Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Pont de Ceyrat, Puy-de-Dôme, France
SIZE : 7.8 x 4 x 5 cm; main crystal: 3.2 x 3 x 0.9 cm

This specimen is made of crystals of barytine. The crystals are perfectly shaped, they are transparent with a brown-honey color. This sample measures 7.8 x 4 x 5 cm. The largest crystal measures 3.2 x 3 x 0.9 cm.

This specimen comes from the carrrière of Pont de Ceyrat in the Puy de Dôme. It was deposited in the collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle by Alfred Lacroix in 1900.

The sample is kept today in the storage rooms of the collections of the Muséum (i.e., not yet displayed to the public).

Photography: Louis-Dominique Bayle , © MNHN.

SPECIE : Barite

HISTORY : Name inspired by the Greek word "βαρυσ" [barys] meaning heavy. In reference to its high density

Species first described in 1800 by Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten (1768-1810), German matematician

Type-locality: undefined because species already known by the Ancients
ANCIENT NAME : Baryte

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ba SO4
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Orthorhombic
COLOR : Colorless, brown, blue, green, reddish yellow
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to opaque
LUSTER : Vitreous to resineous
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGY : Tabular crystals, prismatic. As roses, massive, lamellar, stalactitic
HARDNESS : 3,0-3,5
DENSITY : 4,47

CHEMICAL CLASS : VI - Sulfates, chromates,
GROUP : Barytine
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 6/A.09-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 7.AD.35

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Barite

Barite

MNHN N°100.801

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