New Exhibit at the Arizona Senate Building: See Photos!
View of the five wall cases at the Arizona Senate building on the Capitol Mall.
C. Sandoval
We recently finalized a brand new exhibit at the Arizona Senate building, located at 1700 W. Washington St. next to the Arizona State Capitol. The exhibit is located in the third floor lobby area and consists of nine wall-mounted display cases. The exhibit features mineral specimens spanning each of Arizona's fifteen counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, Mohave, Yuma, Coconino, Cochise, Navajo, Apache, Gila, Santa Cruz, Graham, La Paz, and Greenlee. Each case or grouping of cases has a different theme. They include:
- Arizona Quartz and Calcite - exceptional varieties of quartz and calcite from both famous and lesser-known localities around the state.
- Arizona Building Stone and Industrial Minerals - beautiful quarried stone and minerals commonly used for energy and industry, like coal and gypsum.
- Arizona Gemstones and Lapidary Art - carved spheres from the former AZ Mining and Mineral Museum's lapidary shop, beautiful gemstones in their raw form, and cut and polished material.
- Arizona Fossils and Petrified Wood - stunning pieces of Arizona petrified wood from Navajo and Yuma Counties, and neat fossil specimens.
- Arizona Copper and Copper Minerals - colorful green and blue copper carbonates, shiny copper sulfide ores, and of course stunning native copper from historic AZ mines.
Below we have shared some photos of the display cases and specimens inside. Enjoy!
Arizona Quartz and Calcite cases.
Arizona Quartz and Calcite cases.
Quartz var. Amethyst from Washington Camp, Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz Co., AZ.
Quartz from from Globe, Gila Co., AZ; and opal and quartz from Potts Canyon (labeled as Picket Post), Pinal Co., AZ. Both from the James Goodwin collection.
Arizona Building Stone and Industrial Minerals case.
Talc from the Tank Mountains, Yuma Co., AZ.
Arizona Fossils and Petrified Wood case.
Rainbow petrified wood from Navajo Co., AZ. Petrified wood is the official State Fossil of Arizona!
Petrified wood from Dome Area, Yuma Co., AZ.
Arizona Gemstones and Lapidary Art case.
Assorted carved spheres.
Andradite Garnet from Stanley Butte, Graham Co., AZ.
Peridot in basalt from Peridot Mesa, San Carlos Apache Nation, Gila Co., AZ.
Arizona Copper and Copper Minerals cases.
Chrysocolla and quartz from the Inspiration Mine, Miami, Gila Co., AZ.
Bornite and chalcopyrite from the New Cornelia Mine, Ajo, Pima Co., AZ.