Geodes are irresistible. They fill display cases and museums everywhere. I’ve even got one on my desk at home: a smooth, brownish rock encasing milky lavender crystals. It’s hard to deny the allure of ...

Amethyst geodes—some stretching 5 m long—dot the ancient lava flows of Uruguay’s Los Catalanes mining area. The geodes contain calcite, colorless quartz, and agate, another quartz mineral. Large ...