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Pictures
Sorry, we haven't put up our great picture gallery yet. We're out taking the pictures now so they will be coming soon!
Did you know that there is a shell called the contrarian that is found only on Dauphin Island? Want to know what makes it really special? This shell spirals counter-clockwise (to your left) compared to all the other shells that spiral clockwise! You can see the direction of the spiral when you view the shell from the pointed end. Cool, huh?
Did you know that the state mineral for Alabama is Hematite (or Red Iron Ore) and was adopted in 1967? The State rock for Alabama has been Marble since 1969. What's the state fossil? Basilosaurus cetoides was adopted as the representative fossil in 1984. Bet you can't say that 10 times fast (if you can say it at all)! As for gemstones, the state named the Star Blue Quartz the Alabama state gemstone in 1990. Here is a picture of some blue quartz just for you! If you have a location for blue star quartz mining please contact me at [email protected].
This site is always being updated, so please check back soon This page was last edited on 05/24/09. © 2001 Mobile Rock and Gem Society, Inc. Webmaster: [email protected] |
Hematite is an oxide of iron ore. The mining of hematite was once the state's most developed non-fuel mineral industry, and the occurance of hematite with nearby deposits of coal (a fossil fuel) and limestone (used as flux) led to the development of Birmingham as an industrial center.
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of fine to course grained re-crystallized calcite (limestone) or dolomite. Marble can be many colors, depending on the impurities in the original limestone or dolomite. For over 150 years marble from the Syacauga area has been quarried, cut and polished and used in buildings all over the U.S.--Between you and me, you ought to check out the pink marble mansion in Georgia (outside of Jasper) if you ever get the chance!
In 1834 a complete skeleton of a Basilosaur (king of the lizards) was found in Southwestern Alabama. Staff of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences studied it and said it was not a lizard, but a meat-eating member of the whale family! It was renamed Zeuglodon (species Basilosaurus). It was estimated to be over forty five million years old (from the Eocone period). They averaged from 55 to 70 feet long and had tails up to 40 feet long! WOW! Check out a skeleton at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham!