

emerald green
In some places where jade has been discovered, jade mining is big business. The world's biggest jade mines are in Myanmar in Southeast Asia. The country is also known as Burma. It is the source of the world's most precious jade. Look at this pendant. Its emerald green color makes it very valuable.

at the mine
We traveled through thick jungles to get there. And all of a sudden, we came to a vast, open area. It was crawling with some 30,000 people! All those people in the middle of the jungle, JUST to find jade!

elephant
The jade mines are not easy to get to. It can take many days with many different kinds of transportation. Sometimes we rely on elephants to pull our truck through the deep mud.

inside the mine
This is what the mine looks like from the inside. Can you find the green jade?

collecting jade
I really enjoy my trips to Myanmar and Guatemala. In the future, I want to see all the jade deposits in the world!
Image Credits:
All field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; jade pendant: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin