Its layers are soft and wavy, looking a lot like lace. Blue Lace Agatesīlue lace agate is a sight to behold! Imagine a clear blue sky with delicate wisps of white clouds, and you’ve got a good idea of what this stone looks like. While Utah is home to many stunning gemstones and minerals, fire agate is more commonly found in the southwestern United States, especially in areas like Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Every time you move a fire agate, its colors can shift, showing off reds, oranges, golds, and even greens. These colors come from the thin layers of iron oxide that reflect light in bright and fiery patterns. What makes it so special is the way it sparkles with iridescent colors, kind of like how oil on water shimmers. Fire Agatesįire agate is one of the coolest stones you can find! When you look at it, it’s like holding a piece of burning fire or sunset right in your hand. Lucky for us, moss agates can be found in Utah, although it isn’t the most common agate here. It’s truly a piece of art created by nature! Each piece is like a tiny world all its own, with swirls of green, red, or even blue that resemble moss, trees, or ferns. When you look at one of these stones, it’s like peering into a secret, miniature forest.

Instead, these patterns come from minerals like manganese or iron. Even though it’s called “moss,” there aren’t any actual plants inside. Moss agate looks like it’s got tiny plants or moss inside. Now, before we answer your question on where to mine for agate in Utah, let’s first go through its different kinds: Moss Agates The best part? You can find them right here in the USA, including in Utah! They can be found in many places around the world: from beaches to deserts to mountains. These gems love to hide in volcanic rocks and areas where there have been lots of geological changes. These layers harden and, voila, you get an agate! Its captivating beauty and versatility raise agate’s value and worth in the market. Over time, tiny minerals seep into this space and slowly layer up, one by one. These wonders form in a hollow space in a rock. Some say they look like layers of a yummy cake! They’re a kind of quartz, and inside them, you can find a mix of colors. What is Utah Agate? Moss agate photo provided by and available for purchase at NewMoonBeginningsĪgates are known for their beautiful, wavy patterns and bright colors. Other Great Places To Find Agates in Utah.Informal paths of crushed limestone-softened by ground cover along their edges-slow the pace as they meander through lush gardens and connect to stone steps that traverse the water. In Salt Lake City, landscape designer Willie Eschenfelder bordered a tranquil stream with rocks and select plantings to make the water feature look freeform and natural. Bockholt chose stone from the site and nearby Browns Stone quarries to form the walls, patio floor and raised fire pit, fostering a natural look and feel for the design. Using no footings, he designed the flexible, dry-stacked stone walls to move with the ground as it naturally shifts. To shape the terraces of a Park City property, landscape architect Seth Bockholt designed elegant curved walls to create a contrast between the site’s organic forms and the house’s hard edges. “Whimsical plantings accentuate the storybook look of the playhouse,” Anesi says. A “hobbit house,” made of local river stone from the home’s Big Cottonwood Creek area, tucks into the berm and features a red brick ceiling and handcrafted door and window. Landscape designer Dean Anesi, principal of Urban Garden Company, created a large berm to hide a bike path and garage, as well as to give height to a water feature on its backside. Hobbit House Photo Courtesy of Dean Anesi “A single stone would make it feel too stark and small,” Bockholt says.ģ. The dark stones absorb the sunlight to help warm the mountain patio, and the mixed materials add interest and space-expanding dimension. Nearby, a salt-and-pepper granite fire feature grounds the space. A colorful, vertically staged marble slab towers over the patio of honed, non-slip basalt pavers bordered in Mexican Beach cobbles. “But in the backyard, it’s no holds barred.” He and his team creatively integrated four contrasting stone elements. “Everybody wants to do mountain contemporary in Old Town, but they are limited by what they can do from the streetscape,” says landscape architect Seth Bockholt, principal of Bockholt Landscape Architecture. In Park City, a small backyard gets a big-style overhaul.

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