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abalone - sacred shell of the navajo
One of the few organic substances commonly included with gems and minerals, abalone's organic company includes pearl, amber, and coral.
Abalone is just one of the many edible marine gastropods of the genus haliotis , which means "sea ear," referring to its flat shell.
Species endangerment is not a new phenomena: in the 1850's, ethnic Chinese settled in Monterey to harvest abalone (as well as other sea life) to help feed California's burgeoning Gold Rush population. By 1900 abalone were so scarce that the commercial harvest was banned for many years.
The abalone shell's toughness is ten times greater than that of the calcium carbonate from which it's made.
The iridescence in the mother-or-pearl layer is caused by the physical interaction between the crystals and light waves.
 endangered beauty

california abalone
photo: ca dept. of fish & game

A mollusk related to the snail, abalone is found off the west coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico, as well as off other coastlines around the world, but in particular, China and Japan. Eight different species are found just on the western side of the North American continent from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands. They are red black, corrugated, green, flate, white, pinto, and threaded.
Over harvested for decades, many varieties of abalone, including four of the five species that grow in California waters are becoming endangered. The fifth, white abalone haliotis sorenseni, is currently listed under the Endangered Species Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

natural abalone shell, half polished

Chemically similar to the pearl oyster, abalone's shell is made up of multi-layered mother-of-pearl nacre.
The outer layer of nacre is protected by a covering called peristrum, which is a translucent shellac-like overlay. Color bands found in the shells are a direct result of diet and genetic factors.
The abalone's 'mother-of-pearl' inner surface is made up of very fine layers of aragonite -- approximately 450 to 5,000 layers for each 1/25 of an inch thickness.

symbolic attributes

metaphysical
energy receptive / yin
planet Moon
element water