(Ebook) Rocks, Gems, and Minerals by Garret Romaine ISBN 9781493046867, 9781493046874, 1493046861, 149304687X

(Ebook) Rocks, Gems, and Minerals by Garret Romaine ISBN 9781493046867, 9781493046874, 1493046861, 149304687X

This guide was organized with beginners in mind. The most common rocks
are listed first, with a table to help you narrow down what you’re looking
for and pictures if you are still baffled. The thinking here was that if you
don’t know the name, organizing the contents alphabetically won’t help
much.
Because the United States is rich in fossils, many quite valuable orscientifically interesting, there is a section for various fossils. Remember
that you cannot remove vertebrate fossils from public lands without a
paleontological permit, but leaves, petrified wood, and insects are all there
for the collecting.
For the minerals, there are sections for common minerals and commonmetals important for mining. The common minerals form most of our rocks
and are rarely important to miners, except as indicators and to determine
structures. The minerals in the metals section are generally valuable, come
from mining districts, and are usually either attractive or economically
interesting. Most of the highly scientific jargon and measurements stayed
out; the information you need, like streak, hardness, and color, stayed in.
Finally, there are gemstones. These are the most valuable or highly
sought rocks and minerals from across the country. You can try to get them
on your own, using one of the appropriate Falcon-Guides as a companion to
this title, or you can haunt the shows and shops and online retailers. What
you collect, and the order you collect in, is up to you.
Remember that for all the “leaverite” you encounter—rocks that
someone suggests you should “leave ’er right” there—you never know what
might appeal to you. Even glass can be interesting.