Mottled Jaspers, banded, striped Agates

 

  When I was younger I dreamed of finding gold. I do not think Belize has much in the way of gold, (although there is some in the south,) But I have come to realize we are practically sitting on a jasper/agate mine around here. These rocks have all been found broken in their natural state. We have pinks, reds, purples, striped, mottled, banded, moss, and pretty much you name it. Perhaps one day we will have a market for these gemstones.

Red mottled jasper or agate

Here are two rocks we split open. A good surprise for sure.

Pine Ridge Rock

Petrified wood with crystals

This was a very rare find. A piece of gnarled petrified wood with black crystals on one end. The black part of the rock on the bottom of rock looks like some other stone than wood. Whatever it is, its a very exciting find.

Blueish rock in limestone

 Sorry I do not have a name for this rock. Its gorgeous and set in limestone, is all I know!

Found in Young Gal, Cayo District

Honey fishtail Selenite

 Thanks to some Canadian friends that viewed my rock collection, I am able to name a few more of my pieces. (Thank you!)

 The layers can be peeled off in perfect thin sheets.

 you can clearly see the mud that is trapped inside the rock.

Found in a creek in Spanish Lookout, Cayo District

More cut agates

For a while I had wanted to get more rocks cut and finally got around to it again.

It is always fun to guess which rocks will turn out beautiful on the inside. This time I was not disappointed.
The biggest rock on the left is 6 1/2 inches.

I have noticed something similar in most of the rocks I have cut. See the circle designs on the surface? Very often rocks that have that on the outside are beautiful on the inside. This is one clue that a rock might be banded or another color. I have a few that are pink inside that have the circles on the outside.

Pine ridge rock

Petrified Mud

As far as I can tell, this piece of dried mud is petrified. It does not change when sitting in water and sounds like a regular rock when banging it against another.

(This is actually not a Belize rock, so maybe it should not be on this blog, but I would like to include it anyway. It was found, if I remember correctly, in the US in one of the national parks.)

More identical unexplained rocks

 I showed you the one on the right before, wondering how is was formed. Well, I still wonder. Maybe even more so, as
I found a similar one.

 the one on the left has very similar marks, only finer.

 I see that I have a few followers by now. (thank you guys!) Is there anyone out there that knows more about these rocks than I do? I hope one day someone will venture forth and tell me what they think, or know!

Pine ridge rock