On the far west side of Tucson is one of those fantastically quirky shops that is a must stop. Just driving by says STOP.
The store and museum has been in Tucson for over 50 years. They advertise they have over 100,000 minerals and gems in the store. They were more than happy to let me take some photos, which I have done my best to identify here (no guarantees on accuracy of the identifications). In addition looking up the details on each has given me an education (thanks to Wikipedia and others).
Amethyst – A lilac variety of quartz.
Citrine – A yellow quartz thought by some to have self healing and inspirational qualities.
Quartz – The second most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust.
Malachite – A copper carbonate hydroxide mineral most often found deep underground.
Hyalite – An opal with that can have some color to it.
Yellow Muscovite – A hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminum and potassium. More silicate.
Azurite – A soft deep blue copper.
Scolecite – A tectosilicate mineral in the zeolite group. To go further a tectosilicate is a silicate that have three dimensional framework of silicate tetrahedra.
Rubellite – A red or pink variety of tourmaline. Tourmaline is a crystalline silicate.
Pyrite – An iron sulfide, aka – fools gold.
In addition they have a number of unique pieces of art. If you are in the area you must check out this place, it is a hoot. And they are just down the road from Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park West.
RDZ Photography 