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Introduction
This Web page is a student project for GO336 Mineralogy, a course being taught at Emporia State University. The purpose of this Web page is to list and document some of the various Web sites available on the Internet that feature information pertaining to the fields of mineralogy and gemology. In addition to the educational sites listed, commercial sites with products or services relevant to the study of earth materials are also included in this list.
In addition to describing these sites, I have opted to provide a rudimentary 5-point scale with which I rate each site in terms of three criterion:
Content: An assessment of the site's quality. In the case of educational sites, the content score is derived entirely from the presented diagrams and textual content, whereas commercial sites are rated in terms of the apparent quality and variety of products offered.
Organization/Usability: An assessment of the overall effectiveness of a site's layout and navigational interface.
Aesthetics/Design: A subjective rating of the site's attractiveness and readability, including graphical content and effective use of images.
Links appearing in boldface open external Web sites in new browser windows. (Example: Google.com)
Links appearing in italics may be clicked on to access definitions. (Examples: mineral, mineraloid, mineralogy, gemology)
(Note: Although I have listed several Web sites on this reference as "educational," they may also contain products for sale. However, in most cases, I felt that the knowledge that could be gained from these sites far surpassed the quality of the products being offered, which is why I did not label them as "commercial.")
Educational Sites
Bob's Rock Shop contains more information than most people could (or would) ever want to know about collecting and trading rocks, minerals, and fossils. Since 1995, Bob has featured countless articles, charts, and data pertaining to all aspects of geology. Of particular interest to mineralogy students is a useful mineral identification key, to aid in the identification of most common mineral specimens. Bob's Rock Shop also contains an email listserv and discussion forum on rocks and minerals, as well as a page of classified ads with hundreds of commercial offers of and for gem and mineral specimens.
Despite the wealth of useful information available at Bob's Rock Shop, the site itself is unnecessarily graphics-intensive and quite cumbersome to navigate--especially if you do not know precisely what you are looking for. The table of contents is also extremely long and in dire need of restructuring. Despite these organizational issues, however, Bob's Rock Shop is an excellent resource for rock hounds of all ages, and is constantly growing and being developed.
J. Adam Barwood has created a very unique and highly-interactive Web site relating to mineralogy and mineral collecting. Almost all aspects of his site are contributed by other mineralogy enthusiasts (in addition to himself). Of note is the Field Trip Exchange, a user-submitted list of gem and mineral shows and exhibitions across the United States. Unfortunately, the interactive nature of this site means that, without the contribution of other users, it may fall out-of-date and/or cease to develop.
The Mineral Gallery is an exhaustive database of information on hundreds of minerals and mineraloids. Each and every mineral on this site (no matter how rare or unusual) is accompanied by a full-color photograph and a brief write-up on the mineral, followed by a listing of physical properties and related information useful for mineral identification. The mineral listings may be sorted by alphabetical order, chemical classification, or a handful of other interesting methods (e.g., fluorescent minerals, birthstones, minerals by locality, etc.). I would highly recommend this site to any and all mineralogy students and hobbyists, as it is a high-quality, reliable, and entertaining source of information on minerals.
Like The Mineral Gallery (see review above), Mineralogy Database is a Web site that catalogs an extensive amount of minerals (as of the date this paragraph was last edited, Mineralogy Database had 4,281 mineral species described). In addition to the sheer volume of specimens featured on this site, Mineralogy Database also features some of the most stunning pictures of minerals to be found on the Internet, as well as useful articles on mineral classification, online determinative tables, and more. However, perhaps the most fascinating resource this site has to offer is a useful page on crystallography, featuring 3-dimensional models of crystal forms that can be rotated and manipulated in real time by crafty students wishing to practice rotoinversions from the comfort of their dorm rooms.
Simply put, MinMax is one of the best mineralogy references available on the Internet. The site is remarkably simple to navigate, and the photo galleries are filled with detailed and high-quality images of mineral specimens from all over the world. Of particular interest to rock hounds is the ability to upload pictures of your unknown specimens and have them identified by other mineral enthusiasts.
On the down side, many of this site's features require you to be a paid member, which might be overkill for most geology students. However, the image galleries and mineral descriptions are still accessible to the general public. MinMax is a fantastic resource and is definitely worth a browse. I would highly recommend MinMax to any and all hardcore mineral professionals and aficionados.
This Web site, created and maintained by award-winning gemologist Susan Ward Aber, contains a veritable treasure trove of information on the world famous mineraloid, amber (as well as its immature counterpart, copal). Among the topics presented are the physical properties, origins, and geologic occurrence of amber, as well as amber's uses in different items among various cultures. Of special interest to collectors are the author's pages on amber care and identification, which provide helpful information for those who are planning on buying (or already own) amber specimens.
Commercial Sites
John Veevaert has put a lot of time and effort into creating a wonderful Web site on benitoite. In particular, the beautiful photographs from his personal collection are not to be missed. Although the site has a great deal of information on benitoite, I have classified it as a commercial site because of the large amount of specimens available for sale. John has very fair prices on a lot of his specimens, and rumor has it that he will make discounts for poor, struggling university students from Kansas...
Even if you are not in the market for purchasing any mineral specimens, I would still recommend paying a visit to BenitoiteMine.com. This is a fun and entertaining Web site on one of the most beautiful and interesting minerals you could even hope to find. You too, will fall in love with the tiny blue triangles.
Capricorns Lair Inc.'s online store features hundreds of items catered to the "alternative" community. Although they do not exclusively deal in gems and minerals, I included their Crystals and Gems page on this reference list due in part to the large amount of high-quality items they have for sale. Among the goods featured are polished stones, pendants, figurines, beads, fossils, and more. Many of these items appear to be overpriced, but the selection is quite good, and I would recommend this site to any lover of knick-knacks.
John Betts, a mineral distributor in New York, has put together a top-notch Web site that showcases mineral specimens with a flair unseen even in most fine jewelry stores. The fact that every specimen to be found on this site is of a superior quality than I have ever witnessed before, combined with the fact that John himself has mastered the art of mineral photography, insures an awe-inspiring viewing experience. Nowhere on this site will you find dirt-encrusted, barely-there minerals embedded in crumbling matrixes--every specimen featured here is gorgeous.
Perusing this site was a joyous experience. Even though it could be said that mineral-hunting is not a glamorous undertaking, John Betts has made collecting look like the sport of kings. My only complaint about this site are prices, which seem quite fair as you are browsing, but (in retrospect) are actually quite outrageous.
This is a decent online store for the purchase of minerals in the hand specimen. The Mineral Vug (no, I do not know what a "vug" is) features many reasonably priced minerals from all over the world. Unfortunately, the sample JPEG images of the mineral specimens are very blurry, so it is difficult to see exactly what it is you are purchasing. However, with all online business transactions, this is just a risk you'll have to take.
References
In addition to the various sites listed above, the following references were used in the creation of this Web page:
Chesterman, Charles. National Audubon Society
Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals. Pub by Alfred A. Knopf / Random
House Company. 2000.
Klein, Cornelis and Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr.
Manual of Mineralogy. 21st ed, rev / after
James D. Dana. New York. Pub. by John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1999.
Encarta 98 Desk Encyclopedia. Microsoft
Corporation. 1997.
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