Where you can discover Peridot
Road Trip! So this week, we'll start in Arizona on the San Carlos Reservation at Peridot Mesa which is located east of Globe Arizona. This mine has been the primary peridot supplier in the world and an exciting area hosting two different mines. While you can't mine the stone yourself, you can visit the reservation, take in some history and maybe swing over to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, see the Grand Canyon and visit the Arizona Meteor Crater. You could also take a trip to Kilbourne Hole in New Mexico where Peridot is also mined. Then catch a flight to the Big Island of Hawaii and visit Papakolea Beach, one of only two green sand beaches in the world!
Getting there is a bit of an adventure in itself, but the sand is beautiful grains of peridot and olivine that have eroded from the native basalt. You would literally be walking on gems as you swim, get a tan, and enjoy the beach. I would recommend taking sunscreen to wherever you go to check out peridot, and if you're hitting the green beach, wear hiking boots and pay a local to take you on the confusing ride to get to the beach, because it will save you time.
Olivine and Peridot: one a mineral that hosts an entire family, the other a beautiful gem prized by so many families. Either way, an important part of our earth's composition and important to those who happen to be born in August!
Batya Morris created this gemstone necklace and earrings set with lemon quartz drops and peridot and quartz beads.