Calcite

EDF dam, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

7,6x5x4,5 cm. ( Calcite 5,7×4,5×3 cm.)

Stunning twinned scalenohedral Calcite from this French locality well known in Europe for producing high quality Calcite in term of luster and transparency, but in a minimal amount, very difficult to obtein on today’s market. Water-clear aspect, colorless and superb luster are the mean features of this special and rare Calcite. Ex Bonisoli collection.

A significant portion of Nouvelle-Aquitaine is constituted by the Aquitaine Basin, located in the southwestern part of France, and characterized by a wide range of sedimentary rocks that reflect the geological evolution of the region over millions of years. The formation of minerals in the Aquitaine Basin is primarily linked to sedimentary processes and associated with Diagenesis, i.e., phenomena of sediment compaction and cementation followed by the infiltration of very hot and high-pressure fluids into sedimentary rock fractures created during the Jurassic rifting stage. These fluids are responsible for the precipitation, first of dolomite and then of calcite. For more info 

The Calcite crystals found in the “Gave de Pau” deposit, are specimens of remarkable quality in terms of luster and transparency, to the extent that they are called “Diamond Calcite.”

The current bed of the “Gave de Pau” (Gave is the generic name given to the rivers of Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is part of the extensive syncline called “Morlaàs”. The formations encountered beneath the Quaternary deposits consist of sedimentary layers from the Tertiary period. During the Quaternary, these lands were covered by alluvial formations resulting from the wandering of various glaciers and watercourses from the Pyrenean chain. The city of Pau was founded on the terraces of the Gave, which established its current course during the Quaternary, cutting its bed through the continental deposits of the Upper Tertiary. The Gave and the ancient glaciers that originated it have deposited numerous sedimentary series, forming a system of terraces. For more info    and