"There's gold in them thar hills!" Along with silver, turquoise, copper, and tons (literally) of other minerals. This guidebook explains what you will find and where in Arizona you will find it. Prospectors were right on target when they came to Arizona!

Get the perfect guide to rocks and minerals of the Grand Canyon State! From agates to rare treasures, youíll have facts and details at your fingertips to learn about and identify your finds. Quickly uncover what you need to know and where to look.

The complete guide for both novice rockhounds and experienced rock and mineral collectors with new and exciting collecting sites that exist and are easily accessible. Includes topographical maps, full-color photos, and site difficulty scales.

Completely revised and expanded, this fourth edition covers the 986 minerals found in Arizona, showcased with breathtaking new color photographs throughout the book. The new edition includes more than 200 new species not reported in the third edition and previously unknown in Arizona. Chapters in this fourth edition of Mineralogy of Arizona cover gemstones and lapidary materials, fluorescent minerals, and an impressive catalog of mineral species. The authors also discuss mineral districts, including information about the geology, mineralogy, and age of mineral occurrences throughout the state. The book includes detailed maps of each county, showing the boundaries and characteristics of the mineral districts present in the state. Arizona’s rich mineral history is well illustrated by the more than 300 color photographs of minerals, gemstones, and fluorescent minerals that help the reader identify and understand the rich and diverse mineralogy of Arizona. Anyone interested in the mineralogy and geology of the state will find this the most up-to-date compilation of the minerals known to occur in Arizona.

Arizona is known the world over for the abundance and variety of its mineralogical treasures. This revised and expanded new edition of this popular guide for Arizona rockhounds and collectors of rock, mineral and fossil specimens, updates over 100 of Arizona¿s best collecting sites, including 20 completely new locations. Features include clear maps and directions; detailed site descriptions; GPS coordinates; site photos and a full-color specimen insert. Additional features such as a mineral locator index; glossary; lists of gem shows, rockhound and prospecting clubs; mineral museums and mine tours, make this the indispensable guidebook for either beginning or experienced mineral and fossil hunters.

Rockhounding Arizona includes more than seventy of Arizona’s best rockhounding sites and their emblematic activities, from jasper hunting in the historic mining district near Bagdad to searching for gold in the Superstition Mountains and digging for turquoise at the foot of the Hieroglyphic Range. Rockhounding Arizona covers popular and commercial sites as well as little-known areas. It describes where to view mineral specimens and prehistoric artifacts at Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest national parks, as well as on tribal lands. Brimming with advice on collecting and preparing gems and minerals, this handy reference also includes maps, and directions to each site as well as to museums, rock shops, and major tracts of public land. For the beginner, it offers a complete introduction to this many-faceted hobby. For the expert, it is an outstanding guide and sourcebook.

Earth's outer crust Geologists Time and rock units Geologic map What are rocks and minerals? Chemical elements Minerals Rocks Igneous rocks Extrusive or volcanic igneous rocks Intrusive igneous rocks Sedimentary rocks Soils Sedimentary rock materials in broken fragments Sedimentary rock materials in solution Cementing materials and chemical sediments Sedimentary rocks formed by plants and animals Metamorphic rocks Static metamorphism Contact metamorphism Dynamic metamorphism Occurrence and properties of minerals How minerals occur Crystalline minerals Crystals Imperfect crystals Amorphous minerals Some distinguishing properties of minerals Color Luster Transmission of light Hardness Streak or powder Cleavage Parting Fracture Specific gravity Effervescence in acid Some special occurrences of minerals Cave deposits Concretions Geodes Petrified wood Collecting rocks and minerals Rock and mineral identification charts How to use the mineral identification charts Key to mineral identification charts Mineral identification charts How to use the rock identification charts Rock identification charts Descriptions of some Texas rocks and minerals Anhydrite Asbestos Barite Basalt Calcite Cassiterite Celestite Cinnabar Clay Copper minerals (chalcocite, chalcopyrite, malachite, azurite) Dolomite Feldspar Fluorite Galena Garnet Gneiss Gold Granite Graphite Gypsum Halite Hematite Limestone Limonite Llanite Magnetite Manganese minerals (braunite, hollandite, pyrolusite) Marble Mica Obsidian and vitrophyre Opal Pegmatite Pyrite Quartz Quartzite Rhyolite Sand and sandstone Schist Serpentine Shale Silver minerals (argentite, cerargyrite, native silver) Sulfur Talc and soapstone Topaz Tourmaline Uranium minerals (carnotite, uranophane, pitchblende) Volcanic ash (pumicite) Composition, hardness, and specific gravity of some Texas minerals Books about rocks and minerals Nontechnical books for beginners Textbooks and other reference books Selected references on Texas rocks and minerals

" The mineral wealth of the state is profound having produced more than 90 billion pounds of copper, 500 million ounces of silver, and 16 million ounces of gold. As of 2011, there were some 11,000 abandoned or active mines and prospects across the state." INTRODUCTION.