Sahara Sand roses are found in large numbers in the surroundings of the salt lake of
Chott el Djerid in southwest Tunisia, as well as the neighboring regions in Algeria and
Ghadames, Libya. Local inhabitants extract them and sell them as souvenirs to tourists, creating a sustainable income for the local population. Other sandroses are found elsewhere in the Sahara, but those extracted in the surroundings of the salt lake are particularly beautiful because of the high percentage of salt in their composition making them more crystalline and luminous. Others that contain more sand have a rusty tone and are hence less brilliant in light. Sand roses are also found in the vicinity of
Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.
Oklahoma Rose rock in
Oklahoma was formed during the
Permian Period, 250 million years ago, when western and central Oklahoma was covered by a shallow sea. As the sea retreated, baryte precipitated out of the water and crystallized around grains of quartz sand. This left behind a large formation of reddish
sandstone, locally called
Garber Sandstone, containing deposits of rose rock. The rose rock was selected as the official rock of Oklahoma in 1968. ==Size==