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Serpentine occurs in central and northern California -- in the Coast Ranges, the Klamath Mountains, and in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Serpentine rock is primarily composed of one or more of the three magnesium silicate minerals, "lizardite," "chrysotile," and "antigorite."
Many Californians might think gold is the state rock, but in fact it is the state mineral. Since 1965, serpentine has been the State Rock, the first such designation for any state.
California's state rock serpentine has two real powers: the ability to host rare and unique vegetation and its potential to help climate change. On the more spiritual side of things, this beautiful green rock is said to aid in wisdom and insight into past lives.
The State rock of California, commonly referred to as Serpentine, is known for its striking blue-green hue, slick surfaces, and dramatic topography. Serpentinite landscapes form California’s emblematic towering coastal cliffs, Sierran talus slopes, and the pastoral rolling hills of Franciscan formation and Franciscan mélange in the Coast Ranges.
California State Rock (Serpentinite) Serpentinite, or serpentine rock, is the metamorphosed remains of magnesium-rich igneous rocks, most commonly peridotite, from the earth's mantle. Serpentinite is apple-green to black and is often mottled with light and dark colored areas.
In 1965, the California State Legislature and Governor designated “serpentine” as the official State Rock. Geologists today, however, classify “serpentine” as a group of minerals and “serpentinite” as a metamorphic rock. The former comprises most or all of the latter.
A bill introduced by California State Senator Gloria Romero in February 2009, the language of which was completely gutted and then amended in April of this year, would “remove serpentine as the state rock and lithologic emblem and would leave the state rock unspecified.”.
Many Californians are unaware that there exists a “state rock”. It is the lovely, slick-green rock, serpentine, which covers some 2,200 square miles throughout the state. Because of the unique chemical composition of serpentine, it often supports plant species and communities found nowhere else.
Serpentine, a shiny, green and blue rock found throughout California, was named the official State Rock in 1965. It contains the state’s principal deposits of chromite, magnesite, and cinnabar. California was the first state to designate a State Rock.
Serpentinite is a rare rock type that is most often developed in subduction zones, where one tectonic plate is subducted under another. The serpentinite at the Presidio is probably made from rock scraped off the bottom of ocean crust that is found east of the subduction zone.