Amethyst Amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek ἀμέθυστος "amethystos" from ἀ- "a-", "not" and μεθύσκω "methysko" / μεθύω "methyo", "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. The ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. Amethyst is a semiprecious stone often used in jewelry and is the traditional birthstone for February. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz (SiO) and owes its violet color to irradiation, iron impurities (in some cases in conjunction with transition
Amethyst Mountain exposures of well known and visited petrified forests. The summit of Amethyst Mountain is traversed by Specimen Ridge Trail, which also traverses the south side of Specimen Ridge between Tower Junction and Soda Butte Creek and through the Yellowstone Petrified Forest. Amethyst Mountain consists of a geological formation known as the Lamar River Formation. Within the Amethyst Mountain area, it is over thick and consists predominantly of conglomerate and lesser proportions of tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone. Volcanic breccia is absent and only a very few thin airfall volcanic ash beds have been identified in the exposures at Amethyst Mountain. The