Since 1965, the Petoskey stone is Michigans official state stone.
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Over 350 million years ago during the Devonian period, Michigan was quite different.
Then the earths plates moved and pushed Michigan north and above sea level.
The stone was named Petoskey because they are found in great abundance in the Petoskey area.
The city of Petoskey was also named after the same person.
Some say, the coral pattern in the stone looks like sun rays radiating from small suns.
Hexagonaria percarinataconsists of tightly packed, six-sided corallites, which are the skeletons of the once-living organism.
Calcite, silica and other minerals have replaced the original soft tissues, called polyps, in each cell.
