3.8" Bird Of Paradise Agate Section - Chihuahua Mexico

Bird of paradise agate is found near Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico, and often features marcasite inclusions along with many colors of plumes. The beautiful plumes, or dendrites, that occur within rock are most often a result of percolating mineral solutions that contained manganese and/or iron. These solutions can work their way through microscopic cracks in the rock, leaving behind a branching pattern throughout the rock. To an untrained eye, these can be mistaken for plant fossils within the rock.

Agate is a variety of microcrystalline quartz (chalcedony) that displays translucence and, in some cases, banding. Agate primarily forms when silica-rich fluids fill pockets within rocks and/or fossils, depositing the silica along the walls of the rock. This process can result in banding patterns, as the compositions and impurities of these depositing fluids change over time. These banding patterns can either form as flat layers, creating linear patterns known as waterline agate, or as rounded layers, forming more common ring-like patterns. These patterns depend on the surfaces available for deposition.