been
permeated by hot, volcanic waters. Shells, bones, and other fossils are
found here entirely altered to precious opal, making objects of great
beauty. In 1899 opals to the value of $650,000 were sold from this
single region. There is no doubt that the present popularity of the
opal is due to some extent to the supply of beautiful stones which has
come from these mines, at prices one-third to one-tenth those of the
Hungarian stones. Other localities in Australia whence precious opals
are obtained are places on the Barcoo River and Bulla Creek,
QueensÂland, and occasional finds in West Australia.
No localities in the United States yielding precious opals in any
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