Garnet

Garnets are a common mineral found in many metamorphic rocks. It is also sometimes found in pegmatites dikes and as grains in sedimentary deposits. The name garnet comes from the Latin word granatus which means "like a grain" in reference to the crystal form. There are many types of garnets as the chemistry varies widely.

• Almandine - The name almandine comes from the island of Alabanda in Asia Minor where garnets were cut and polished in ancient times. Alamandines are red to reddish-brown and are often cut as gemstones.
• Andradite - Andradite gets its name from the Portuguese mineralogist, J. B. d'Andrada e Silva. They come in shades of yellow, green and brown to black.
• Grossular - Grossular garnet include a wide variety of colors including white, green, yellow, and pale pink. The name comes from grossularia, the botanical name for the Gooseberry because of the similar pale green color of the first grossular garnets.
• Pyrope - These garnets are usually a dark red to nearly black. They are the most common garnets found at the Earth's surface and are often cut as gems. Rhodolite garnets are a variety of pyrope.
• Spessartine - The name spessartine comes from the locality of Spessart, Germany. Spessartines are often brownish or brown-red.
• Uvarovite - These garnets are a beautiful emerald-green in color, but are not faceted as gems because they are typically to small to facet. They are named for the Russian Count S. S. Uvarov.

Specimens: