Arizona Geology
Gregory McNamee: Crossroads
Arizona is, famously, the land of the “five C’s”: copper, cattle, cotton, climate, and citrus. Copper has been economically important throughout Arizona history, as have other ores – silver, gold, and turquoise foremost among them. Still other minerals have found countless valuable employments, from the hematite used in manufacturing to the chalcedony, jasper, and jade used in jewelry.
The area around Wickenburg abounds in mines that have produced, over the years, many of these precious ores. One well-known gold producing site is the Vulture Mine, located about eight miles southwest of the Museum. Other mines in the nearby Vulture, Bradshaw, Weaver and Hieroglyphic Mountains produced quantities of silver and copper. Some of them rewarded their discoverers nicely, while others brought less generous returns. Win or lose, news of those mines brought many newcomers to Wickenburg, seeking to try their hand at making fortunes of their own.
The efforts of miners, prospectors, collectors and latter-day rockhounds have added up, over the years, to a splendid assemblage of minerals housed at the museum. Spend time in the display devoted to them, and you’ll be inspired to learn more about the earth beneath your feet – and perhaps to start a collection of your own.
