In tiny stone cavities formed from cooling gas bubbles in basaltic lava, a slow drip of groundwater carries quartz particles to build fantastic crystals. Over millions of years, these formations grow into the natural beauties known as geodes.

These rock formations are often stained colors by surrounding impurities, such as iron or other metals. The glittering effect on many geodes is actually an extremely fine layer of crystals called druse or druzy.

The town of Tabasco, Mexico, where this geode comes from, is home to some of the smallest geodes on Earth.

Each Tabasco Geode specimen is one of these concretions split clean down the middle, offering a closeup glimpse of the red quartz crystals hidden with. Looking for a great stocking stuffer this holiday season? Tabasco Geodes are the perfect choice!

Every Tabasco Geode pair comes shipped in a small black box along with an informational authenticity card. Geodes measure around a half inch in diameter and include both halves.

Geodes are a type of concretion, distinct masses of material found in sedimentary rocks. Like other concretions, geodes can be identified by their roughly spherical shape, but geodes are differentiated by their hollow interior. These hollow spaces can form in a number of ways, including gas bubbles, or from volcanic activity. 

Inside can be found colorful crystals that infiltrated the hollow space during the crystalization process, growing into incredible formations hidden inside a simple rock. Surrounding impurities like iron provide color to the formations, while the hollow space of the concretion provides a somewhat sealed environment to aid crystal growth.

This process begins along the inner walls of the concretion, creating banded formations that provide a base for the larger druzy crystals at the center of what becomes a geode. Because of how geodes can be cracked to reveal inner gemstones, they earned the nickname thunder eggs, while particuarly large formations are called crystal caves.

Quartz crystals like opal and chalcedony are common crystals to be found in geode, but there can also be others including hematite and pyrite. If a geode’s inner crystals are more resistant to weathering than the base rock, the rock material may be stripped away, leaving the crystals behind.