Description
Dan R. Lynch has a degree in graphic design with emphasis on photography from the University of Minnesota Duluth. But before his love of the arts came a passion for rocks and minerals, especially agates, developed during his lifetime growing up in his parents’ rock and mineral shop in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Combining the two aspects of his life seemed a natural choice and he enjoys researching, writing about, and photographing rocks and minerals. Working with his father, Bob Lynch, a respected veteran of Lake Superior’s agate collecting community, Dan writes and produces their series of rock and mineral books and field guides. Dan’s meticulous research allows him to create a relatable text that helps amateurs “decode” the complex and sometimes unapproachable sciences of geology and mineralogy. He also takes special care to ensure that his photographs compliment the text and always represent each specimen exactly as it appears in person. He currently works as a writer and mineral photographer in Bellingham, Washington, with his beautiful fiance, Julie. Bob Lynch is a lapidary and jeweler living and working in Two Harbors, Minnesota. In 1973, he sought more variety in the gemstones used in his jewelry, so he began working with and polishing rocks and minerals. When he moved from Douglas, Arizona, to Two Harbors in 1982, his eyes were opened to the incredible beauty of Lake Superior’s agates and he quickly became an avid collector. In 1992, Bob and his wife Nancy, whom he taught the art of jewelry making, acquired Agate City Rock Shop, a family business founded by Nancy’s grandfather, Art Rafn, in 1962. Since the shop’s revitalization, Bob has made a name for himself as a highly acclaimed agate polisher and as an expert resource for curious agate collectors seeking advice and specimen appraisal. Now, the two jewelers keep Agate City Rocks and Gifts open year-round and are the leading source for Lake Superior agates, with more on display and for sale than in any other shop in the country. Introduction Quartz and Chalcedony Agate Basics Lake Superior Agates Distribution Finding and Identifying Agates Formation Theories Source of Silica Infiltration Channels Concluding Agate Formation Post Formation Agate Varieties Adhesional Banded Agate Banded Quartz Agate Eye Agate Floater Agate Agate Geode Gravitationally Banded Agate Skip-an-Atom Agate Vein Agate Whorl Agate Inclusions and Replacements Copper Replacement Agate Crystal Impressions Dendritic Agate Fragmented Membrane Agate Jasp-Agate Mineral Inclusions Moss Agate Plume Agate Sagenitic Agate Stalactitic Agate Tube Agate Color Variations Colored Macrocrystalline Quartz Paint Agate Rare Coloration Surface Colorations Weathering Brecciated Agate Faulted Agate Peeled Agate Ventifacts Water-washed Agate Final Topics Before and After What is an Agate? Glossary References and Recommended Reading Index About the Authors
