Guide to minerals: Amethyst
Steven Marquez (USA)
Amethyst is the violet to purple variety of quartz. It is often associated with albite and orthoclase in pegmatites. Fine specimens of amethyst can be classified as semiprecious gemstones.
This specimen was found in Cripple Creek Colorado, as a near surface deposit on the David Leighton gold mine, owned by Steven Wade Veatch across from the hardware and grocery store on Teller County 1. The short, stubby amethyst crystals formed gas pockets in a hot, welded ash deposit that once covered the landscape of Cripple Creek. Amethyst is also mined in great quantities from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. A deep purple amethyst is commonly found in Uruguay.
The colour purple is a royal colour, which is why amethyst is often used in jewellery for kings and queens. It was highly valued by Egyptians and the ancient Greeks believed that it protected against intoxication. Amethyst is the birthstone for February.
| Facts on file |
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| Chemical formula: SiO2 Composition: silicon dioxide; the colour is caused by iron or manganese impurities Colour: purple, greasy lustre Streak: white Hardness: 7 Crystal system: hexagonal Transparency: transparent to translucent Specific gravity: 2.65 Lustre: vitreous Cleavage: none Fracture: conchoidal Tenacity: brittle Group: silicates, tectosilicates |
Haiku
Brilliant purple
Never ceasing to amaze
Glowing like the stars
About the author
Steven Marquez is an Earth Science Scholar with the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society. He has volunteered hours working on the mineral collection at the Cripple Creek District Museum and is in the 8th grade. He studies with the Pikes Peak Pebble Pups and Earth Science Scholars.