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amethyst - the royal purple
A relatively cheap stone because it is a quartz, amethyst is found throughout the world. Were amethyst not so plentiful it would be much more expensive, given its beautiful range of purple shades, ranging from deep purple to lilac to mauve to purplish reds.
If, after creating citrine from amethyst, one decides amethyst would be more desirable, the pseudo-citrine can be changed back to the original amethyst color by subjecting it to X-ray radiation.
Methods of accessing alluvial gem gravels include open pits, shafts and tunnels, and dredging.
alluvial amethyst
Amethyst is dichroic, showing a bluish or reddish purple tinge when viewed from different angles. Much amethyst that is mined is heat-treated to change the color to yellow -- which explains much of the citrine on the market today, natural citrine being somewhat rare.

amethyst mine, brazil photo: silvestre garimpo

One of the world's major producers of natural amethyst is the Anahi Mine in Bolivia (which also produces ametrine). The mine is located in the midst of the rain forest zone near the Pantanal wetlands, which establishes the borderline between Bolivia and Brazil. Accessible primarily by bush plane, the mine is four hundred kilometers east and slightly south of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
In Brazil and Uruguay, amethyst is often found in alluvial deposits in the beds or former beds of rivers where miners use the techniques of placer mining. (Alluvial gems often have quite a high specific gravity [density] compared to other minerals so that they are easily trapped in depressions in stream beds. This causes them to become concentrated, making them easier to mine.)
Geodes are a variable phenomenon and, therefore, many theories exist to explain how they are created.
The term geode is derived from the Greek word geoides which means "earthlike."
Some geodes are completely filled with small compact crystal formations such as agate, jasper or chalcedony and are called nodules. The only difference between a geode and a nodule is that a geode has a hollow cavity, and a nodule is solid.
Volcanic lavas such as basalts may have round or almond shaped gas holes, partially or completely filled with calcite, chalcedony, agate, crystallized colorless or amethyst quartz or other minerals.
Many easily accessible geode collecting sites exist in the western US -- including California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. The state of Iowa is also has geodes: in fact, they are so prevalent the geode is Iowa's state rock.
 geodes: the variable phenomenon
One of the amethyst forms with which the public is most familiar is the geode, split into two halves.
what is a geode?

amethyst geode

Geodes are hollow, crystal-lined globular rock cavities lined with crystals that are found in sedimentary rocks like limestone (calcium carbonate) and dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) or in volcanic rocks.

how are geodes created? Beginning as bubbles in volcanic rock or as animal burrows, balls of mud or tree roots in sedimentary rock, over a period of millions of years the outer layers of silica cool and harden while at the same time water containing dissolved silica begins to seep into the lava cracks or cavities.

Eventually, the deposited silica minerals create crystals, most of which point towards the center of the cavity.

Each geode is unique -- its secrets can only be discovered by cracking it open or dissecting it with a rock saw. The size and formation of crystals and their different shades of color is what makes each geode special, as a geode's rough exterior gives no indication of the often breath-taking secrets held within.

For those who collect geodes, the anticipation of finding out what's inside never fades.

symbolic attributes

birthstones
modern February
traditional February
ayurvedic February
geographic
state gem South Carolina
Canadian state gem Ontario
miscellaneous
anniversary 6th and 17th
metaphysical
astrological gem Aquarius, Sagittarius
energy receptive / yin
planet Jupiter, Neptune
element water