Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος amethystos from α- a-, "not" and μεθύσκω methysko / μεθώ metho, "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication.
Celestine (the IMA-accepted name) or celestite is a mineral consisting of strontium sulfate (SrSO4). The mineral is named for its occasional delicate blue color. Celestine and the carbonate mineral strontianite are the principal sources of the element strontium, commonly used in fireworks and in various metal alloys.
Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,281. Its county seat is Hendersonville.
Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. It is 22 miles (35 km) south of Asheville and is the county seat of Henderson County. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson.
Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated within the Nantahala National Forest. The population was reported to be 4,175 in the 2020 census, an increase from the total of 3,845 tabulated in 2010.
Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition MnCO3. In its pure form (rare), it is typically a rose-red colour, but it can also be shades of pink to pale brown. It streaks white, and its Mohs hardness varies between 3.5 and 4.5. Its specific gravity is between 3.45 and 3.6. It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and cleaves with rhombohedral carbonate cleavage in three directions. The crystal structure of rhodochrosite is a rhombohedral system, which is a subset of the trigonal system. The carbonate ions (CO3) are arranged in a triangular planar configuration, and the manganese ions (Mn) are surrounded by six oxygen ions in an octahedral arrangement. The MnO6 octahedra and CO3 triangles are linked together to form a three-dimensional structure. Crystal twinning often is present. It is often confused with the manganese silicate, rhodonite, but is distinctly softer. Rhodochrosite is formed by the oxidation of manganese ore, and is found in South Africa, China, and the Americas. It is officially listed as one of the National symbols of Argentina.
Amateur geology or rock collecting is the non-professional study and hobby of collecting rocks and minerals or fossil specimens from the natural environment. In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, the activities of amateur geologists are called fossicking. The first amateur geologists were prospectors looking for valuable minerals and gemstones for commercial purposes. Eventually, however, more people have been drawn to amateur geology for recreational purposes, mainly for the beauty that rocks and minerals provide.
The Mills River is located in Transylvania and Henderson counties, North Carolina, United States is a tributary of the French Broad River. The river flows out of the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest in two forks: the North Fork, which drains the slopes just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Mount Pisgah, and the South Fork, which drains the area of the Pisgah Ranger District just east of the Cradle of Forestry in America, including the slopes of Black Mountain. The Mills River flows into the French Broad River northwest of Hendersonville between NC 191 and Interstate 26.
Bat Cave is an unincorporated community in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States and is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Named after a bat cave located on Bluerock Mountain, it is the largest known augen gneiss granite fissure cave in North America and is a protected area, not open to the public. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names and is also a regular victim of street sign theft, especially in the early 1990s during the popularity of the movie Batman Returns.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeastern United States. It is the oldest established museum in North Carolina, located in Raleigh. In 2013, it had about 1.2 million visitors, and it was the state's most visited museum or historic destination among visitors.
The Asheville metropolitan area is a metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area used by the United States Census Bureau and other entities, as comprising the four counties of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Madison. The area's population was 424,858 according to the 2010 United States Census, and 469,454 according to the 2020 United States Census.
North Carolina Highway 280 (NC 280) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina that runs from the city of Brevard in Transylvania County to the town of Fletcher in Henderson County. It is 18 miles (29 km) in length, starting at the intersection with US 64 and US 276 north of Brevard to US 25 and US 25A in the Asheville community of Arden.
A lapidarium is a place where stone monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited.
The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is a non-profit museum in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Located just north of the Sunset Highway on the northern edge of Hillsboro, the earth science museum is in the Portland metropolitan area. Opened in 1997, the museum's collections date to the 1930s with the museum housed in a home built to display the rock and mineral collections of the museum founders. The ranch-style home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first of its kind listed in Oregon. In 2015 the museum became a Smithsonian Affiliate museum.
Hiddenite, North Carolina, United States, is a centre for the mining of gemstones. Three larger mines found there are Adams Mine, NAEM and the Emerald Hollow Mine. They are collectively known as the Hiddenite Gem Mines.
North Carolina Highway 191 (NC 191) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It travels within portions of Henderson and Buncombe Counties.
John Sinkankas was a Navy officer and aviator, gemologist, gem carver and gem faceter, author of many books and articles on minerals and gemstones, and a bookseller and bibliographer of rare books.
Bearwallow is an unincorporated community in Henderson County, North Carolina United States and is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along Gerton Highway (US 74A), within Hickory Nut Gorge, flanked by Burntshirt, Grant, and Little Bearwallow mountains.
The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals are a series of exhibition halls at the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. The halls opened on June 12, 2021, as a complete redesign of their predecessors, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Gems and Minerals and Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems. The halls feature thousands of rare gems, mineral specimens and pieces of jewelry.
