CATEGORIES
CHOOSING THE RIGHT Crystal FOR YOUR Sun Sign
Although they come from the earth, many believe there is a connection between crystals and the stars.
HALITE: PASS THE SALT
We've all said "pass the salt" at the dinner table.
Desert Animals
I've lived most of my life in the Arizona Desert, a wonderful place for a rock hound to enjoy his hobby.
THE OTHER STONEHENGES...
Stonehenge, arguably the most famous deliberately, yet mysteriously, placed arrangement of stones, has been a source of awe throughout recorded history.
ROCK & GEM BUSINESS PROFILE: DOWN TO EARTH OPALS
It's hard to think of opals without thinking of Australia.
SERAPHINITE
Seraphinite is a form of clinochlore, a member of the S chlorite group.
Memento Mori
HERKIMER DIAMONDS & CRYSTAL HEAD VODKA
DIGGING FOR DINOSAURS
Exploring Montana's Dinosaur Trail
HANDLE with CARE!
Radioactive Rocks and Minerals
Easy Pickins' at Australia's Agate Creek
As a member of a few Australian Facebook fossicking (rockhounding) groups, I had been seeing photos of an amazing variety of cut and polished agates posted by people who had found them at Agate Creek.
Shakespeare's Gemstones
Elizabethan Gems; Literal and Literary
MINERALS TO BEWARE OF Myrickite
Some venomous snakes and stinging wasps and bees advertise their dangerous nature with bold red, yellow, and orange colors that seem to say, “Stay away!”
Hell's Canyon Petrified Wood
WHAT TO CUT
NEPTUNITE
Benitoite’s Uncommon Partner
Nafplio Archeological Museum
Bronze Age Jewelry Rival Contemporary Designs
A Different Decoration From the Back
BENCHTIPS
Volcanoes Continue to Capture Headlines
EARTH SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
SMITHSON, SMITHSONITE, AND THE SMITHSONIAN
ROCK SCIENCE
“PETOSKEY STONE” Michigan's State Stone
FOSSIL FINDS
Digging at the McDonald Ranch
In June of 2020, the Central Oregon Rock Collectors club went on a field trip to the McDonald Ranch near Ashwood, Oregon. The McDonald Ranch offers petrified wood, angelwing agate, and thundereggs.
MAGNETITE: A NATURAL HISTORY
An Iron Oxide that Changed the World
TETRAHEDRITE-TENNANTITE: Which is Which?
Unassuming, handsome, and confusing minerals
Amber and the Komboloi Tradition
Exploring the Science and Mindfulness Behind the Practice
CHANNELING A MOTHER ROCK
Mineral Constituents of the Chert Complex
Cerro de Trincheras
Trail, Museum & Petroglyphs South of the Border in Sonora, Mexico
Creating A Decorative Feature
BENCHTIPS
STUDYING THE PAST OF Petrified Wood
Trust Plant Anatomy To Be Your Guide When Working In the Present
THE GARNET FAMILY
Spanning the Spectrum of Mineralogy
Ugly Rocks Can Contain Beautiful Treasures
From the outward appearance of certain ironstone or siderite nodules, they might seem to be ugly-looking dirty rocks, but they often hide beautiful treasures inside.
LABRADORITE A Feldspar Mineral with a Rainbow Inside
Collectors often dig labradorite as a colorful rock, but it is actually a mineral, not a rock. It is one of a half dozen varieties of feldspar divided into two groups that make up the crust of the earth. One group is the potassium feldspars, including microcline. The other group is a plagioclase feldspar, including labradorite.