3.6" Barite and Quartz Crystal Association - Missouri

Barite and Quartz Crystal Association - Missouri #96377

This beautiful specimen contains an association of bladed barite crystals that are coated in an aggregation of small quartz crystals. It comes from the Washington County Aggregates Quarry in the Potosi Barite District of Missouri. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.

Barite sometimes spelled Baryte (Barium sulfate) is well-known for its great range of colors and varied crystal habits. It is easily identifiable by its heavy weight, since most similar minerals are much lighter. It occurs in a large number of depositional environments, and is deposited through a large number of processes including biogenic, hydrothermal, and evaporation, among others

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