History of the Tourmaline Queen mine San Diego County, California

For over a century the Tourmaline Queen mine near Pa/a, California has been known for large and beautiful crystals of tourmaline and morganite beryl. The extraordinary blue-capped pink elbaites recovered in 1972 remain among the most famous mineral specimens of any kind ever found in California, and are surely the finest tourmalines ever recovered in North America. Here is the story behind this great locality, which today is once again producing fine specimens.

EARLY HISTORY

The most conspicuous feature of the eastern flank of Pala Mountain in northern San Diego County, ...