Garnet as gemstones. The gemstone varieties occur in shades of green, red, yellow, and orange. In the US it is known as the birthstone for January. It is the state mineral of Connecticut, New York's gemstone, and star garnet (garnet with rutile asterisms) is the state gemstone of Idaho. Garnet sand is a good abrasive, and a common replacement for silica sand in sand blasting. Alluvial garnet grains which are rounder are more suitable for such blasting treatments. Mixed with very high pressure water, garnet is used to cut steel and other materials in water jets. For water jet cutting, garnet
Garnet Peak users. Finally, in 1974 at the age of 65, Neave achieved his dream when he summited Garnet Peak and he named the mountain for the small garnets he found in rock formations near the summit. Neave died in 1988 and Mount Hugh Neave, just north of Garnet Peak, was named the following year in recognition of his climbs in northern Wells Gray Park. Later in 1988, members of the Kamloops Mountaineering Club carried his ashes to the top of Garnet Peak. Fewer than 100 people have climbed Garnet Peak since 1974. It is not a difficult mountain to climb because