Аннотация:After an experiment at 300°C with a block ofmassive basalt completely immersed in water for fourmonths, the concentration of dissolved silica (m) washigher than the solubility of quartz, however, silicaprecipitation was not observed. In the experiment with ablock of massive basalt immersed in water by half, the mvalue was lower than the solubility of quartz, but silica wasdeposited on the block above the water level in the form ofnon-crystalline opal, cristobalite opal and quartz. In anexperiment with a cylinder of porous basalt half submergedin water, newly formed silica was found not only on thesurface, but also inside the upper half of the cylinder (Xray computed microtomography). The unusual results ofthe experiments are explained by distillation, which isinitiated by the predominant evaporation of a thin, morethermally conductive layer of water at the water–wall–vapor interface and is enhanced by wetting a rough orporous wall with water. Based on the experimental results,it is shown how the action of this mechanism in naturalconditions can lead to the formation of agates.