List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones facts for kids

Many U.S. states choose special minerals, rocks, or gemstones to represent them. These symbols help show off a state's natural treasures, history, and even encourage tourism. Not every state has all of these official symbols. The year in parentheses next to each item shows when it became an official state symbol.

Official State Minerals, Rocks, and Gemstones

State, federal district, territory	Mineral	Rock or stone	Gemstone
Alabama	hematite-alab Hematite (1967)	marble-alab Marble (1969)	quartz-alab Star blue quartz (1990)
Alaska	gold-alas Gold (1968)		neprhite-alas Nephrite jade (1968)
Arizona	copper-ariz Wulfenite (2017)		turquoise-ariz Turquoise (1974)
Arkansas	quartz-ark Quartz (1967)	bauxite-ark Bauxite (1967)	diamond-ark Diamond (1967)
California	gold-cali Gold (1965); California's nickname is the Golden State	serpentine-cali Serpentinite (1965)	benitoite Benitoite (1985)
Colorado	rhodochrosite-colo Rhodochrosite (2002)	marble-colo Yule marble (2004)	aquamarine-colo Aquamarine (1971)
Connecticut	garnet-conn Almandine garnet (1977)
Delaware	sillimanite Sillimanite (1977)
Florida		coral-agatized-flor Agatized Coral (1979)	moonstone Moonstone (1970)
Georgia	staurolite Staurolite (1976)		quartz-rose-geor Quartz (1976)
Hawaiʻi			coral-black-hawa Black coral (1987)
Idaho			garnet-idah Star garnet (1967)
Illinois	fluorite-illi Fluorite (1965)	fluorite-illi Dolostone (2022)
Indiana		limestone-indi Salem limestone (1971)
Iowa		quartz-geode Geode (1967)
Kansas	galena-kans Galena (2018)	greenhorn-limestone Greenhorn Limestone, used for Kansas Stone Posts. (2018)	jelenite-kans Jelenite, a form of amber (2018)
Kentucky	coal-kent Coal (1998)	agate-kent Kentucky agate (2000)	pearl-kent Freshwater pearl (1986)
Louisiana	agate-loui Agate (2011)		oyster-loui Lapearlite (Eastern oyster shell) (2011)
Maine		pegmatite-main Granitic pegmatite (2023)	tourmaline-main Tourmaline (1971)
Maryland			agate-mary Patuxent River stone agate (2004)
Massachusetts	babingtonite Babingtonite (1971)	puddingstone-roxbury Roxbury puddingstone (1983)	rhodonite-massa Rhodonite (1979)
Michigan		coral-petoskey Petoskey stone fossilized coral (1965)	chlorastrolite Chlorastrolite (also known as Isle Royale greenstone) (1972)
Minnesota			agate-minne Lake Superior agate (1969)
Mississippi		petrified-wood-miss Petrified wood (1976)	opalOpal (2023)
Missouri	galena Galena (1967); Missouri's nickname is the Lead State	mozarkite Mozarkite (1967)
Montana			sapphire-mont Sapphire (1969) and Montana Agate (1969)
Nebraska		agate-nebr Prairie agate (1967)	agate-nebr Blue chalcedony (1967)
Nevada	silver-neva Metal: Silver (1977); Nevada's nickname is the Silver State	sandstone-neva Sandstone (1987)	opal-neva Precious Gemstone: Virgin Valley black fire opal (1987) Semiprecious Gemstone: Nevada turquoise (1987)
New Hampshire	beryl-newh Beryl (1985)	granite-newh Granite (1985); New Hampshire's nickname is the Granite State	quartz-newh Smoky quartz (1985)
New Jersey	Franklinite
New Mexico			turquoise-newm Turquoise (1967)
New York			garnet-newy Garnet (1969)
North Carolina	gold-alas Gold (2011)	granite-northc Granite (1979)	emerald-northc Emerald (1973)
North Dakota
Ohio			flint Ohio flint (1965)
Oklahoma	selenite Crystal: Hourglass selenite (2005)	barite Barite Rose (1968)
Oregon	State Twin Minerals: oregonite Oregonite (2013) and josephinite Josephinite (2013)	agate-oreg Thunderegg (1965)	labradorite Oregon sunstone labradorite (1987)
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island	serpentine-rhod Bowenite serpentine (1966)	cumberlandite Cumberlandite (1966)
South Carolina		granite-southc Blue granite (1969)	amethyst-southc Amethyst (1969)
South Dakota	quartz-southd Rose quartz (1966)		agate-southd Fairburn agate (1966) and State Jewelry: Black Hills Gold
Tennessee	agate-tenn Agate (2009)	limestone-tenn Limestone (from 1979 to present) and formerly Tennessee agate (from 1969 until 2009)	pearl-tenn Tennessee River Pearl (1979)
Texas	silver-texa Precious Metal: Silver (2007)	petrified-wood-texa Oligocene petrified palmwood (1969)	topaz-texa Gemstone: Texas blue topaz (1969) Gem Cut: "Lone Star Cut" (1977)
Utah	copper-utah Copper (1994)	coal-utal Coal (1991)	topaz-utah Topaz (1969)
Vermont	talc Talc (1991)	granite-verm Granite (1992) and Marble (1992) and Slate (1992)	garnet-verm Grossular garnet (1991)
Virginia		nelsonite Nelsonite (2016)
Washington			petrified-wood-wash Petrified wood (1975)
West Virginia		coal-westv Bituminous coal (2009)	coral-westv Mississippian Lithostrotionella fossil coral (1990)
Wisconsin	galena Galena (1971)	granite-wisc Red granite (1971)
Wyoming			neprite-wyom Wyoming nephrite jade (1967)

Fun Facts About State Symbols

California's Serpentinite Debate

In 1965, California was the first state to name an official state rock: serpentinite. Later, some people wanted to change this because serpentinite can contain a type of asbestos called chrysotile. Asbestos can be harmful if its tiny fibers are breathed in. However, geologists argued that just being around the rock casually isn't dangerous. The effort to remove serpentinite as the state rock did not pass. In 1986, California chose benitoite as its state gemstone. This beautiful blue mineral is found only in California, mostly in San Benito County.

Colorado's Colorful Symbols

Colorado is unique because its state mineral, rock, and gemstone match the colors of the U.S. flag!

• Red: Rhodochrosite
• White: Yule marble
• Blue: Aquamarine

Florida's Moonstone and Space Travel

Florida's state gem is moonstone. It was chosen in 1970 to celebrate Florida's important role in the United States' space program. Many space missions, including those that landed astronauts on the Moon, launched from Florida.

Massachusetts' Many Rocks

Massachusetts has several official state rocks! Besides Roxbury puddingstone, it also has:

• State Historical Rock: Plymouth Rock
• State Explorer Rock: Dighton Rock
• State Building and Monument Stone: Granite

In 2008, the Rolling Rock was also named the State Glacial Rock.

Oregon's Thundereggs

In 1965, Oregon named the Thunderegg as its state rock. This was done to help bring more tourists to the state. Thundereggs are round, rock formations that look a bit like geodes. Native Americans from the Warm Springs area believed that thunder spirits living in volcanoes like Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson created these unique rocks.

West Virginia's Coal Symbol

In 2009, West Virginia made bituminous coal its official state rock. The state recognized that the coal industry is a very important part of its economy and way of life. West Virginia joined Kentucky and Utah, which also have coal as a state mineral or rock. The idea to make coal a state symbol actually came from a high school student who started a petition and collected 2,500 signatures!

See also

• Lists of U.S. state insignia
• List of U.S. state fossils