GEMS AND ORNAMENTAL STONES
More than thirty different gems and ornamental stones are known to occur in Colorado. Amazonstone, amethyst, garnet, tourmaline, aquamarine, topaz, lapis lazuli, quartz crystal, smoky and rose quartz, sapphire, several varieties of agate, zircon, and other attractive stones are gathered within the state, mainly in the Mountain Province. Turquoise is known at several places in the volcanic area of southern Colorado. Alabaster is mined along the northeastern mountain front near Fort Collins and Loveland. Localities of interest to gem hunters are described in Colorado Gem Trails and Mineral Guide, by Richard M. Pearl.
Gem Village, in southwestern Colorado on U. S. highway 160 between Durango and Pagosa Springs, is a favorite stopping place for tourists wishing to see or buy colorful and attractive Colorado stones such as petrified wood, agatized dinosaur bones, chalcedony, and jasper.