Backyard Geology

State Minerals

Alabama State Mineral

Hematite

Alaska State Mineral

Gold

Gold nugget found in Alaska

Arizona State Mineral

Wulfenite

Wulfenite from Red Cloud Mine, AZ

Arkansas State Mineral

Quartz

Quartz crystals from Mt. Ida, AR.

California State Mineral

Gold

Gold crystal druses from Eagle’s Nest Mine, CA.

Colorado State Mineral

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite found in Sweet Home Mine, CO.

Connecticut State Mineral

Almandine Garnet

Almandine from Roxbury, CT.

Delaware State Mineral

Sillimanite

Sillimanite found at Brandywine Springs, DE.

Florida State Mineral

**Florida does not have an official state mineral, but it has a state gem, which is Moonstone. Interestingly enough, this mineral is not native to Florida.

Moonstone

A gem variety of the feldspar group: Orthoclase

Moonstone found in Sonora, Mexico.

Georgia State Mineral

Staurolite

Staurolite found on J. Fred Hackney property, Georgia.

Hawaii State Mineral

**Hawaii does not have an official state mineral. A common mineral found in Hawaii is olivine.

Olivine

Olivine grains from Papakolea, Hawaii.

Idaho State Mineral

**Idaho does not have an official state mineral, but the state gem is star garnet.

Star Garnet

Star garnet from northern Idaho.

Illinois State Mineral

Flourite

Flourite from Hardin Co. Illinois.

Indiana State Mineral

**Indiana does not have an official state mineral or gem, but its state rock is limestone, which is made up of the mineral calcite.

Calcite

Calcite crystals modified from https://igws.indiana.edu/RocksAndMinerals/Calcite.

Iowa State Mineral

**Iowa does not have an official state mineral or gem. The state rock is a quartz geode.

Quartz Geode

Quartz geode with calcite from Keokuk, Iowa.

Kansas State Mineral

Galena

Galena found in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Kentucky State Mineral

Coal

Coal found in SE Kansas.

Louisiana State Mineral

Agate

Agate from Clinton, Louisiana.

Maine State Mineral

**Maine does not have an official state mineral, but has a state gem, which is tourmaline.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline from Bennett Quarry, Maine.

Maryland State Mineral

**Maryland does not have an official state mineral, but it has a state gem, which is agate.

Agate

Agate found in Maryland.

Massachusetts State Mineral

Babingtonite

Babingtonite from Westfield, Massachusetts.

Michigan State Gem

Chlorastrolite

Chlorastrolite found in Delaware Michigan.

Minnesota State Gem

Lake Superior Agate

Lake Superior Agate found in Laurium, Minnesota.

Mississippi State “Stone”

**Mississippi does not technically have an official state mineral or gem. The state stone is petrified wood, even though this is technically a fossil.

Petrified Wood

Petrified wood found in Mississippi.

Missouri State Mineral

Galena

Galena found in Sweetwater Mine, Missouri.

Montana State Gem

** Montana’s official state gem is sapphire.

Sapphire

Sapphire found in the Eldorado Bar Deposit in East Helen, Montana.

Nebraska State Gem

**The official state gem of Nebraska is blue chalcedony.

Blue Chalcedony

Nevada State Mineral

Silver

Nevada silver. Modified from Nevada-outback-gems.com

New Hampshire State Mineral

Beryl

Beryl from the Tripp No.1 Mine, Alstead, NH.

 

New Jersey State Mineral

**New Jersey does not have an official state mineral or gem, but it is well known for the mineral Franklinite. This mineral is often found with minerals that are fluorescent under UV light.

Franklinite

Photo on the left is an example of franklinite. On the right is an example of willemite under UV light. Both minerals are found from Franklin, New Jersey.

 

New Mexico State Gem

Turquoise

Turquoise found at the Kelly Mine, Magdelena, New Mexico.

 

New York State Gem

**New York does not have an official state mineral, but it has a state gem.

Almandine Garnet

A large almandine garnet from the Barton garnet mine, Johnsburg, New York.

North Carolina State Mineral

Gold

North Caronlina gold. Modified from: https://www.visitncsmalltowns.com/goldrush/

North Dakota State Mineral

**North Dakota does not have an official state mineral or gem. A popular mineral found here is gypsum (selenite variety).

Gypsum

Gypsum found in Fargo, North Dakota.

Ohio State Gem

Flint

Flint found in Flint Ridge, Ohio.

Oklahoma State Mineral

Selenite

Selenite found in Great Salt Plains, Oklahoma.

Oregon State Mineral

Josephinite

Josephinite found in Jackson County, SW Oregon.

Pennsylvania State Mineral

Celestine

Celestine found in Meckley’s Quarry, Mandata, Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island State Mineral

Bowenite (serpentine variety)

Bowenite found in Lincoln Rhode Island.

South Carolina State Mineral

Amethyst

Amethyst found in Due West, South Carolina.

South Dakota State Mineral

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz found in Custer, South Dakota.

Tennessee State Mineral

Agate

Agate found in Tennessee. Modified from https://sos.tn.gov/products/state-mineral

Texas State Gem

Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz found in Texas. Modified from https://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-gemstone/texas.html

Utah State Gem

Topaz

Topaz found in Thomas Range, Utah.

Vermont State Mineral

Talc

Talc found in Ludlow Vermont.

Virginia State Mineral

**Virginia does not have an official state mineral or gem, but a popular mineral found here is amazonite.

Amazonite

Amazonite found in Winterham Virginia.

Washington State Mineral

**Washington does not have an official state mineral or gem. A mineral found there is opal.

Opal

Opal found at Denny Mountain, Washington.

West Virginia State Mineral

**West Virginia does not have a state mineral and the state gem is not a mineral. A common mineral found here though is Baryte.

Baryte

Baryte from West Virginia.

Wisconsin State Mineral

Galena

Galena from Wisconsin. Modified from Wisconsin.gov

Wyoming State Gem

**Wyoming does not have a state mineral, but it has a state gem.

Nephrite (Jade variety)

Nephrite found in Alcova area, Wyoming.