The official California State Rock is serpentine. It
serves as a host rock for such valuable minerals as asbestos, chromite,
magnesite, and cinnabar.
Often mottled in various shades of green,
serpentine can be polished to a marblelike sheen. It is often used
as an ornamental stone, known
as verd antique or serpentine marble. Buildings throughout California
have decorative elements fashioned from this beautiful native rock.
