Material · lithic
Alibates agatized dolomite
North America — Great Plains, North America — Southwest
Alibates agatized dolomite is the banded red, purple, white and blue silicified dolomite of the Texas Panhandle, quarried from Clovis times through the Antelope Creek phase and traded across the Southern Plains and Southwest. The quarries are a National Monument. It is among the most beautiful North American toolstones.
| Kind | lithic |
|---|---|
| Regions | North America — Great Plains, North America — Southwest |
Sources
The outcrops lie along the Canadian River breaks north of Amarillo, Texas, in the Permian Alibates dolomite, with over seven hundred quarry pits at Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. Cobbles occur in Canadian River gravels downstream into Oklahoma.
Identification
The stone shows swirling bands and mottles of maroon, red, purple, white, blue and grey with a waxy lustre, sometimes with rough dolomitic patches. Weathering is light. It is easily distinguished from local cherts by colour.
Substitutes and fakes
Collecting at the Monument is a federal crime, and Alibates points sold today are often modern products of Texas knappers using legally purchased stone from private outcrops. Patina and provenance are the only defence.
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Alibates agatized dolomite" (Material). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/materials/alibates-agatized-dolomite. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-alibates-agatized-dolomite,
title = {Alibates agatized dolomite},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/materials/alibates-agatized-dolomite}},
year = {2026},
note = {Material article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.