A

B

C

D

E

Hunting for Jade

page  1 2 3 4

George Harlow

I travel all over the world to study jade, particularly jadeite rock. Here's a look at two of the places where jade is found: Guatemala and Myanmar.

Jade Mining in Myanmar

Click the (+) signs below to explore more.

next page
scrapbook page with pictures of George Harlow and team near and in jade mines
gold pendant with rectangular jade stone in emerald green color

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.

vast open area at entrance to mine with many people working

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 that helped with transportation

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.

looking at jade streaks on walls inside the mine

inside the mine

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

George Harlow holding a large chunk of 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!

next page
Image credits

You might also like...

Find out how he became a geologist and what you can learn from studying rocks.

Find out how five different environments produce Earth's amazing minerals!

Meet six rocks that travelled to the Museum from places like Mexico, Scotland, and even outer space.
Image Credits:

All field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; jade pendant: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin