| ID | Agate |
|---|---|
| 1853 | Naica Moss Agate, Mexico, no description, ...adv., Southern Gem Mining Company, Lapidary Journal, V. 17, no. 11, p. 1121. See Bird of Paradise Agate. |
| 1854 | Naica (vein) agate, Mexico. adv., Little Gem Shop, Rocks and Minerals, v. 37, no. 1,2, p. 95. Miller and Olsen (1966, p. 1304) reported agate from Naica as a seam agate, but gave no further details. See Bird of Paradise Agate. |
| 1855 | Nambour Thunder Eggs, Australia, local name for thunder eggs found between Mount Tamborine and Tweed River, Australia, Cadle (1972, p.1039). |
| 1856 | Namib picture jasper, picture jasper from Namibia, SW Africa, Fraser & Fraser (1989) suggest it is probably the same as Kalahari picture jasper. See also Namib Picture Rock and Namib Picturestone. |
| 1857 | Namib Picture Rock, Namibia, Africa, picture jasper from south Africa, compared to Biggs Jasper, Rock & gem, v. 4, no. 2, p. 68-69. ...Namib Desert, Africa, Anon. (1972, p. 549). |
| 1858 | Namib Picturestone, Namib Desert, South Africa, a scenic jasper of varying shades of brown. adv., Max Braun, Trader, Lapidary Journal, v. 26, no. 7, p. 1015. Anon. (1972, p. 549) suggested it may also contain cream, brown, or ochre, with pink streaks. |
| 1859 | Napomo Agate, probably a mis-spelling of Nipomo Agate, California, white to carnelian with plumes of marcasite, Anon,1978, p. 1139. Lapidary Journal |
| 1860 | Natural Polished Jasper from Scott's Mills, Oregon, adv., Ward's Natural Science Establishment, The Mineralogist, v. 4, no. 12, p. 19. |
| 1861 | Navajo Agate, California, yellow, blue, lavender, red, maroon and brown jasp-agate without definite patterns from Hanging Canyon (Berkholz, 1971a, p. 34). Geographic Names Information System does not show an entry for Hanging Canyon but BerkholzÆs map showed a small canyon labeled as a ôhanging canyonö leading off of Canon Rio de las Animas. |
| 1862 | Navajo Agate, New Mexico, no description, adv., Cab-n-Facet, Lapidary Journal, v. 21, no. 8, p. 979. Name appears in 1954 catalogue for Gem Exchange (Gem Village), Bayfield, Colorado, p. 6. |
| 1863 | Navajo Nodules, Utah, brecciated red, green, yellow, purple jasper, no other details, adv., Jim Mahlum, The Mineralogist, v. 20, no. 3, p. 112; Lapidary Journal, v. 6, no. 6, p. 477. Agates with the name Navajo have been named for sites in New Mexico, Afton Canyon, San Bernardino County, California, and the name is used very informally. |
| 1864 | Navidad jasper royale, see Navidad Royal Jasper. |
| 1865 | Navidad Royal Jasper, Mexico, ...gem red, green/tan, adv., Riviera Lapidary, Lapidary Journal, v. 30, no. 10, p. 2390. Since Navidad is Spanish for Christmas, this name may be a synonym of Christmas Agate, rkp. |
| 1866 | Near Ethie House, Angus, Scotland, historic locality producing agates from lavas in the lower Old Red Sandstone of Early Devonian Age and first recorded by Heddle (1901, p. 76, 76). Rodgers (1975, p. 84) and Macpherson (1989, p. 19) list this as an active site. |
| 1867 | Near Pithkeathly, Perthshire, Scotland. Heddle (1901, p. 76) listed a locality South of Pithkeathly as did Rodgers (1975, p. 87). Macpherson lists the site as near Pithkeathly, but it may be the same site of the earlier authors. The agates came from lavas of the lower Old Red Sandstone of Early Devonian Age. |
| 1868 | Nebraska Blue Agate (=Nebraska Blue Chalcedony), Nebraska, See Pabian (1971, 1982) and Zeitner (1978, p. 2100-2110). Generally vein agates that formed in continental sedimentary aeolian claystonesin the Chadron Formation of Oligocene Age. Pabian and Zarins suggested that the silica source was air-fall ash. These agates are found in several outcrop areas in Sioux and Dawes counties, Nebraska, and similar material extends into South Dakota. It has not been determined whether Nebraska Blue Agate or Nebraska Blue Chalcedony was the first term used. The term was also used by Zeitner (1978, p. 2100-2110). |
| 1869 | Nebraska Wood, Platte River (Drainage?), Nebraska, adv., Rubey's Rocks, Earth Science, v. 17, no. 6, p. 282. |
| 1870 | NeedleÆs Peak Agate, Texas, no description, adv., Stone Age Industries, Lapidary Journal, v. 42, no. 1, p. 227. |
| 1871 | Negrita Agate, Mexico, no description, adv., Riviera Lapidary Center, Lapidary Journal, v. 38, no. 12, p. 1561. |
| 1872 | Negro Rock, Oregon, well-known agatized wood locality near 43o 41' 41" N and 117o 24' 54" W, Malheur County, Oregon, and reputed to have produced the finest gem quality agatized woods from Oregon. The site was formerly shown by the derogatory place name Nigger Rock and many old references use this name. Oregon Gem and Mineral Society, Oregon Gem Locations Map, 1971. adv., Stewarts Gem Shop, Earth Science, v. 13, no. 3, p. 107. adv., David R. Coffee, The Mineralogist, v.22, no. 12, p. 474; Lapidary Journal, v. 4, no. 1, p. 73. See also Rodgers (1976, p. 116-128). |
| 1873 | Nephi Golden Swirl Agate, probably for Nephi, Juab County, Utah. See Simpson (1975, p. 14, 15) who also lists Nephi, Utah, as a collecting site. |
| 1874 | Netherlands Flint Pebbles, gray with white eyes, adv., Keweenaw Agate Shop, The Mineralogist, v. 16, no. 1, p. 19. This may be the same material as Baggelhuuzen Jasper, which see. |
| 1875 | Nevada," Picture Rock, hard and tough, scenic, adv., Winnemucca Jim's Rock and Lapidary Shop, Lapidary Journal, v. 22, no. 4, p. 590. |
| 1876 | Nevada Dendritic Agate, Nevada?, no description, adv., Lowell W. Fields, Lapidary Journal, v.30, no. 2, p. 2764. |
| 1877 | Nevada Desert Picture Rock, Nevada, brown, yellow, tan, with gray, blue-gray (Strout, 1975, p. 118-120, 124) cf. chicken track or "from Nevada". |
| 1878 | Nevada Gem Wood, Nevada, red, brown with cream & white, adv., Keweenaw Agate Shop, Lapidary Journal, v. 4, no. 4, p. 312. |
| 1879 | Nevada Moss Agate, Nevada, red, green, brown, adv., Nevada Minerals Co., Lapidary Journal, v. 1, no. 3, p. 73. |
| 1880 | Nevada, gray chalcedony" with black, mossy inclusions, adv., Ward's Natural Science Establishmenbt, Lapidary Journal, v. 8, no. 2, p. 119. |
| 1881 | Nevada Palm, Nevada, no description adv., Eldon Soper, Lapidary Journal, v. 5, no. 5, p. 359. |
| 1882 | Nevada Picture Stone, Nevada?, àrolling hills with sky, adv., Gem & Rock Shop, Lapidary Journal, v. 40, no. 4, p. 77. May be similar to Chicken Track which see. |
| 1883 | Nevada White Plume Agate, Nevada, no description, adv., Sykes, Lapidary Journal, v. 43, no. 4, p. 100. |
| 1884 | Newaukum Agate, for Newaukum River, Lewis County, Washington, mostly agates eroded from basaltic rocks from the east according to Glover (1947, p. 25, 26), who suggested the best materials were in alluvium of Pleistocene Age. No details, in adv., Bonney Lake Agate Shop, The Mineralogist, v. 14, no. 6, p. 318; K. C. Eaton, Hobbies Magazine, v. 53, no. 3, p. 136. |
| 1885 | New Bed Nodules (Priday), Oregon?, no description, adv., Clarence A. Ames Co., Lapidary Journal, v. 1, no. 2, p. 61. |
| 1886 | New Bed Priday [Plume] cf. Old Bed Priday [Plume], no details, term appears in adv., Herbert Wm. Lawson, The Mineralogist, v. 16, no. 12, p. 591. |
| 1887 | Newberry (agate), for outcrops near Newberry, in or near NE 1/4 sec. 9, T. 8 N., R. 3 E., San Bernardino County, California, Newberry Springs Quadrangle, U. S. Geological Survey, 7.5 minute series (Topographic). See Berkholz (1956, p. 17-19) and anon, 1978, p. 1139, Lapidary Journal. |
| 1888 | Newberry Nodules, California, apparently the same material as Newberry (agate) above; Berkholz used this term (1962, locality 16) and stated that the nodules came from an ash bed. Strong (1971, p. 51, 52) also mentioned this site. |
| 1889 | New Chalce Geodes, Chihuahua, Mexico, see Red Skin Geodes. |
| 1890 | New England Jasper, no locality, Chinese red, adv., Wards Natural Science Establishment, Lapidary Journal, v. 9, no. 6, p. 503. |
| 1891 | New Mexico Agate, New Mexico?, no description, adv., Keweenaw Agate Shop, Lapidary Journal, v. 4, no. 5, p. 392; adv., Grieger's, Lapidary Journal, v.19, no. 1, p. 212. |
| 1892 | New Mexico Gem Agate, New Mexico, red banded, black and red patterns, red and golden moss, red fern and golden fern moss, banded, every color, adv., George Curtis, Lapidary Journal, v. 1, no. 3, p. 149. |
| 1893 | New Mexico Moss Agate, adv., Southern Gem & Mineral Co., Earth Science Digest, v. 6, no. 2, p. 42; ...moss does not undercut, adv., Southern Gem & Mineral Co., Lapidary Journal, v. 6, no. 3, p. 196. The advertizement does not suggest that this is a new find of agate from Mexico or agate from New Mexico. |
| 1894 | Newport Beach Agates, Oregon, adv., Mary Ann Kasey, Arizona, Earth Science Digest, v. 2, no. 2, p. 22 |
| 1895 | Newport, Oregon, Beach Agates, adv., Smith's Agate Shop, The Mineralogist, v. 4, no. 3, p. 23. |
| 1896 | Newport Pebbles, Oregon, probably refers to Newport, Oregon, Beach Agates, Name appears in 1954 catalogue for Gem Exchange (Gem Village), Bayfield, Colorado, p. 7. |
| 1897 | New River Jasper, Arizona, for jasper found in outcrops along New River Road, about S 1/2, sec. 31, and W 1/2 sec. 32, T. 6 N.,, R. 4 E., and E 1/2 sec. 36, T. 6 N., R. 3 E., Maricopa County, Arizona, Cave Creek and New River SE Quadrangles, U. S. Geological Survey, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). See Getsinger (1961, p. 316). |
| 1898 | New Vein Moss Agate, Oregon, gay colors, fine patterns, adv., Chet and Marge Springer, Bend, Oregon, Lapidary Journal, v. 7, no. 3, p. 256. |
| 1899 | New York State Agate (Fortification), adv., Minerals and Gems, Rocks and Minerals, 1967. |
| 1900 | New Zealand Carnelian, New Zealand, no description, adv. Francis Hoover, Rocks and Minerals, v. 33, no. 5,6, p. 259; Lapidary Journal, v. 11, no. 6, p. 647. |
| 1901 | New Zealand Moss Agate, New Zealand, no description, adv., C. Weidinger & Sons, Lapidary Journal, v. 3, no. 5, p. 373. |
| 1902 | Ngaumo Agate, New Zealand, see McKay in Turner and others (1979, p. 116-141). |
| 1903 | Nicia Moss Agate, Mexico, mixed colors, may be a misspelling or a synonym of Naica Moss Agate, adv., LoMa Lapidary, Lapidary Journal, v. 17, no. 11, p. 1132. |
| 1904 | Nickel Silica, Canada, no description, may or may not be an agate---term used in adv., Beautycraft Sales Co., Lapidary Journal, v. 19, no. 2, p. 292. |
| 1905 | Nicolo, Italian, a parallel layered agate with a brown background and blue foreground; commonly used in cutting cameos. See Spier, 1992, p. 5. |
| 1906 | Nine Mile Dendritic Agate, Nevada?, it is a translucent gray to yellow to purple agate; no furhter information. This designation has been observed on materials offered for sale at various gem and mineral shows. |
| 1907 | Nine Mile Wash, Imperial county, California, this is probably an erroneous designation for the locality from which Nine Mile Dendritic Agate, above, has been collected. More data needed. |
| 1908 | Nipomo Agate, California, marcasitic or sagenitic agates named for village of Nipomo, San Luis Obispo County, California. Generally sagenitic or moss agates found in foothills of Temettate Ridge, 120o 22' 30" W to 120o 30' W and 35o 2' N to 35o 6' 30" N, Nipomo Quadrangle, U. S. Geological Survey, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). California, sagenite from bean fields, near Nipomo, San Luis Obispo County, California, Lapidary Journal, 1954 Rock Hound Buyer's Guide, p. 135. Commonly called "bean field" agate. Schweitzer (1945, p. 365) recorded agates from this site as being from bean fields. The original collecting areas were situated in bean fields and were worked immediately after harvests or plowing (Quick, 1963). See also Bennett (1948, p. 8, 9), Perry (1961, p. 309) and Zeitner (1968, p. 1212-1230; 1982, p. 842-850) and Johnson (1966, 1971, p. 16). |
| 1909 | Nipomo Opalite, California, green, blue, gray, transparent to opaque, adv., David H. Austin, P.O. Box 157, Nipomo, Calif., Lapidary Journal, v. 13, no. 1, p. 155. |
| 1910 | Nipomo Sagenite, California, ...from bean fields and ledges, adv., Gordon Bowser, Lapidary, Lapidary Journal, v. 2, no. 2, p. 108. |
| 1911 | Nipomo with Marcasite (Agate), California, adv., Louis & Mary Woolman, Lapidary Journal, v. 11, no. 1, p. 89. Agate from Nipomo, California, may contain either sagenitic or marcasite inclusions, and nodules or veins may contain either or both. |
| 1912 | Nogales Carnelian Agate, no locality, Arizona?, ...small, Brazilian type agates, adv., Discount Agate House, Lapidary Journal, v. 22, no. 6, p. 762. |
| 1913 | Noriega Lace Agate, near Benito Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Cross (1996, p. 74) stated the name was derived from Juan Noriega, one of the pioneer miners in the the original lace agate claims in the Sierra Santa Lucia. It is a vein agate that has formed in marine limestones of late Cretaceous age. |
| 1914 | Norman's Law, Fifeshire, Scotland, important locality in lavas of lower Old Red Sandstone of Early Devonian Age recorded by Rodgers (1975, p. 43, 86, fig. 35) and Macpherson (1989, p. 19, 38, 39, figs. 82-84). |
| 1915 | North Dakota Petrified Wood, North Dakota, no description, adv., Wild Rose Studio, Lapidary Journal, v. 44, no. 10, p. 141. |
| 1916 | Northmaven, opposite Dore Holm, Shetland Islands, historic area that has produced agates from basalts of Tertiary age, first recorded by Heddle (1901, p. 75) and subsequently reported by Rodgers (1975, p. 87) and Macpherson (1998, p. 19). |
| 1917 | Norton Ranch, Oregon, agate and jasper collecting locality listed by Rodgers, 1971, p. 460-465. |
| 1918 | No. 67. Colorado-Blue Agate, Colorado, light blue with red to brown matrix, adv., Nonneman's, Lapidary Journal, v. 4, no. 1, p. 55. |
| 1919 | Novaculite, Arkansas, Texas, very fine grained chert, not commonly used for gem purposes. This is not commonly used for gems, but is advertized as being from Arkansas? by Plummer RBG, Lapidary Journal, v. 14, no. 1, p. 158. Murphy (1963, p. 112) described novaculite as a very fine-grained SiO2 from which whet-stones were commonly made. He stated that it varied in texture and ranged from being cherty to jaspery. Some Arkansas material was red, green, black, or veined and had angular patterns. |
| 1920 | Nova Paka, Czechoslovakia, locality listed by Skalicky (1978, p. 1616-1618). From Permian Melaphyre? Hintze (1911, p. 1483) also recorded this area as producing agates from near Lomnitz. Gotze, Plotze, Fuchs and Habermann (1999, p. 152, 153) suggested that agates from this site formed in a rhyolite and examined them by electron paramagnetic resonance, cathodoluminescence and trace element content. |
| 1921 | Nova Scotia Agate, Nova Scotia, no description, adv., Ervine D. Williams, Lapidary Journal, v. 5, no. 5, p. 399 |
| 1922 | Nova Scotia Agate, for Scot's Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, amydaloidal agates from Triassic basalts from the Bay of Fundy eastward to the Minas Basin. These include mostly amygdaloidal, vein, or seam agates that are banded or brecciated; they may be carnelian and have eyes, moss, plumes, fortifications, etc. See Foord(1870, p. 66) and Gosse (1964, p. 706-707). Nova Scotia, no description, adv., Mrs. Juanita Cochrane, Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada, Lapidary Journal, v. 12, no. 2, p. 331. D. Williams, Lapidary Journal, v. 5, no. 5, p.399. |
| 1923 | Nova Scotia Jasper, Nova Scotia, no description, adv., Ervine D. Williams, King Hill Road, New London, New Hampshire. |
| 1924 | Nova Scotia Jaspers, Nova Scotia, no description, adv., Mrs. Juanita Cochrane, Lapidary Journal, v. 12, no. 2, p. 331. Lapidary Journal, v. 5, no. 5, p. 399. |
| 1925 | Nova Scotian Colorful Agate, Nova Scotia, àgreat for cabbing, adv., Kovacs, Lapidary Journal, v. 41, no. 10, p. 109. Probably refers to any agate from Nova Scotia. |
| 1926 | Nuevo Chert, California, see French, 1980, Gems & Minerals, p. 508-509. |
| 1927 | Nundoorite, Australia, probably an agatized serpentinite. Term appears in adv., Australian Exports, Rock & Gem, v. 4, no. 12, p. 26. ...fawn colored with green spots, Australian Exports, Lapidary Journal, v.27, no. 10, p. 1515. The name may be a trade name or local name. The material probably has been recovered from near Nundle inNew South Wales, Australia, as similar material is recorded by Chalmers (1968, p. 335, 337). |
| 1928 | Nunkirchener Jaspis (German), brown chert (flint) from the vicinity of Nunkirchen, Saarland, Germany. For many years it was dyed blue and sold as Swiss Lapis or German Lapis. See Shipley (1971, p. 135). |
| 1929 | Nunvainuk Lake, Alaska, a locality listed by Waskey (1960, p. 16, 18) as being at 59o N and 155o 40' W, but this site is not listed in the Geological Names Information Service data base. |
| 1930 | Nutt Agate, New Mexico, ...plum to red and black splashed agate, from near Nutt, 32o 24' 32" N and 107o 26' 56" W, Luna County, New Mexico. See (Murphy, 1961, p. 266-270). |
| 1931 | Nyedigger Plume, for Nyedigger Ranch, Oregon. Usually white plumes in clear matrix. Name used informally for materials offered for sale at various gem and mineral shows. Tim Fisher (personal communication, 1998) suggested the name is spelled Nyedigger and not Nydigger which is usually seen. |
About the Agate Lexicon
The Agate Lexicon and glossary of amorphous and cryptocrystalline silica gems have been designed to be used in conjunction with the Agate Bibliography, which was compiled to be used by researchers, hobbyists, historians, lapidaries and other individuals which have an interest in these stones. Numerous localities are listed here but this does not imply that the sites are available for collectors or collecting. Many of the sites are historic, depleted, are on private property or are protected by legal leases or claims and some are now on protected sites such as parks, nature preserves, or historic areas. Wherever possible, stratigraphic details are listed, but the user must always refer back to the original citations. Map information has been derived from 7.5' x 7.5' topographic maps issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and latitude and longitude have been derived mostly from Geographic Names Information System of the USGS.
Authors should not cite the Agate Bibliography or Agate Lexicon as a source in their published or unpublished works but should cite only those publications listed therein.
Named varieties of agates, jaspers, etc., have created special problems for both scientific researchers and historians. We have recognized at least two different usages of names. Some names appear to have geologic / historic validity, as they were described along with the lithology / geography of a region. Some names were introduced simply as trade names to boost sales of gem dealers. In the former case, the name will be followed by appropriate literary citation as to who first used the name and in what context. In the latter case, an advertisement (abbreviated adv.) is the first published record or public notice. We have tried to find the earliest citation in either case and the user should keep in mind that older citations unknown to us may exist. Advertisements are not cited to generate business but to simply give a historic source; many of the firms appearing in the citations are indeed no longer in existence.
Cited materials are generally only from accessible sources such as professional journals, magazines, hobbyist journals, open file reports of government agencies, newspapers, etc. Bulletins issued by local clubs and societies are generally not cited with the exception of those special publications that were actually made for public distribution.
Wherever possible, imagery of one or more specimens of named agate varieties, structures, patterns, etc. are provided. Images have been provided by several sources and are not to be utilized in other pages without the consent of the image owner.