OPENIN
G^
PHOTO:
JIM^
LAWSON;
ELLENSBURGB
LUE^ AGATE:^ COURTESY^ CARLSONB
ROTHERS^ JEWELRYT
oday on the market you can fi nd blue chalcedony from several
sources worldwide that’s used in the jewelry industry. Turkey
has its Anatolian blue, while Africa brings out Malawi and
Namibian blue lace, for example. Several localities in North
America also produce blue chalcedony in varying qualities. One North
American source that has consistently produced small quantities of high-
grade blue chalcedony is well known locally but less so farther afi eld.
Named for the nearby town of Ellensburg, Washington, the material is
called Ellensburg blue agate, Ellensburg blue, or just Eburg blue by those
who hunt it or covet jewelry set with its cabochons.Found in one small area north and
west of Ellensburg, the agate originated
from hydrothermal fl uids that were em-
placed in fractures in an ancient basalt
formation called the Teenaway Basalt.
The agate is found both as alluvial fl oat
from the uplifted volcanic rock, as well
as still in place in seams that surface on
the forest-covered ridges overlooking
the Kittitas Valley.Ellensburg
Blue
Meet a classic gemstone from
the Pacific Northwest By Jim Landon
E^ AGATE:^ COURTESY^ CARLSONB
ROTHERS^ JEWELRYSelection of Ellensburg blue
agate shows the range of
color and translucency of the
material, and how it appears
as rough and cut.38 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
38 Landon_EllensburgBlueAgate_mayjune20.indd 38 3/16/20 3:42 PM