Fossilized Resin amber. Most amber is from the Tertiary period
1.6 to 65 million years age. Amber has been found on every
Continent except Antarctica. Largest deposits of amber in North
America is found in Arkansas from the tertiary period. A lot of
amber can be found around the Baltic sea washed up on the
beaches. Amber is light in weight but fragile. Amber also can be
found in the Dominican Republic from a tree now extinct
Hymemaea tree. This tree is from the Lequme family. Dominican
amber comes in yellow to deep red but some very rare pieces
can be found in blue and smoky green. In fresh water amber
sinks. In concentrated salt water amber floats by weight it is
slightly heaver than water.
Fossil Amber facts
1.According to Mohammed, a true believer's prayer beads
should be made of amber.
2.Over 2500 years ago, Thales of Miletos around 600 BC
discovered that when amber was rubbed against cloth, sparks
were produced and then the amber attracted husks and small
wooden splinters . This force was given the name "electricity"
after the Greek word electron which means Amber.
3.Baltic amber occurs naturally in a variety of colors: white,
yellow, brown, black, red, green and blue. The most common
amber is honey-colored and milky.
4.When the resin is younger than one million years, it is called
copal.
5.Amber is known to mineralogists as succinite, from the Latin
succinum, which means amber.
6.The most common amber is honey-colored and milky.
7.Amber has been collected and traded for 12,000 years.
8.Amber is organic, not a mineral.
9.Amber from Myanmar, is the hardest at 3 on the hardness
scale. Baltic amber is usually in the range of 2-2.5 .Dominican
amber is the softest at 1-2 .Million years ago.
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