Almandine

specimen number:
2063417

location:
Stikine River, Wrangell, Alaska, USA

description:
A brilliant lustrous deep purplish red opaque sharply formed crystal of almandine. Complete all around and in great condition with no points of attachment. Very fine loose single crystal for this American classic.

Situated near Wrangell, Alaska, along the lower Stikine River, the local geology is defined by Cretaceous metamorphic rocks, specifically mica schists formed under intense regional heat and pressure within the Coast Mountains complex. The area became famous for its historic garnets after the North American Trading and Transportation Company established a commercial mine in the early 1900s, famously operated by the all-female Alaska Garnet Mining and Manufacturing Company. Today, the deposit is preserved under a trust that permits local children and recreational collectors to gather the dark red, exceptionally well-formed dodecahedral and trapezohedral almandine crystals embedded within the soft schist matrix.

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