Sabino rocks!

Look, mom! I caught a rock!
Photo by Angie Perryman 3/21/2012

And a very Gneiss rock it is! Look closely and you can see at least 3 of the 5 main minerals in Catalina Gneiss. The white is either quartz or feldspar (or both); black is magnetite, and the red is what you're panning for - garnet (aka sand ruby, usually plural). Only the shiny one - mica - is hard to see in this photo. But you can easily see it in the sand in Sabino Canyon - and pretty much everywhere in Tucson.
If you'd like to learn (just the right amount) about the geology of the Santa Catalinas, you have a few more weeks to take advantage of the Gneiss Walk given by Bruce 'Garnett' Garrett and the Sabino Canyon Rockettes Thursdays at 8.30am. Meet in front of the visitor center.