Michael Rajczak - Amber

Please visit our website, www.garethstevens.com. For a free color catalog of all our high-quality books, call toll free 1-800-542-2595 or fax 1-877-542-2596.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rajczak, Michael. Amber / by Michael Rajczak. p. cm. (Gems: natures jewels) Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4824-2852-0 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-4824-2853-7 (6 pack) ISBN 978-1-4824-2854-4 (library binding) 1. Precious stones Juvenile literature. 2. Fossils Juvenile literature.I. Rajczak, Michael. Title. Title.

QE392.R35 2016 553.8d23 First Edition Published in 2016 by Gareth Stevens Publishing 111 East 14th Street, Suite 349 New York, NY 10003 Copyright 2016 Gareth Stevens Publishing Designer: Andrea Davison-Bartolotta Editor: Kristen Rajczak Photo credits: Cover, p. 1 Damaratskaya Alena/Shutterstock.com; p. 5 orangecrush/Shutterstock.com; p. 7 (main) Igor Boldyrev/Shutterstock.com; p. 7 (inset) Andy38/Shutterstock.com; p. 8 (left middle) cristi180884/Shutterstock.com; p. 8 (right middle) Renewer/Shutterstock.com; p. 8 (far right) canismaior/Shutterstock.com; p. 9 Vladimir Sazonov/Shutterstock.com; p. 11 Paul Zahl/National Geographic/Getty Images; pp. 1213 MyLoupe/UIG/Getty Images; p. 14 Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock.com; p. 15 (main) ChinellatoPhoto/Shutterstock.com; p. 15 (inset) Baciu/Shutterstock.com; p. 16 DEA/G. 16 DEA/G.

Dagli Orti/Getty Images; p. 17 DEA Picture Library/Getty Images; p. 18 skyfish/Shutterstock.com; p. 19 jeanyfan/Wikimedia Commons; p. 20 iStockphoto.com/ProArtWork; p. 21 Mattz90/Shutterstock.com.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer. Printed in the United States of America CPSIA compliance information: Batch #CS15GS: For further information contact Gareth Stevens, New York, New York at 1-800-542-2595. Contents What Is Amber? Amber is a fossil. A fossil is the hardened remains or marks of a plant or animal from long ago. Amber is also a gem! Amber began as resin, a sticky matter that comes from trees.

This resin hardened, and once the tree died, was later buried in soil, sand, and other matter, called sediment. Over time, great heat and pressure turned the hardened resin into amber. Not all trees make resin that can become amber. Some hardened pieces of resin break down too quickly to fossilize. Be a Gem Genius! A tree produces resin to take care of any harm that comes to it, such as a branch breaking off. A gem is a stone thats cut, polished, and worth money. A gem is a stone thats cut, polished, and worth money.

Unlike other gems, amber isnt made of minerals, or the matter that forms rocks. Where Is Amber Found? Amber can be found all over the world. The largest deposits of amber in the world are on the shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The amber there is about 35 to 60 million years old! Amber is found in Germany, Poland, and Russia. Indonesia and Burma in southeastern Asia are also rich sources of amber. The amber found in the Dominican Republic is younger than Baltic amber.

It formed about 15 to 20 million years ago! Be a Gem Genius! The sediment in which hardened tree resin was buried often became sandstone. Its in this kind of rock that amber may be found. Most of the worlds amber comes from a mine, or a place where stone or gems are dug up, in Kaliningrad, Russia. Mining uncovers amber in North America and Asia as well. What Does Amber Look Like? Amber is often transparent, meaning its easy to see through. However, some amber is cloudy looking or completely opaque because of air bubbles trapped in the gem.

Even clear amber sometimes has air bubbles you can see! Amber comes in many different sizes and shapes, some smaller than a grain of sand and some heavier than 8 pounds (3.6 kg)! It may form in teardrop shapes or tall, thin rods. Smooth, pebble-like amber can be found on beaches and coasts. Transparent amber gems are often more valuable than those that are a bit cloudy. So Colorful When most people think of amber, they picture many different shades of yellow and brown. Thats often Baltic amber. But beautiful amber of other colors is found in Indonesia.

Called Sumatra amber, its valuable because it often contains different colors, including navy blue and pale green. The Dominican Republic is a rich source of amber that looks blue! Bone amber gets its name from its milky white appearance. Red amber is sometimes called cherry amber. Theres also black amber known as jet. Be a Gem Genius! If you shine a light through blue amber from the Dominican Republic, youll see a reddish-brown or honey color. Because amber is the name of a color, its easy to think the gem of the same name only comes in that color! This blue amber shows another beautiful color amber gems can be.

Handle with Care Amber is very soft compared to gems like diamonds and rubies. Its between 1 and 3 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness! That means its easily scratched. Amber is also brittle, or easily broken. Though amber often has a nice luster, oxygen in the air may cause the gem to get darker in color. Its outer layer may start to look dull and form a crust. This can begin to happen after just 10 or 20 years.

Be a Gem Genius! Amber can be man-made. You can tell a piece of natural amber by seeing if it floats in salt water. Here is a piece of raw amber that needs to be polished and cut before being used for jewelry. Secrets Inside Unlike other gems, inclusions in amber often make it more valuable. Sometimes bugs or other matter gets trapped in the tree resin. When the resin fossilizes into amber, the bug inside is perfectly preserved.

Each piece of amber that contains a bug can tell scientists something about the past, such as what the weather was like when the bug was trapped. Because no two pieces of amber are alike, inclusions like these are very valuable. Flies, gnats, spiders, and grasshoppers have been found caught in amber. Be a Gem Genius! The book and movie Jurassic Park were based on the idea that dinosaur blood had been found inside a mosquito that had been preserved in amber.