agates " by Karen Brzys. It is now out of print but you may find it in some used bookstores. But Karen's new book "Agates Inside Out" is even more comprehensive. See my note on it below in the Agate Books section where we list several of our favorite references for finding Lake Superior Agates and identifying Superior beach rocks.

In addition to the reference books helping expand our agate hunting skill and knowledge, we were greatly helped by attending the "Rock On with Lake Superior Agates" festival. We learned a great deal more about identifying and collecting agates on Lake Superior's beaches. Lots of fun and great way to learn more about the hobby of beach rock and agate collecting.

This section continues with pictures and descriptions of some non-agate beach rocks plus provides a few pictures of agates we and others have found on Superior's beaches.

By the way, if you want to print out any of these larger images, just *right click* on the image and choose "copy image" to copy it to your hard drive. Once there you can click on it and print it out.

Minerals found in or as Lake Superior Beach Rocks

Quartz

Quartz is a common mineral found among the beach stones, very hard (will scratch glass), somewhat translucent like frosted glass, and be white to yellow to grayish in color (impurities cause this variety in colors). Generally found as pebbles or imbedded in other rocks. In fact some of the pebbles were formerly amygdules that broke loose from the rock in which they were imbedded.

Calcite

Calcite (calcium carbonate) at first glance may be thought to be quartz as it is a similar color (white to yellowish) and also commonly found, both as pebbles and imbedded within other rocks. But scratch it and you'll see it is much softer than quartz - chalky.

To the far right is an amalgam of quartz & calcite

Chert

Cherts are a tiny crystal form of quartz. Impurities make them less translucent than quartz. They have a waxy appearance, somewhat shiny. The rocks depicted in the picture are cherts. I think the stone on the left is a Jasper, a variety of chert.

Flint

Another variety of chert is Flint, essentially black chert. Note the waxy, somewhat shiny surface of this unpolished rock.

A few Lake Superior Agates

When I picked this guy off the beach at Black River Harbor, Michigan in 2008, I thought I had finally found my first Lake Superior Agate Beach Rock. It's bands are somewhat different than many of the Superior Agates I've seen. My wife Jo thinks it is a water-level agate. Here's two views of it.

In 2009 I found another Agate. This one is called a seam agate as the agate forms in a seam of the host rock.

Jeff King of Pickford, Michigan sent me some pics of 3 agates he found during the summer of 2009 on Lake Superior beaches near Munising, MI - - - Great finds Jeff, I'm jealous.

Now the attractive banded rock pictured here is NOT an agate. But could easily be mistaken for an agate due to its banding and chochoidal fracture pattern. But this rock is a banded chert, an agate cousin, but not an agate. The bands formed similar to how they form in a true agate but the crystal granules are so tight that the rock is opaque rather than translucent or partially translucent. Another marker that it is a chert rather than an agate is its color is atypical of a Lake Superior Agate.

Sharpen your Agate identification skill by recognizing some more beach rocks that look like Agates but are Agate Wanna-Be's.

Lake Superior Agates in Disguise

Here's an example (left) of gnarly rock you might pick up on the beach and through away, but if you look close and understand characteristics of Lake Superior Agates in the rough, you might take it home and crack it open to discover an Agate inside (right pix).

Agates

Part 1, Lake Superior Beach Rocks & Agates

Part 3. Identifying Agates vs. Agate Wanna-Bees.

See more Lake Superior Agate Pictures plus some advice on using tumbling pellets to tumble and polish agates.

Black River Harbor Agate Hunting - pictures and video.

Want to See More Agates? - Go Here for pix from the Lake Superior Agate Museum

Part 1, Lake Superior Rocks

See some advice on using tumbling pellets to tumble and polish agates.

Books on Lake Superior Agate Hunting & Rock Picking

Lake Superior Rocks & Minerals: A Field Guide to the Lake Superior Area

Recommended by a SuperiorTrails friend & rock hound, this new guide has actual photographs of various rocks and minerals found on Lake Superior beaches. Co-author Bob Lynch is owner of Agate City Rocks and Gifts in Two Harbors Minnesota

DVD: How to Find Agates

Karen Brzys. Director, Gitchee Gumee Agate & History Museum, has created this comprehensive tutorial to finding agates. Includes over 750 photographs and diagrams.

Lake Superior Rocks & Minerals Field Guide

This new edition by Dan and Bob Lynch will help you identify up to 75 rocks and minerals you might find washed up on Lake Superior beaches. Has full color photographs to aid in identification.

Lake Superior Rock Picker's Guide

Here is another book recommended by a Superior Trails reader and rock hound who was able to identify over 50 rocks found on the beach using this guide by Kevin Gauthier and Bruce Mueller. Also included are tips for polishing the stones and rock. Kevin and Bruce also publish a similar guide for Lake Michigan rocks.

Agate Hunting Made Easy: How to Really Find Lake Superior Agates

My wife Jo found this agate hunters book while traveling in the UP and thought it would help her find her first Lake Superior Agate. It is full of tips for agate hunting (and rock picking) and has some very good color photographs of a number of agate variations as well as photos of the other kinds of rocks you'll find on Lake Superior beaches.

Rock Pickers Guide to
Lake Superior's North Shore

Sparky's guide covers what north shore beaches to comb, a bit of history on the formation of the various rocks found on beaches, and helpful information and pictures on identifying beach rocks and minerals.

Agate Identification Agates of Lake Superior

See more recommendations on guides and books on Lake Superior Rocks, Minerals & Agates

Rock On Festival - Lake Superior Agates

We were there at the 2021 13th Annual Rock On Agate Festival in Grand Marais, Michigan.

We had a great time at our first festival. My wife Jo found 5 agates on the beach and is now an addicted agate hound!.

Links for Rock Picking on Lake Superior Beachs and information on Agates and Rocks found around Lake Superior

- Minnesota's State Gem: The Lake Superior Agate

- Common Minnesota Rocks - Minnesota Geological Survey

- Bob's Rock Shop - Online 'Zine for Rock Hounds

- Rock Identification Key - By Don Peck on Rockhounds.com
(I just recently found this site. The key looks real neat and am looking forward to using it on my mystery rocks)

For a nice introduction to rock tumbling, see Cheralyn Maturi's Minnesota Iron Range Website

Marie Frazier, who lives in central Minnesota, has created a number of unique jewelry items from Lake Superior Agates and other gemstones. See her Lake Superior Agate Jewelry Website here.

About the Lake Superior Agate - Minnesota's State Gem

Continuing your Travel & Trekking
Around Lake Superior
Superior Trails Lake Superior Circle Tour

The big holiday season attraction around Lake Superior is Duluth's Bentleyville Tour of Lights, one of the largest outdoor holiday lights displays in the USA. See more Duluth Holiday events here.

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