| Arizona pyrope garnet is called ant hill garnet because ants bring up the smaller crystals from below ground and deposit them in the ant hill when building or remodeling. The ants encounter the garnets while excavating their underground passages, haul them to the surface and discard them.
The rain washes the garnets clean and moves them down the flank of the anthill where they can accumulate in large numbers. This concentrates the little gems and makes them easy for people to collect. |  |