South Carolina
Type |
Symbol |
Year Est. |
|---|---|---|
State Stone |
Blue Granite |
1969 |
State Gem Stone |
Amethyst |
1969 |
State Fossil |
Columbian Mammoth |
2014 |
State Stone: Blue Granite
State Gem Stone: Amethyst
Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz, which is one of the most common minerals on Earth, primarily due to its simple structure and chemical formula, SiO2. Quartz also has an extremely high hardness, 7 on Mohs hardness scale, meaning that it doesn't scratch very easily and therefore does not break down easily. As the rocks on Earth are slowly eroded over time, most of the other minerals will break down into clay while quartz grains will generally just gets smaller and smaller. The result is that most beach sand is composed of quartz that has a slight hematite (rust) stain to it to give the sand grains their slight yellowish color. Although quartz is a simple mineral, it can come in a variety of colors depending on what type of impurities are present in the crystal structure; pure quartz crystal is clear, milky quartz is white, smoky quartz is grey, amethyst is purple quartz, citrine is yellow quartz, rose quartz is pink, as well as some other colors and varieties. Quartz does not have any cleavage, meaning that when it breaks it doesn't form along perfect surfaces. Instead as the quartz crystals grow, individual mineral molecules of quartz are added to the outside of the crystal from water rich in dissolved SiO2 or mineral melt (liquid rock like lava or magma).
Related: Alabama State Gemstone - Star Blue Quartz; Arkansas State Mineral - Quartz Crystal; Georgia State Gemstone - Quartz; New Hampshire State Gem - Smokey Quartz; South Dakota State Mineral Stone - Rose Quartz
State Fossil: Columbian Mammoth
Related: Alaska State Fossil - Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius); Nebraska State Fossil - Mammoth; Vermont State Terrestrial Fossil - Mount Holly Mammoth Tooth & Tusk; Washington State Fossil - Columbian Mammoth
References
https://statesymbolsusa.org/states/united-states/south-carolina
Geology of South Carolina's National Parks
Through Pictures
(at least the one's I have been to)
None yet!
