The Gems of Maine

Maine is a “gem” in its own right, but is also a treasure trove of actual gemstones. Here are a few points of interest about this beautiful and valuable aspect of our state:

• The state gemstone is tourmaline (TIP: if your child struggles to spell this gem have them keep in mind that the word contains all of the vowels with none repeated).

• Tourmaline was first discovered in Paris, Maine by two students in 1820. That location, Mt. Mica, is still producing up to the present day.

• Gem tourmaline is usually green, but can be found in all the colors of the rainbow — and even black.

• Reported to be the largest ever gem find in North America at the time, three and a half MILLION carats worth of tourmaline was found in Newry, Maine on Plumbago Mountain in 1972. Among the many treasures were found large watermelon-like logs of tourmaline. The biggest was nicknamed the “Jolly Green Giant.” It is 10.6” tall and 4.7” in diameter! The Smithsonian Institute is its current home, but you can take a peek at it here: Jolly Green Giant. Other items from this find can be viewed at the Maine State Museum in their Maine Gems exhibit.

• Aside from tourmaline, other notable gems in Maine include varieties of quartz (colorless, rose, smoky, and amethyst) and beryl (i.e. blue aquamarine and pink morganite) [Maine Dept of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry]

This post is part of my A to Z Challenge Series with the overall theme, “This Maine Life.” I am covering a Maine-related topic with a different letter of the alphabet every day except Sundays throughout the month of April 2020.