Mariposa Mineral & Mining Museum

For my assignment I chose to visit the State Mineral and Mining Museum in Mariposa, CA. After a beautiful drive through Gold Country, (Cathey's Valley, Hornitos and through downtown Mariposa), we arrived at the fair grounds where the museum is located.

The museum contains over 13,000 objects. It also has a replica of a mine that is almost 200 ft. long.

Most of the displays are located behind glass as shown in the picture.

Some items are displayed in a way that allows children and adults alike to feel the texture, such as the Quartz Crystal and Smoky Quartz Crystal.

The museum also houses various items from other countries. My favorite item from this display is the yellow Sulpher. It was harvested in Sicily, Italy in 1880.

The California State Rock is: Serpentine

The California State Fossil: Sabre -tooth Cat

The California State Gemstone: Benitoite

The California State Mineral: GOLD

The Fricot Nugget

The museum has the largest existing Gold Rush specimen of crystallized gold. The Fricot Nugget weighs almost 13 pounds.

Great Exhibit Glowing Minerals

Pictures shown are the same rocks.

Mine photos

Walking through the mine tunnel alone was actually a little scary even though I could see the Exit sign glowing in the distance. It was extremely dark and had REAL spiders and webs. Imagine what the miners must have faced!