Photo: Darren Handschuh

The Thompson-Okanagan is well known for its sunny skies, amazing lakes and its agates.

Judy Hackman, with the Vernon Lapidary and Mineral Club, said the region is rich in the popular rocks.

“Monte Lake is almost world-renowned spot for finding agates,” Hackman said.

Anyone who has driven past Monte Lake on Highway 97 on a weekend has probably seen people scampering along the cliff searching for the natural treasures.

According to Wikipedia, agates are a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colours. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancient Greece, in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors.

“There are some amazing agates,” said Hackman at the Vernon Lapidary and Mineral Club show at the Vernon museum Saturday.

“Some people from the United States pay a very good price for stuff that comes out of British Columbia.”

Agates can be found throughout the region.

For those interested in getting into the rock scene, the club leads a number of field trips.

“We usually take beginners to a gravel pit where they learn to identify agates,” said Hackman. “The beauty of the gravel pit hunt is that families bring their young kids and the kids get to discover agates.”

For more information on the club, visit their website.