Some interesting crystal formations

Steve1236 · Apr 22, 2020

I thought I'd share a couple cool druzy and quartz crystal clusters I found out at my spot and wondering what some of those strange crystal formations are called, especially the superman emblem looking one
in the first specimen?

Kray Gelder · Apr 22, 2020

Real pretty specimens. I think macro photography of those would be mind blowing.

Steve1236 · Apr 22, 2020

That's a really cool idea, like maybe make some macro photo prints with cool lighting, even maybe macro under uv light or other color lighting.

Kray Gelder · Apr 22, 2020

Oh yeah.

DDancer · Apr 23, 2020

Nice stuff. Interesting formations mixed together. In the first 3 pics and the lone clear one I'd call the formation tabular crystal. Its unusual for quartz and I've only ever seen it a few times, not sure why it occurs. Your material almost reminds me of Herkimier diamonds.

Steve1236 · Apr 23, 2020

Thanks DDancer, some of it reminds me of Herkimier diamonds as well but in small crystal clusters, we have something called Payson diamonds here in Arizona but it's a long ways from where I'm at. After you clean up the druzy specimens some are just unbelievably sparkly and clear as glass and some look dull like they are coated with something, I'm almost thinking it's the calcite or gypsum that's attached to a lot of the fire agate out there.

Steve1236 · May 21, 2020

Need a little help again, the super man emblem crystal isn't quartz, it's no where near hard enough, it's not calcite because it has no reaction to vinegar, it's not selenite because I can't scratch it with my fingernail, so I went on mindat to check the minerals list again for the area I'm in and the only one that looks like what I have is colourless alunite crystals, I downloaded a few along with mine after more cleaning to get your guy's opinion?

fuss · May 21, 2020

You may need to get an accurate hardness number on it, when you say "its nowhere near as hard as quartz" what did you use to determine that? have you tried scratching it with a nail or pin?

Steve1236 · May 22, 2020

I was trying hard not to damage these crystals because I've only seen a couple of them in that formation but I took the smaller one and rubbed the bottom along a piece of glass and it wouldn't scratch, it actually broke and left some of the mineral on the glass, I should of updated sooner but a little later on I rubbed the cool formation part of the specimen and it scratches glass, so it's back to quartz lol.

fuss · May 22, 2020

What you could have there is a "Japan law" twinned quartz crystal rather than Alunite. Have a look at this link midway down the page.

The Quartz Page: Quartz Crystals - Twinning

The bottom side of that crystal is probably brittle and that could be why it broke off fragments when trying to scratch the glass.

A2coins · May 22, 2020

Those are really cool love the info given on them I like finding interesting rocks, I have alot to learn though Cool finds for sure

Steve1236 · May 23, 2020

Yeah alunite is only a hardness of 4 so it cant be that I'm thinking, thanks for the link fuss, I've actually seen all those formations in these druzy specimens but I still haven't seen quartz crater in rhombohedral or maybe trapezoidal shape, its pretty cool, by chance do you guys think maybe it's something else alteration into quartz or just a unique quartz formations?

Steve1236 · May 24, 2020

I think I found a match to the quartz formations, something called "hopper "

Steve1236 · May 26, 2020

By chance could some of these crystals be gemmy k feldspar adularia, here's some I found online and another reason for asking is I see adularesence in these crystals when I use the loupe with light, sorry if I'm bugging anybody but when I start listing I want to get it right, photos with the arrows is the adularesence I'm seeing in the crystals of mine.

DDancer · May 26, 2020

fuss's link pretty well points out what I feel you have as well, even though I call them tabular crystals I am corrected. I doubt there's much if any feldspar as that would be pretty dominate in your specimens. Your local in AZ is not well noted for feldspar's. If you were in say the Pike's Peak region such an occurrence is likely as that's one area where I have found a number of feldspar altered quartz, feldspar variants as well as amzonite in pegmatite's. Where your finding your fire agate is unlikely to hold much if any feldspar.

Steve1236 · May 26, 2020

Thanks DDancer, the only way to learn is to ask, hope you are holding up well, thanks again.
Steve.

DDancer · May 27, 2020

Ask away Steve we are enjoying your finds and watching as you delve into your geology there in AZ. Lots of neat stuff there and unusual stuff as well.

Steve1236 · May 27, 2020

Soved!!! First for an Arizonafind. :headbang:

Steve1236 · Jul 8, 2020

Probably sick of this post lol but something told me to look up the minerals at opal hill mine on mindat because of the odd shaped quartz seemed to be the same so maybe its the same geologically, look at this mineral dachiardite-ca, its only a hardness of 4 but it looks a lot more like what I have, psuedomorph or epimorph into quartz maybe? First two and last two pics are my specimen..