Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Saint Pons, Alpes de Haute Provence, France
SIZE : 10 x 8 x 0.5 cm

This specimen is a scale of limestone on which some calcite has crystallized. It is associated with what seems to be ankerite (or dolomite) and with aragonite et celestite. The crystals of calcite are colorless and transparent and have Rhombohedrons perfectly crystallized.

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle obtained the sample thanks to the gift of Mr. Jean-Marc Fourcault, who collected it near Saint-Pons in Alpes de Haute-Provence. It is today kept in the storage rooms of the collections of the Muséum (i.e., not yet displayed to the public).

Photography: A. Dahmane / Photo Saint-Hilaire, © MNHN.

SPECIE : Calcite

HISTORY : Name inspired from the Latin word "calx" meaning burned chalk

Species first described in 1836 by Johann Karl Freiesleben (1774-1846), officer of the mines of Saxony

Type-locality: undefined because species already known from the Ancients
ANCIENT NAME : Spath d'Islande, chaux carbonatée

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca CO3
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Rhomboedric
COLOR : Colourless, white, color depending on inclusions
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to opaque
LUSTER : Vitreous, pearly
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGY : Well-formed crystals common, forming concretions
HARDNESS : 3
DENSITY : 2,711

CHEMICAL CLASS : V - Carbonates, nitrates
GROUP : Calcite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 5/B.02-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 5.AB.05

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Calcite

MNHN N°201.34

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