Agate Scotland

Here is another example of a highly weathered Usan agate. It was found in beach shingle not too far below the high-water mark. I refer to this agate affectionally as : "The Leaf" which should hopefully be self-explantory! It is one of a particular species of Usan agate where the pigmentation platelets are separated enough, perhaps by the action of weathering, so that they are visible as such. Usually the eye cannot discern these platelets unless the stone is viewed under magnification. You can see that there is colouration unrelated to fortification banding in the lower portion, presumably also a product of heavy weathering.