Every year Tucson, AZ holds the worlds largest gem and mineral show. The show has been running since 1955 and is Tucson’s single highest revenue producing event. Last year (2018) it was estimated that the economic impact was $120 million. Below is a little information about the rocks I saw this year.

Quartz! The majority of quartz forms from molten magma or chemical precipitate from hydrothermal vents. It is the 2nd most abundant mineral on Earth behind feldspar. Amethyst, which is my birthstone, is a type of quartz. Geodes form within sedimentary and volcanic rock and are often filled with quartz.

Fossils! I saw some fossils that ranged in age between 50-305 million years old. Fossils ranged from sea creatures, land invertebrates and ammonites to dinosaur bones!. Ammonites are an extinct cephalopod species that is closely related to octopus, squid, cuttlefish. They were filter feeders and were particularly susceptible to climate change.

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