Rose Rocks By Nancy Kamp

click on the photo to enlarge it

If you drive very far across the state of Oklahoma, you will find a tourist trap gift shop selling curios made with rust-colored rocks shaped like little roses.   Strip away whatever the rocks are glued to and you have a geologic wonder, the rose rock.

The rose rock, the official state rock of Oklahoma, is a barite compound.  While found elsewhere in the world, the area around Norman Oklahoma contains the most dense concentration discovered to date.  The Cherokee  believe each rock represents the blood of those who died on the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the tribe from North Carolina to Oklahoma Territory in 1838.

Most rose rocks are small, under an inch in diameter, but the largest specimens measure over a foot across.

Links for more information:

• http://www.roserockmuseum.com/   Timberlake Rose Rock Museum in Noble, OK, the site features a poem about rose rocks you won't want to miss

• http://www.rosecity.net/tears/trail/tearsnht.html  Trail of Tears details

• http://www.joelobell.com/roserock/roserock.html  Photos of a large rose rock cluster

• http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/stinfo.html  List of Oklahoma's official stuff