GO 340 Gemstones & Gemology
Emporia State University
Emporia, Kansas USA

Susan Ward Aber


http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go340/tucson/tucson08.htm

Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows 2008

From Kansas to Arizona!
Tucson and Surroundings
The Shows
The Fossils
The Minerals
The Gems

The 54th annual Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows ran from February 1-17 with some 41 shows at 35 locations around town. There were 985 dealers printed in the guide representing 49 U.S. states and Washington D. C., as well as 30 countries. There was anything from amber to zircon and ammonites to trilobites. Available materials were rough, tumbled, polished, and faceted, as well as natural, synthetic, stablized, reconstituted, dyed, bleached, irradiated, heated, oiled, waxed, and sprayed. Prices were determined by the gram, kilogram, pound, ounce, carat, specimen and strand. Prices ranged from 50 cents to millions of dollars! This was an incredible set of shows for wholesale and retail dealers, as well as some shows open to the public at large. The shows were in convention centers, tents, hotels, and motels. Some people were selling from RVs, while others were in established Tucson businesses like the Mineral and Fossil Co-op. Cactus was the natural vegetation, but Tucson has an array of vegetation from palm to orange tree!

Moroccan tent selling amethyst geodes.
Image by S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Image by S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
As I stepped out of the airport I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore - from blizzard to desert! While I had left Kansas in a snow storm, it was a warm sunny Thursday in Tucson. I was greeted by Joy Archer, a wonderful tour guide and hostess. She pointed out that the city of Tucson is placed in a valley called the Tucson Basin, which is surrounded by mountain ranges including the Tucson, Santa Catalina, Rincon, and Tortolita Mountains.


Image to the left is outside Tucson International Airport. The image to the right is over the wall of the Santa Catalina Mountains, a view from the place we stayed. Images by S.W. Aber; photo date 1/08.


Joy Archer provided
comfortable accomodations,
transporation, and
conversation!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
The neighborhood.
Image by S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

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The Shows

I was only in Tucson for five days and each day was spent visiting the shows. What a feast for the eyes and ears. Below is only a sampling and you must see it for yourself someday!


Susie under an orange tree
at one of the many shows.
Image by S. Kelley; photo date 2/08.
Banded iron tiger eye makes a
great picture on anyone's wall.
Image by S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Iron tigereye is a natural
landscape and worthy of these
attractive frames. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

Sculpted pieces were
created with natural
specimens. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Artists were carving
in marble... Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
...and an Alaskan was
carving in soapstone.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Natural rough lapis
lazuli could be purchase...
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
...and cutting or grinding
machines were ready for
action. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
While rough lapis lazuli
was for sale, it was also
used in displays. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

Strands of finished
beads were everywhere.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Denis and Jackie
specialized in exotic
shells and came to
the show from their
home in the Phillipines.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Catlinite or pipestone, ready
for carving. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Tent sales offered a wide
variety of specimens from
the doubly terminated quartz
Herkimer Diamond...
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
...to amber. Image by
S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Prices varied from under
one dollar to thousands of
dollars... Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
...in every color,
style, and composition
you can imagine!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

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The Minerals

Minerals were too numerous to photograph! However, some of the largest specimens are shown below...


Quartz on display!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
...bridging the world between
fossil and mineral. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Magical powers of
dragons and crystals...
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Amethyst Geode Giants
were from Brazil and
Uruguay. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Amethyst Geode Giant
were from Brazil and
Uruguay. Polished points
of projecting crystals.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Amethyst Geode Giant
were from Brazil and
Uruguay. Doubly terminated
crystals grew sometime after
the amethyst. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Citrine Geode Giant.
Doubly terminated crystals
grew sometime after the
quartz. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Matched set!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Smoky quartz. Susie
for scale! Image by S. Kelley;
photo date 2/08.

Geode Giants!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
More giant geodes!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
And even more geode
giants! Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

A sold enormous quartz
crystal coming out of the
rock. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Two meter high quartz
crystals with dramatic
lighting! Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Milky quartz fashioned
into a crystal ball!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Smoky quartz crystals!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Shiva Lingam.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Natural and shaped
spheres of quartz!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Geode giant ready to
ship to you! Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.



Moving a geode giant...
not easily rearranged! Who can
drive a forklift into the living
room when rearranging your geode
furnishings?!? Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.


Calcite geodes.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Calcite geodes.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Polished labradorite with
pronounced labradorescence!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Orbicular Ocean Jasper.
While it started as a rhyolite,
an igneous rock rich in silica,
natural conditions have converted
this rock into a microcrystalline
quartz agate. When green, it can
be known as Rainforest Jasper
from Australia or Poppy Jasper
from California. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Magnesite beads are natural
here but often dyed to imitate
turquoise. It has also been
referred to as White Buffalo
Turquoise. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
This iron tiger eye is
composed of quartz infilling
crocidolite or blue asbestos,
and banded with red jasper and
hematite. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Iron tiger eye sphere in
the foreground and musician
playing among the rocks and
mineral art objects in the
background. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

Polished petrified wood
trunk slab. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
World's largest known
emerald crystals taken from
Murota mine, Carnaiba in
Bahia, Brazil. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
More emerald crystals...
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Spectacular pyrite
from Spain. Image
by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Pyrite cubes in matrix.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Pyrite cubes on
display! Image by
S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Pyrite, Mina Victoria,
Navajun La Rioja, Spain.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Pyrites on display.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Pyrite nugget - one large
and heavy specimen also
known as Fool's Gold!
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Just when you think
you have seen it all...
Sodalite chair! Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

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Gems

A gemstone is an object of adornment and must possess beauty, durability, and rarity! They are difficult to photograph, but a small selection of what I saw is shown below.


A shell with attached
pearls makes a lovely
display for a rare twinned
pearl! Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Tom Stern, M.D., the
Prince of North Borneo,
shows off these magnificant
specimens. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
This close up was
taken by Dr. Stern
and posted on an
online pearl blog. This
forum is a part of
www.pearl-guide.com/.

This shell came from
the South China Sea
off Borneo. According
to legend, this King
Shell should be placed
under a bed to attract
luck and wealth!
(www.pearl-guide.com/
forum/showthread.
php?t=1959&page=2)
Close up of attached
tridacna pearl from
left image. Dime coin
for scale. (www.pearl-guide.com/
forum/showthread.
php?t=1959&page=3)
Natural golden pearl!
(www.pearl-guide.com/
forum/showthread.
php?t=1959&page=4)

Colors and shapes vary in saltwater
pearls. Image taken from the pearl blog.
Image taken from the pearl blog.
Dr. Stern's description: This
suite is probably 17th Century
and belonged to a Sultan!



Amber from Kaliningrad, Russia.
Image by S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.



Baltic amber from Poland.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.



Amber from Chiapas, Mexico.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.



Amber from Chiapas, Mexico.
The miner and lapidary.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.


Extraordinary jade sculptures.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Extraordinary jade sculptures.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

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Tucson and Surroundings

While the city is around 2450 feet in elevation, Mt. Lemmon Peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains is over 9,157 feet (www.arizonahandbook.com/catalina.htm). One day it rained in Tucson and when the fog lifted we noted the Santa Catalina's were snow-topped! While the Rincon Mountains and Saguaro National Park is east of Tucson (www.nps.gov/sagu/), we drove west to photograph the Tucson Mountains and Old Tucson movie studio. Kitt Peak is 56 miles southwest of Tucson and has some 24 telescopes, which impacts Tucson with strict night lighting regulations. 2008 marks this National Optical Astronomy Observatory's 50th anniversary (1958-2008)...They operate 3 major nighttime telescopes, 19 optical and 2 radio telescopes (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/.


Image from
www.noao.edu/
kpno/kpcam/index.shtml.


Statistics according to Fact Monster at http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0108613.html included:
The estimated population figure for Tucson in 2005 was over a half million people and it is the second-largest city in Arizona. It is located on the Santa Cruz River and originally settled by the prehistoric Hohokam Indians (300 B.C.-A.D. 1400) and further developed by Spanish and Jesuit missionary explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Later Tucson was a military outpost under Spanish and Mexican control until the area was sold to the U.S. as part of the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Silver and copper deposits were mined in the area and the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1880. Tucson is the home of Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, where Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama spoke while we were in town! The average January temperature is 51 degrees F and 2004 per capita income was $27,244.


Image taken from 144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
setting/geology_southwest.htm. 		According to the Pima Community College website on the geological setting of Tucson,
144.90.137.57/~bfiero/tucsonecology/
setting/geology.htm#, the Tucson Mountain Range was formed from an explosive volcanic eruption some 70 million years ago. The Tucson mountains are primarily rhyolite tuff, a fused volcanic ash, along with granite in the northwestern Tucson. The Tucson Mountains were once on top of the Santa Catalina Mountains, and both contain the same granite, which is evidence that the two mountain ranges had been a single formation at one time. The top of the volcano -now the Tucson Mountains- detached and moved west from the Santa Catalina Mountains between 30 and 17 million years ago. The area between dropped down to form the sediment filled basin where Tucson is now located.



Schematic of the geology
from Pima Community
College site on the
geologic setting of Tucson
(144.90.137.57/~bfiero/
tucsonecology/
setting/geology.htm#).


Ecologically, Tucson is in the Sonoran Desert with an array of plants and small trees including the Foothills Palo Verde (Cercidium microphyllum), Englemann Prickly Pear (Opuntia englemannii), Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), Teddybear Cholla (Opuntia bigelovii), Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus acanthodes), and Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea). Many are pictured below.


Englemann Prickly Pear
(Opuntia englemannii).
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08. For more
information 144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
plants/cactuses_prpe.htm.
Some of the landscape rock
in the city is petrified tree
trunks! Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Tucson Mountains.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Tucson Mountains.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Looking west from the
Tucson Mountains. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Looking toward Kitt
Peak from the Tucson
Mountains. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

Looking toward Kitt Peak
from the Tucson Mountains.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Mature Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea
gigantea) with arms. In addition
to people shooting holes in these
plants, birds create nests. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
For more information, 144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/plants/
cactuses_sagu.htm.
Juvenile Saguaro Cactus,
Tucson Mountains. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.

Teddybear Cholla and
Saguaro Cactus in rhyolite,
Tucson Mountains. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
Old Tucson movie set
and theme park. Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
For more information
www.oldtucson.com/.
Mature Saguaro Cactus
at Old Tucson Studio set. photo date 2/08.

Joy and Susan at Old
Tucson. Image by
S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Cactus garden at Old
Tucson Studio set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Joy and Susie at Old
Tucson movie set.
Image by S. Kelley;
photo date 2/08.

Old Tucson movie set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus
acanthodes)at Old Tucson Studio
set. Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08. For more
information, 144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
plants/cactuses_fhba.htm
Old Tucson movie set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Old Tucson movie set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Old Tucson movie set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
Cactus garden at
Old Tucson Studio set.
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

Foothills Paloverde tree
(Cercidium microphyllum).
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.
For more information
144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
plants/trees_fpv.htm.
Teddybear Cholla (Opuntia
bigelovii). Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date 2/08.
For more information
144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
plants/cactuses_tbch.htm
Ocotillo (Fouquieria
splendens). Image by
S.W. Aber; photo date
2/08. For more information
144.90.137.57/
~bfiero/tucsonecology/
plants/shrubs_oco.htm.

Paloverde tree
(Cerciduum microphyllllum).
Image by S.W. Aber;
photo date 2/08.

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This page originates from the Earth Science department for the use and benefit of students enrolled at Emporia State University. For more information contact the course instructor, S. W. Aber, e-mail: saber@emporia.edu Thanks for visiting! Webpage created: February 2008; last update: February 14, 2008.

Copyright 2008 Susan Ward Aber. All rights reserved.