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Condor agate was discovered and named by Luis de los Santos in 1993. It is found in the mountains near San Rafael, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. This agate exhibits colorful bands and patterns, and has become a popular stone among collectors and jewelry designers.
In the early days of condor agate collecting, a typical month of effort would yield 1 ton of good agates. Currently, excavation is required to find the agates, so an extra effort is needed to supply the ever growing demand for these gems. Initially, the agates were found scattered loose over the landscape and were readily harvested in quantity. Today, surface collecting is no longer prolific, so these agates are collected from shallow diggings in the cold agate fields in Mendoza province, Argentina.
Chalcedony ( kal-SED-ə-nee, or KAL-sə-doh-nee) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. Chalcedony's standard chemical structure (based on the chemical structure of quartz) is SiO2 (silicon dioxide).
Patagonia is a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands, and steppes to the east. Patagonia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and many bodies of water that connect them, such as the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage to the south.
The geography of Argentina is heavily diverse, consisting of the Andes Mountains, pampas, and various rivers and lakes. Bordered by the Andes in the west and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, its neighbouring countries are Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast.
Onyx is the parallel-banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands. Onyx has parallel bands, while agate has curved bands. The colors of its bands range from black to almost every color. Specimens of onyx commonly contain bands of black or white or both. Onyx, as a descriptive term, has also been applied to parallel-banded varieties of alabaster, marble, calcite, obsidian, and opal, and misleadingly to materials with contorted banding, such as "cave onyx" and "Mexican onyx".
The California condor is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah, the coastal mountains of California, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps, although four extinct members of the genus are also known. The species is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as Critically Endangered, and similarly considered Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.
The Andean condor is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus Vultur. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of 3.3 m and weight of 15 kg (33 lb), the Andean condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and is generally considered to be the largest bird of prey in the world.
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province at its northeast corner.
Argentavis is an extinct genus of teratornithid known from three sites in the Epecuén and Andalhualá Formations in central and northwestern Argentina dating to the Late Miocene (Huayquerian). The type species, A. magnificens, is sometimes called the giant teratorn. Argentavis was among the largest flying birds to ever exist, holding the record for heaviest flying bird, although it was surpassed in wingspan after the 2014 description of Pelagornis sandersi, which is estimated to have possessed wings some 20% longer than those of Argentavis.
Yvon Chouinard is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist, and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,847 feet (2,697 m).
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in colonial Spain, as well in the subsequent large Spanish and Italian immigration which installed its mass consumption. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, vine cuttings were brought to Santiago del Estero in 1557, and the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighboring regions, and then to other parts of the country.
The Lake Superior agate is a type of agate stained by iron and found on the shores of Lake Superior. Its wide distribution and iron-rich bands of color reflect the gemstone's geologic history in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan. In 1969 the Lake Superior agate was designated by the Minnesota Legislature as the official state gemstone.
Volkheimeria is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now Argentina during the Early Jurassic, 178–179 million years ago. Its type and only species is Volkheimeria chubutensis.
The Anacleto Formation is a geologic formation with outcrops in the Argentine Patagonian provinces of Mendoza, Río Negro, and Neuquén. It is the youngest formation within the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Río Colorado Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Anacleto Formation was known as the Anacleto Member.
San Rafael is a city in the southern region of the Mendoza Province, Argentina. With more than 118,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city in and the seat of San Rafael Department.
Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg was an Argentine natural historian and novelist, one of the leading figures in Argentine biology. Together with Florentino Ameghino he undertook the inventory of Argentine flora and fauna, and explored all the ecoregions in the country, summarizing for the first time the biodiversity of its territory. The son of botanical aficionado Eduardo Wenceslao Holmberg and grandson of the Baron Holmberg, Holmburg accompanied Argentine Libertador Manuel Belgrano on his campaigns and introduced the cultivation of the camellia to Argentina. As director of the Buenos Aires Zoological Garden he greatly developed its scientific aspect, publishing booklets and providing printed media for a learned appreciation of its contents. He also directed the Natural History Cabinet of the University of Buenos Aires and published the standard reference works on botany and zoology used in his country for most of the 20th century.
The Chumash Wilderness is a 38,150 acres (15,440 ha) wilderness area within the southern Los Padres National Forest. It is located in the Transverse Ranges, in northern Ventura County and southwestern Kern County in California.
Balneario El Cóndor is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina. It is located on the coast of the Río Negro Province, Argentina, on the south bank of the mouth of the Negro River in the Argentine Sea. El Cóndor is located on km 31 of Provincial Route 1 in Río Negro, on the route that begins in the provincial capital, Viedma.
Asmodeus is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today South America.
Telmabates is an extinct genus of presbyornithid bird from the Eocene Bird Clay Locality of the Sarmiento Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, T. antiquus.