FAQ

What is a geode (and what to expect from a Kentucky Geode)?

Kentucky Geodes are spherical or oblong rocks filled or partially filled with minerals. When a geode is broken, the minerals inside are revealed. Most geodes are completely filled with minerals, most often quartz. The quartz can be massive, crystalline, or layered, which is a variety called agate.  Hollow geodes have an outer shell or rind of quartz, most often the variety chalcedony. The chalcedony often has a bumpy or lumpy appearance from the outside. But the bumpy appearance is no assurance that the inside of the spherical rock will be hollow. The interior of hollow geodes are filled with mineral crystals, which grow inward from the rind into the hollow space inside the geode. Most often, geodes found in Kentucky are lined with quartz crystals. Less commonly, calcite or dolomite crystals are found on the inside, either alone or associated with bitumen, barite, baryte, kaolinite, millerite, smithsonite, galena, fluorite, quartz, limonite, sphalerite, pyrite, selenite, or celestite, ect..   Several cryptocrystalline (microscopic crystals) varieties of quartz occur in Kentucky. They are commonly recognized on the basis of their fibrous texture and granularity. The fibrous varieties include chalcedony, agate, onyx, and jasper, and granular varieties include chert and flint.  Geodes from the Lida Asteria Collection are from the “Knobs region” of Kentucky to include counties, Lincoln, Casey, Boyle, Garrard, Woodford, Rockcastle, Estill and Jackson.  They have been collected from Rivers, streams, road cuts, quarries, fields and hillsides.  We cannot guarantee the minerals or the quality of minerals found in the unopened geodes.  These Geodes were made by nature and each one has its own uniqueness and was formed just as they were meant to. 

Geodes are often named according to a particular feature or mineral they exhibit or mention where the particular geodes were found. Common informal names for geodes include: quartz geodes, amethyst geodes, agate geodes, enhydro geodes, Oco geodes, Keokuk geodes, coconut geodes, etc. Thunder eggs may occur as geodes or nodules. We call our geodes, Kentucky Geodes or Kentucky Geode Agates dependent on where they are found in Kentucky.  If they are found in one of the five counties that produce agates and have agate like qualities we will call the Kentucky Geode Agates otherwise we just call them Kentucky geodes.

Photo Quality vs Display Quality

We have worked hard to make sure the minerals are accurately represented. The images on this website are optimized for viewing with any browser or Adobe Photoshop on a PC computer. Also, your computer monitor should be properly adjusted to yield accurate color rendition. It is highly recommended that you use various commercial software packages to set the gamma on your display.  Mac users beware: your screens are inherently brighter and minerals appear lighter than on PCs.  All minerals on this site are accurately represented with photographs prepared under optimum conditions. This includes reflective backgrounds, custom support stands, color balanced spot-light sources, shortwave UV light and photographed from a single point of view.  Photos are taken with an Iphone or Lumix dmc lx5 camera