Esoterizona Stones 41

Fluorescent Minerals

The following specimens come from a small abandoned copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains.  They feature two forms of calcite - white veins through gray matrix and druzy coatings of small orange crystals, both of which are fluorescent red under shortwave UV.

3.5"x2"x0.5"

6"x4"x1.5"

7.5"x5"x2"

Esoterizona Stones 40

The following specimens are a few of those acquired at this year's Tucson gem show.

Vanadinite, ACF Mine, Mibladen District, Morocco. 5"x2"x1.5"

Malachite, Mashamba West Mine, Katanga, Dem. Repub. of Congo. 2"x2"x1.5"

Anhydrite, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.  4"x1.5"x1"

Creedite, Mina Navidad, Abasolo, Durango, Mexico. 2.5"x1.5"x1"

Alto

The ghost town of Alto is just barely visible in the valley several miles ahead.

The town site and many of the nearby mines were first established in the late 17th century by Spanish Jesuits.  All that remains now are the ruins of an early 1900s adobe post office.

The remains of Alto can also be just barely visible when up close.

If you didn't know it was there, you might not know it was there.