Jasper--the many-colored gemstone

Jasper is a form of calcedony, which is made up of fine ingrowths of quartz and moganite (basically silicon dioxide, SiO2). Jasper is opaque, and is an impure variety of silica. The colours of jasper vary through red, yellow, brown, and green, and (very rarely) blue. Jasper can be highly polished, and has been used over the years as vases, seals, and at one time even used for snuff boxes! The colors can come in stripes or bands, and that kind is called (according to the stripes or bands) striped or banded jasper.

Jasper was used in the ancient world quite a bit. In Exodus 28, it was on the high priest's breastplate. It symbolized the tribe of Naphtali (or Benjamin, it depends on the source). Green jasper was used in Mehrgarh (“on the 'Kachi plain' of Balochistan, Pakistan”) to make bow drills. On Minoan Crete, jasper was carved to make seals.

Jasper is found widely in the United States, including California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington. Other places include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Russia, and Uruguay.

Jasper is widely known, because it comes in so many different forms. Some of the more famous include:

1. Picture jasper. The lines and waves in this jasper resemble a landscape. Hence, it's name. 
2. Ocean jasper. Rings in the stone remind you of sea plants and animals. They look a little like sea creatures you can find about anywhere in the sea. 
3. Leopard skin jasper. This stone has lines and rings that remind you of a leopard or cheetah's skin. 
4. Rain forest jasper. This dark-green stone looks like a real rain forest, and you can just about 'see' the trees in it! 

INTERESTING FACTS:

1. Jasper has a hardness of 6.5-7 on Mohs's scale. 
2. Jasper is the state rock of Massachusetts, USA. 
3. “The name bloodstone, as it indicates, goes back to ancient Christianity, believing that Jesus Christ's blood dripped from the cross onto a dark green stone that lay beneath it.” —gemselect.com 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moganite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcedony
http://www.hebroots.org/hebrootsarchive/9807/980715_b.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehrgarh
http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/jasper.htm
http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/jasper/jasper-info.php#deposits