Owyhee Jasper from the Owyhee Mountains on the Idaho-Oregon border.

Owyhee Picture Jasper (pronounced Oh-WAH-hee), is another one of the very popular semiprecious gemstone picture jaspers used for designer cabochons, because it is known for its depictions of mountain or desert scenery!

Owyhee Mountain was named for natives of Hawaii. Three native Hawaiian trappers helped to explore the Snake River area in the 1800's, and went missing in the mountains in 1819.

The Greek origin of the word jasper, iaspis, means "spotted stone." It is a member of the chalcedony family, or a microcrystalline quartz, and it has a hardness of about 7 on the Moh's scale. Its patterns are much less regular and defined than those of the other chalcedony variety, agate. Another difference between the two is that jaspers are generally opaque, while agates tend to be translucent (or at least contain translucent bands).

Metaphysical Properties of Picture Jaspers: Picture Jaspers can help bring balance to your life.