In this video I go over tips and tricks I use to spot and find Lake Superior Agates. I chose a gravel road because I believe they are one of the best places to find agates.
Your advise on searching gravel roads is very good. Even in West Central Minnesota we will find gravel road agates. Not very frequently but they are there.
Such a great tutorial! I don't think I'll be finding any lake superior agates here in Georgia, but I'll certainly be looking if I ever get up north! Thanks for sharing!
Such potential. I've been going though buckets of rocks a local hound has given me, I haven't been to the river yet this year. Thanks for the ride along to give me that water front atmosphere as I cycle through the buckets. So much waxy goodness.
I truly enjoy your manner of teaching in your videos. It’s always positive and informative. Wouldn’t it be amazing to find the agates in a quarry before they get crushed into smaller pieces?
Thanks! I'm really new to this, and second guess my finds a lot. I haven't found any agates yet around the Twin Cities(mostly a lot of jasper and granite I think), but I hope to find some soon!
Those are about the right size to put into bottles or jars, or maybe even use them as "filler" when you tumble other agates. until they do fit into bottles. What do you do with your agates?
I wish it was as easy as just going to a dirt road to find agates. We have lots of dirt roads, but no agates. And going to Minnesota with gas prices what they are is a little crazy. This video was great since I can't just go out and practice in my area. One way that I find agates is to walk into a setting or rising sun. When the sun is low in the sky, the agates will glow like Christmas lights. I don't have enough experience to know if this only works with small agates, but that's what I always find with this method. Actually, I don't even know if you'd consider them to be agates. They're more like carnelians, with no bands. But they are orange, waxy, and translucent.
I probably should’ve made it more clear that not every gravel road is paved with agates. Is paved the right word? Probably not. Sprinkled?? Doesn’t matter. I more wanted to show what I look for when I’m hunting agates. The glow in the sun is another good point. I usually like to go on bright sunny days. It definitely makes them easier to spot.
@michigan rocks Rob... do you know if any of the dirt roads in the upper are worth searching? I know Thomas and agate dad are both in Minnesota. I'm heading to the UP one school starts so it's less crowded. I haven't had as much luck with agates hunting for days but find plenty of yooper stones hunting just for a bit before bed... kinda makes me crazy. Lol.
@@joolzbohr I haven't searched the roads for them in the U.P., so I don't know. I do know that they crush the tailings from mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula, so you can sometimes find stuff that you'd find in those piles on roads.
Does it matter what state the gravel roads are in? I live in a pretty dry rockhounding state so I was wondering if I would still find things like this.
What general area? We have a river gravel deposited pit up north near Mellen, WI, but I never find anything like these anywhere up there... I find tons of chalcedony nodules and seams in the creek dredging in SW Idaho. On a couple of the broken seam pieces I can see some bands. Going to try looking harder in the gravel pit, and invest in a saw for the stuff we find in Idaho.
@@99Rockhounding Ended up just driving around Little Falls area and picked some random back roads. Surprised how many we were able to find. Tips helped. Thanks for the videos.
Not really... Most beaches get picked over pretty thoroughly. I took seven trips to Lake Superior and only found one "painted" agate that was the size of my fingernail. Decorative landscape stone supply yards and new construction areas yield far better odds in comparison.
Like others have said, I tend to avoid Lake Superior. It just gets hit so hard, so unless you can find a private beach you’re probably not going to have the best luck.
@@99Rockhounding however, I have discovered that agate hunters tend to leave the good stuff. Petrified wood, banded iron, galaxy stones and other interesting non-agates.
That's a really neat gravel road.
Imagine hunting that in the rain.
Lots of little treasures
I know right?
I took one for the team - I did a survey and clicked an ad 😉 Nice video.
Your advise on searching gravel roads is very good. Even in West Central Minnesota we will find gravel road agates. Not very frequently but they are there.
They are definitely a good starting point when you’re new to rockhounding, and they’re a great place to go even when you’ve been doing it a long time!
Such a great tutorial! I don't think I'll be finding any lake superior agates here in Georgia, but I'll certainly be looking if I ever get up north! Thanks for sharing!
That’s probably true, sadly.
Such potential. I've been going though buckets of rocks a local hound has given me, I haven't been to the river yet this year. Thanks for the ride along to give me that water front atmosphere as I cycle through the buckets. So much waxy goodness.
I haven’t had a chance to do much river hounding either. It’s just been so high.
I truly enjoy your manner of teaching in your videos. It’s always positive and informative. Wouldn’t it be amazing to find the agates in a quarry before they get crushed into smaller pieces?
That would be a dream come true!
AWESOME VIDEO!!! I am getting better at finding agates, thanks to your help/videos. Thanks Thomas!!!
Keep rockin!!👍😎
That’s good to know! Glad I could be some help!
Thanks Thomas! I needed To go rock hounding. I always enjoy your videos! God bless you. See you on the next hunt. Your friend and fan, Kevin
Thanks for the kind comment Kevin!
amazing finds, thanks for the tips n tricks broski
Thomas it would be fun to have a gravel road with Agates on it. Thanks for bringing us along on your walk. Very informative.
Glad you found it informative!
Thanks Thomas for taking me along.
Thanks for joining!
Awesome stuff man!!
VERY informative 🤓👍
Happy Hunting!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Thanks! I'm really new to this, and second guess my finds a lot. I haven't found any agates yet around the Twin Cities(mostly a lot of jasper and granite I think), but I hope to find some soon!
Those are about the right size to put into bottles or jars, or maybe even use them as "filler" when you tumble other agates. until they do fit into bottles.
What do you do with your agates?
Some of them I leave as is and put them in jars, but I really love tumbling them too.
I leave mine as is. I think they're more beautiful when they're unpolished.
Very informative!!! Thank You!!! 🤗♥️🙏🏼
I wish it was as easy as just going to a dirt road to find agates. We have lots of dirt roads, but no agates. And going to Minnesota with gas prices what they are is a little crazy. This video was great since I can't just go out and practice in my area.
One way that I find agates is to walk into a setting or rising sun. When the sun is low in the sky, the agates will glow like Christmas lights. I don't have enough experience to know if this only works with small agates, but that's what I always find with this method. Actually, I don't even know if you'd consider them to be agates. They're more like carnelians, with no bands. But they are orange, waxy, and translucent.
I probably should’ve made it more clear that not every gravel road is paved with agates. Is paved the right word? Probably not. Sprinkled?? Doesn’t matter. I more wanted to show what I look for when I’m hunting agates. The glow in the sun is another good point. I usually like to go on bright sunny days. It definitely makes them easier to spot.
@@99Rockhounding Have you tried hunting into the sun when the sun is low in the sky?
@@MichiganRocks I was doing that a little for that video. It was probably around 6-7:00 when I was filming.
@michigan rocks Rob... do you know if any of the dirt roads in the upper are worth searching? I know Thomas and agate dad are both in Minnesota. I'm heading to the UP one school starts so it's less crowded. I haven't had as much luck with agates hunting for days but find plenty of yooper stones hunting just for a bit before bed... kinda makes me crazy. Lol.
@@joolzbohr I haven't searched the roads for them in the U.P., so I don't know. I do know that they crush the tailings from mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula, so you can sometimes find stuff that you'd find in those piles on roads.
Thanks Thomas great video.
Got to check out some dirt roads. As it is, I have hunted gravel driveways and parking lots.
Thank you that was very helpful.
Does it matter what state the gravel roads are in? I live in a pretty dry rockhounding state so I was wondering if I would still find things like this.
It does matter which state you're in and where the gravel is sourced from.
Are the Lake Superior agates all the red color? How do you find them along the beach under the water? Good job.
Where were you finding these little gems?
What general area? We have a river gravel deposited pit up north near Mellen, WI, but I never find anything like these anywhere up there... I find tons of chalcedony nodules and seams in the creek dredging in SW Idaho. On a couple of the broken seam pieces I can see some bands. Going to try looking harder in the gravel pit, and invest in a saw for the stuff we find in Idaho.
Lake ontario. I think I've found many. U can see through in the sun. And lots of quartz too.
Nice video Thomas, love the gravel road rockhounding experiences! I need to do it again! Sweet finds.
Thank you!
Very nice! What state was this in?
This is in MN.
Hello Thomas. Are you on Ontario side?
@Rock Crazy Gal Thomas is on the MN side!
Thomas where have you been?
When choosing gravel roads to look on is there any rhyme or reason to choose one over another?
Not really, sometimes if they have bigger/more rocks I’ll pick those.
@@99Rockhounding Ended up just driving around Little Falls area and picked some random back roads. Surprised how many we were able to find. Tips helped. Thanks for the videos.
🤘👍
So what is so special about Agates? I pick up many stones from the Lochs here in Scotland that look like them, also gold/silver looking stones!
It has water inside this rock.
Is step #1 going to Lake Superior?
🤣Right?!
Not really... Most beaches get picked over pretty thoroughly.
I took seven trips to Lake Superior and only found one "painted" agate that was the size of my fingernail.
Decorative landscape stone supply yards and new construction areas yield far better odds in comparison.
The most spectacular agate finds this year have been in a central Minnesota farm field. The location is top secret.
Like others have said, I tend to avoid Lake Superior. It just gets hit so hard, so unless you can find a private beach you’re probably not going to have the best luck.
@@99Rockhounding however, I have discovered that agate hunters tend to leave the good stuff. Petrified wood, banded iron, galaxy stones and other interesting non-agates.
Feldspar is also moonstone, labradorite, and Sunstones. There is a good chance that that feldspar was just shiny because of the cleavage.
❤🎉🎉❤❤
👍💎💎💎👍
Uh your a nub I’ve been here from Britain and already found a pounder