My Etsy Shop

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Blue Barite from Sterling, Colorado.  Barite is a wonderful mineral these blues being highly prized as well as the amber yellow crystals.  


Barite is a very common mineral in the earth's crust.  It is the crystals which are rarer.  Well formed macroscopic crystals, in the geological perspective, are rare indeed.  Think about it, how often do you walk about and come across a euhedral crystal (Euhedral crystals are those that are well-formed with sharp, easily-recognised faces.)  
Usually all you come upon are rocks and sediments. Without a bit of effort you will not turn up a crystal, even with a bit of effort you may not find a crystal.  


I did once, while going through a large purchase of Pakistani minerals, come across a 5 inch blue aquamarine crystal entwined with roots.  It would be a happy day indeed if I were to walk out in the yard and find a fine blue aquamarine crystal nestled in the tree roots.


For more information on geological and mineralogical terms start here:     Geology Definitions - Geological Dictionary - Earth Science


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