A rare blue mineral (barium titanium silicate) found primarily in California, used as a gemstone and named after the San Benito River.
From San Benito River in California + -ite mineral suffix. The San Benito River name comes from Spanish, and the mineral was named after its discovery location following scientific naming conventions.
Benitoite is California's official state gem, but it's so rare that most people have never seen it even though they live in the state—it's found in just one small area and fluoresces brilliant blue under ultraviolet light.
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