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Silvertooth Agate Fields

Producer in Bedford county in Tennessee, United States with commodities Gemstone, Quartz
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Nearby scientific data
  8. Geologic structures
  9. Ore body information
  10. Controls for ore emplacement
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Land status
  13. Ownership information
  14. Workings at the site
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026538
MRDS ID K005255
Record type Site
Current site name Silvertooth Agate Fields
Alternate or previous names Curbow Rock Farm

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Centroid
Geographic coordinates: -86.45364, 35.52151 (WGS84)
Elevation 259
Relative position Original record had no coordinates, so this was plotted to the middle of the state/county area.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bedford(county)

Tennessee(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Deason(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Murfreesboro(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Columbia(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Duck(hydrologic unit)

Lower Tennessee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Tennessee Bedford

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION INCLUDES THE FIELDS SOUTHWARD FROM THE HORSE MOUNTAIN ROAD TO PANNELL BRANCH AND STOKES BRANCH.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gemstone Primary
Quartz Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcedony Ore

Nearby scientific data

Centroid (1) -86.45364, 35.52151
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Bedrock Is Essentially Flat-Lying

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET
    Dip HORIZ.
    Length 243.84M
    Width 152.4M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Residuum

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE CHALCEDONIC QUARTZ OR AGATE IS BELIEVED (WILSON, 1965) TO HAVE BEEN DERIVED FROM SILICA DISSEMINATED IN THE SANDY BEDS OF THE HERMITAGE FORMATION. WEATHERING AND SUPERGENE ENRICHMENT PROCESSES PROBABLY RESULTED IS SOLUTION AND REDEPOSITION OF SILICA AS CHALCEDONY IN THE FORM OF NODULES IN THE RESIDUUM. CHERT IN THE HERMITAGE LIMESTONES IS CHARACTERISTICALLY GRAY TO BLACK AND POORLY TRANSLUCENT. THE CHALCEDONIC VARIETY HAS NOT BEEN OBSERVED IN THE BEDROCK.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1945

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner John Vaughn Silvertooth

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION IN TERMS OF TONNAGE IS LOW. THE CHIEF VALUE OF THE DEPOSITS IS IN THE BENEFITS OF TOURISM WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE NOT BE DRAWN TO THE VICINITY OF WARTRACE. THE PROPERTY OWNERS BENEFIT FROM THE SMALL FEE THAT THEY CHARGE. LAPIDARIES AND MINERAL COLLECTORS REPORTED COME FROM ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. PRODUCE CHALCEDONIC QUARTZ AND GEMSTONES.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall length 243.84M
    Overall width 152.4M

Comments on the workings information

  • NO WORKINGS AS SUCH; PRODUCTION IS RESTRICTED TO SURFACE FINDS.

Comments on development

  • THE PROPERTY IS PRIMARILY FARMLAND. CHALCEDONY IS BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PLOWING FOR CROPS. OCCASSIONALLY, ADDITIONAL PLOWING IS DONE IN SELECTED AREAS DURING PEAK VISITOR SEASONS. MINERAL HUNTING ON A FEE BASIS WAS INITIATED BY THE PREVIOUS PROPERTY OWNER, MR. CURBOW. ; ECON.COM: NO EXPENDITURES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    WILSON, C. W., JR., 1965, GEOLOGIC MAP AND MINERAL RESOURCES SUMMARY OF THE WARTRACE QUADRANGLE, TENNESSEE: TENN. DIVISION GEOLOGY, GM 78-SE AND MRS 78-SE

  • Deposit

    1965 GEOLMAP WILSON, C. W., JR.; TENN. DIV. GEOL.; MA

  • Production

    PROPERTY OWNERS AND MINERAL COLLECTORS IN THE TVA REGION

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE PROPERTY MAY BE CONSIDERED ACTIVE IN THAT ROCK HUNTERS ARE PERMITTED ACCESS ON A YEAR-AROUND BASIS. CHALCEDONY REPORTEDLY OCCURS ELSEWHERE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY, BUT ROCK HUNTING IS NOT ENCOURAGED ON OTHER PROPERTIES.
Deposit CHALCEDONY OCCURS AS IRREGULAR FRAGMENTS AND NODULES, MOST OF WHICH SHOW INTERNAL FRACTURES. INTERNAL BANDING IS EVIDENT ON MANY OF THE FRAGMENTS, PARTICULARLY WHERE IT INTERSECTS CONCHOIDAL FRACTURES AND APPEARS AS CLOSELY SPACED RIDGES. VARIECOLORED BANDING IS SCARCE. THE AGATE OCCURS IN EVERY COLOR EXCEPT GREEN. SHADES OF GRAY, AMBER, AND REDDISH-ORANGE ARE MOST COMMON. THE SPACING OF THE INTERNAL FRACTURES IS SUCH THAT RELATIVELY LARGE, SOUND STONES CAN BE CUT, WHICH TAKE A GOOD POLISH. POLISHED GEMSTONES FROM THE MATERIAL EXHIBIT UNIFORM COLOR AND A HIGH DEGREE OF TRANSLUCENCY. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-77 Hale, Robin C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

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