Emerald is a gem centre as are the nearby towns of Sapphire, Anakie and Rubyvale. Every
August Emerald stages a Gem Festival, and on the nearby gem fields are found
sapphires, in particular, and other precious stones too. The main gem
fields are located about thirty to sixty kilometres from the town of Emerald.
Lake Maraboon is nearby. There is also one of the largest citrus orchards in the southern hemisphere. In the Town Hall is a piece of a fossilised tree, found only 45 centimetres beneath the surface while a new railway bridge was being constructed nearby. When carbon dated, it was found to be 250 million years old.
