Definition of ant hill garnets

These are pyrope garnets from Navajo Indian Reservation, McKinley Co., New Mexico, USA. Most of the garnets are quite small and faceted stones cut from them rarely exceed one carat, but they have a very fine red color. The are called ant hill garnets because many of the rough stones (quite small) were brought to the surface of the ground by ants and picked out of the piles of sand and gravel of ant hills. Tens of thousands of stones have been collected and cut (mostly in Asia) and put into inexpensive jewelry and sold all over the world.

James Anderson, a Mindat member offers this amusing somewhat more locality information: 10 miles out on the interstate towards 4 corners on the Navajo Nation side.... Go past monument valley about 10 miles take a right to nowhere.... Out there! You will need a native guide though



[Rock Currier 2013]