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The San Andreas fault is located in California, and a little bit of Mexico, and the state mineral of California is Gold. Gold has been a aspect of California since January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutters mill in Coloma, California. The news that gold had been found brought about 300,000 people into California from all over the country and out of the country (The Gold Rush of California). Gold minerals form in hot rocks in and around volcanoes. Low sulfur, gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids form when hot rocks heat ground water. An example of these low-sulfur fluids are hot springs like those at Yellowstone National Park (“Forming Deposits | AMNH”). The cost of gold per ounce in 1848 was $20.67, and stayed in about a $10 range up in tell 1933. Since then it has increased to $1972.12 per ounce! Gold is a collectors item and is used in jewelry, metals and 0.034g of gold is in smartphones, that about $1.82 at today prices(“Top 5 Uses of Gold – One of the World’s Most Coveted Metals”). Gold can form in beautiful crystals, as shown below (File:Gold-crystals.jpg).
(File:Gold-crystals.jpg)
The state gem of California is Benitoite, which is also a mineral. Below is a picture of Benitoite (Gem Coach). It may surprise you that Benitoite is the state gem, I personally had never heard of Benitoite until I was doing research for this page, but it is a very interesting gem. It is the world's rarest gem and can be more expensive than diamonds per carat! It depends on the clarity of the diamond. Gem quality Benitoite is only found in a small part of San Benito County(“Benitoite: California’s State Gem”). Benitoite occurs in altered blue-schist within serpentinite. The gem crystals formed within fractures as a result of the alteration of blue-schist by hydrothermal fluids derived from the regional metamorphism of the serpentinite(Laurs et al.). Its fracture is conchoidal and on the Mohs hardness scale it's a 6-6.5, it has a vitreous luster and it streaks white (That is a very expensive streak!). It also glows blue under UV light(File:Benitoite, UVL.jpg).
(Gem Coach)
(File:Benitoite, UVL.jpg)
Bibliography
“Benitoite: California’s State Gem.” Ca.gov, 2023, www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Pages/Publications/Note_11.aspx#:~:text=Gem%20quality%20benitoite%20is%20found,it%20primarily%20a%20collector’s%20item. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
Coach, Gem. “Gem Coach.” Gemcoach.com, 2016, www.gemcoach.com/benitoite-guide/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
"File:Benitoite, UVL.jpg." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 14 Apr 2022, 02:55 UTC. 23 Mar 2023, 04:28 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Benitoite,_UVL.jpg&oldid=648723513>.
"File:Gold-crystals.jpg." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 18 Dec 2022, 04:23 UTC. 23 Mar 2023, 01:56 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gold-crystals.jpg&oldid=715933711>.
“Forming Deposits | AMNH.” American Museum of Natural History, 2023, www.amnh.org/exhibitions/gold/incomparable-gold/forming-deposits#:~:text=Gold%20minerals%20form%20in%20hot,are%20typical%20low%2Dsulfur%20deposits. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
“The Gold Rush of California.” Archive.org, 2022, web.archive.org/web/20070701144431/www.library.csustan.edu/bsantos/goldrush/GoldTOC.htm. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
Laurs, Brendan M., et al. “Benitoite from the New Idria District, San Benito County, California.” ResearchGate, unknown, Sept. 1997, www.researchgate.net/publication/274674763_Benitoite_from_the_New_Idria_District_San_Benito_County_California. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
“Top 5 Uses of Gold – One of the World’s Most Coveted Metals.” MEC Mining | TRUSTED EXPERTISE. PROVEN OUTCOMES., 3 Nov. 2020, www.mecmining.com.au/top-5-uses-of-gold-one-of-the-worlds-most-coveted-metals/#:~:text=Today%2C%20gold%20still%20occupies%20an,crucifixes%2C%20art%20and%20many%20more. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
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