American AgateJasper Index - Free Resource

[elementary]

(I know I am not known on this website though I recognize a great many names from Rock Tumbling Hobby. I hope you take a moment to read this and make use of the resources a friend (Mel Hixson) and myself have put together. This project is free to all, designed as a reference work to aid you in identifying unknown specimens.)

The American Agate/Jasper Index is designed to be a database of material found in North America. The main goal of this collection is to aid people with identification of specimens as well act as an visual guide to quartz gem materials with some peripheral items. Each index will focus on a different region. These are designed to be downloaded for free and are created from photo submissions given by rockhounds across North America. (Donors receive photo credit and those with online shops also receive links to their websites.)
These volumes can be shared freely within your gem and mineral clubs and with anyone you feel would benefit from them.

Updates to each volume will occur periodically as new material is submitted. (Volume 1 was just updated since it's release in February.) If, once you test these resources, you would like to contribute, either email me or respond on this thread and I will initiate a thread where you can post your photos (if moderator allows). If you like what you see, please post and let others know. If you see mistakes in the published volumes, please let me know and they will be corrected the following edition.
The strength of this index is in the local collectors. Without you, the index couldn't provide the variety needed to be effective.
These are not gem trails guides with directions to sites nor are they 'museums' with tons of pictures showing the same type of material. Essentially they are compendiums of images with their location noted.

To download a file, click on the desired link and then click on the BLUE download box. Wait about 10 seconds and a prompt will then appear to download the file. Click on it and it will load.

Volume 1 (2nd ed): Utah and Colorado (warning - 16 MB)
www.4shared.com/document/mNXTQALM/Agate_Index_Vol_1__2nd_ed_.html
Vol 2:Wyoming and Montana
www.4shared.com/file/224404408/51585e57/Agate_Index_Vol_2.html
Vol 3:Idaho and Washington
www.4shared.com/file/229956030/cc07189f/Agate_Index_Vol_3.html
Vol 4:South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma
www.4shared.com/file/242786005/91b2476f/Agate_Index_Vol_4.html
Vol 5: Texas
www.4shared.com/document/oCLei3tU/Agate_Index_Vol_5.html
Vol 6: The South - Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri
www.4shared.com/document/nXCjumab/Agate_Index_Vol_6.html

We hope you find these files interesting and helpful.
They are for you.

Lowell

[Dicky the Rockhunter]

this looks interesting . I tried to download and got a mesage it was cancelled , also noticed there was a sex add on the page . IS THIS A PHISH SITE?

Dicky

[Doug]

I downloaded the section on the south and it has some GREAT photos. If you have a slow connection then expect to be waiting a while because the files are pretty big. Despite the index listing there are several specimens from N.C., including some I have never seen before.

[postal]

Great pictures .Looks like someone did a great job.Pete

[lauriesrocks]

Thanks so much for the link! This is a great resource!

[elementary]

Thank you for all the kind words.

Dicky, regarding the ads - yeah, sometimes they don't have the best ads on the side. It's something that I don't like, but at present, I don't have another file sharing website to use.

This file4share website has been growing itself and at times I have found it either slow or down. Once all my download numbers disappeared for a day. Also, recently, the whole appearance of the main page (not the linking page you see from hitting my links above but my interface with the site) radically changed, but for the better.

As for the size of the files, they are bulky so downloading speed will depend on your connection and computer. I prefer higher resolution pics as this enables me to adjust the photo sizes as needed. Low res shots break up when enlarged.

As this project is entirely free - there is no money is going to change hands, I am stuck using free sites as best I can. Ultimately, I am thinking about doing a Facebook page along with using my clubs's website (I belong to the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society - I edit their bulletin) as the main link. This would mean if I change a file, you don't need to receive an update on the link, but rather you click on a permanent one that leads into a Facebook page (or VGMS page) with connection to the various files.

Sorry to write a lot. Please continue to let me know the shortcomings of this system. Ultimately I plan on going through all my bulletin contacts to share these files - so correct and instruct me where you see fit.

Also, if you want your photos added to the index, please IM me or post here that I have permission to 'poach' your photos - ie copy them for the index. They will not be used for any commercial purpose. The only other use would be to illustrate the main page of a website for the Agate Index when that comes around, but I would get back to you for additional permission for this.

Thank you for your time,

Lowell Foster

[Dicky the Rockhunter]

I love the reports you guys are posting . I must be dumb but every time I click on the link I get the next page and then click on the blue download and get an error . it says so many seconds till download and then switches to " navigation to web page was canceled .. Any suggestions ? I would really like to see , especial;y the Utah and Colorado section.

Dicky

[elementary]

Dicky,

It sounds like you are doing everything right.
I just tried it myself and succeeded.
Hit Blue Button.
Says wait XXX amount of seconds (my trial said 16 just now).
Then the transfer.

I am not a computer person in any way shape or form so technical reasons I can't provide.
I do have questions.
The file is over 16 MB, almost twice any other file at this time.
Have you tried downloading a smaller file, such as Volume #2 to see if you got the same message? I'm wondering if your internet connection might have a cap on file transfer size.
I know email has limits - which is one of the reasons I went to this method for distribution.
I wouldn't think it would have a limit, but it's a guess.

Please let me know the results.

Lowell

[arappaho]

Yes, access is a bit of a hassle, but what a huge and worthwhile
endeavor!
Hit the blue button and count to 10, Dicky! ;D

Maybe, eventually, you will be able to collect enough funds from
rock clubs, etc, to afford a direct link. I think there are many who
think it would be worth contributing to. And the size of these volumes
could get pretty big.
I would be happy to contribute specimen pics to your collection but
have to reiterate a question already asked above; Do you plan to
include North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee in the South, or are
you planning on making them their own area?
Ya'kno there's been wars fought over that very thing and we don't
go down easy.
(Sorry to digress.)

Keep up the great work guys,
Joe

[elementary]

Joe,

First of all, thank you for the supportive words regarding this project. It began with a few of us lamenting that there wasn't a decent agate/jasper index for the United States. The Agates books by Zenz in Germany are wonderfully huge, but limited in US material. There are also other wonderful books out there but again, not encompassing as we would have liked. A few of us on RTH (the other board) began saying that if rockhounds worked together, we could produce a product better than any publisher. We have no due date, we can update as needed, and there is no overhead or cost, and we figured rockhounds in each region would step up to participate both with their knowledge and their photos. We started in February and it's been great fun (and a bit of work).
The downfall of this project is that I now want to visit more and more places. But I tell you, I've met/spoke to so many great people from all over this country.
Oh, we also plan on doing Canada and Mexico once USA is under our belts.

As for your concern, at present, my contacts are weak in the east, north, and south so I combined a large region. The goal, once there is enough material, is split the 'South' index into a Mississippi River/Gulf index and an 'Atlantic Coast' index. (I heard from a few Missouri folk who wondered about my geography knowledge). I mean no slight. I wanted to get the information out and chose a generalized name. I'm also going to be 'redistricting' the Plains states and adding Minnesota (I have an incredible batch of Laker pictures - it's amazing the quality of images now available with digital cameras), and adding a 'North', but I'm not sure how, at this moment, those are going to look.
Mel, my partner in crime with this project, wants me to drop the regional names. I haven't yet, but as these files grow larger, they will split into individual states to make downloading easier. By that time (hopefully) I'll have a permanent home and website for this.

Side note - regarding the N.C. photos. I've already received updated photos from Chromenut whose initial pictures were a tad blurry, so when I update this section, some of the rarer N.C. material will be clearer.

Thanks again for responding! I tell people this is their project - it's as good as they want it to be. I'm just the lucky (ok - slightly obsessive compulsive) guy who slaps it all together. Mel - my co-editor - is located in Texas and he's my quality control. His knowledge is incredible and he fact checks each of my indexes before they go out.

Oh, Arizona's Index will be ready (most likely) by the end of the week.

By the way, I write long responses, if you haven't noticed...

Lowell Foster

[sophia]

These are wonderful! Thanks very much -
Tya