4.3" Botryoidal Aragonite Cave Calcite Crystal Cluster Mineral Specimen Morocco

Location: Morocco

Weight: 1 Pound 1 Ounce

Dimensions: 4.3 Inches Long, 3 Inches Wide, 2.5 Inches Wide

The item pictured is the item you will receive 

Aragonite is vital for many organisms on Earth, especially invertebrates that rely on it to build their shells and hard structures. When you admire a colorful seashell, you’re appreciating the variety of colors Aragonite offers and recognizing how easily it forms near the Earth's surface. Aragonite and calcite are polymorphs—minerals with the same chemical makeup but slightly different crystal structures. They often appear together and are so similar that telling them apart usually matters only to geologists. While calcite is currently more stable and common in today’s oceans, Aragonite was the prevalent form in certain periods of Earth’s history. Both minerals share nearly identical physical characteristics.

Calcite is a calcium carbonate mineral with a hardness of 3. It comes in a wide variety of forms and colors and is found on every continent of the world. Calcite makes up the major part of marble and limestone. Yellow Calcite usually occurs in massive rather than crystalline form, and the best specimens come from Mexico.

Calcite, whose name originates from the Greek word “chalix” meaning lime, showcases an impressive array of colors, including red, green, orange, yellow, blue, pink, clear, black, and white. It’s one of the most widespread minerals found on Earth and forms the foundation of both limestone and marble. Calcite appears in countless shapes and develops in a variety of geological settings. Some varieties even fluoresce blue or red under UV light. Beyond its natural beauty, calcite has practical uses in cement and mortar, and its clear, translucent forms have been prized for making gun sights and specialized geological polarizing microscopes.