Amber is found across the world in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Germany, Rumania, Sicily, Myanmar (Burma), North America, Malaysia, England and Russia. Amber is actually the fossilized resin of a species of Pine trees. The main area where it is found is known as the Baltic Region in mainland Europe.



The Germans called amber by the name of 'Bernstein', due to the sweet smell it emitted when burnt. Since amber gave off static electricity when it was rubbed, the Greeks called it 'Elektron'. In the local markets of India, amber is often called as 'Kerba'.

There are rich deposits of amber in the western hemisphere, particularly in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and in New Jersey. An especially rich bed of amber in New Jersey has yielded over 100 previously unknown extinct Cretaceous species dating back as much as 94 million years.

The Baltic area still remains the most important source of amber. Rich deposits of amber are found particularly in Königsberg, which was previously in East Prussia, and now is known as Kaliningrad (which, until recently was a part of USSR).

The variety of amber originating from this area is known as 'Succinite'. It is found here at two sources: from the sea and by mining. The sea amber from this area is easily carried by the sea, and can also be found in all parts of the Baltic coast, even as far away as Norway, Denmark and the east coast of Britain.

Amber found in Sicily, along the Simeto River near Catania is reddish brown, fluorescent, and is known as 'Simetite'. Amber found in many parts of Romania, is known as 'Roumanite', and can be quite variable in color. Amber found at Gdansk or Danzig is known as 'Gedanite'. This is softer and lighter than most other amber stones. There are numerous small deposits of amber found in the USA.

In the Russian Baltic Region, west of Kaliningrad, you can find the largest mine. Baltic amber is found in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, and occasionally washed up on the shores of the Baltic Sea as far away as Denmark, Norway, and England. Canada, Germany, Romania, Mexico, Sicily, Lebanon, and Myanmar (Burma) are the other places where Amber is found.

The amber was mined in the mountains of Lebanon by Aftim Acra, who has a collection of amber pieces containing 700 insects, including termites, moths, caterpillars, spiders, pseudo-scorpions, and midges. More than 1,000 extinct species of insects have been identified in amber.