In the upper cretaceous era there was an period of intensively volcanism in the area of Mount Sommers in the Canterbury region. This volcanism formed the agatebearing rocks, the ignimbrites from the Mount Sommers and Woolsed series.
Directly at Mount Sommers collectors can find weak banded bluish agates with interesting moss-like formations. Some nice water-level agates do occur too.
A well known locality for agates is the area around White Cliffs. The nodules are found on a secondary deposit and are waterworn and are containing sometimes nicely contrasting agates in brownish to white tones.
Hetties Slip is producing alluvial agates too. From this place I have in my collection an interesting weak banded, granulous recrystallized agate.
Hetties Slip
Mount Sommers
White Cliffs
|