Qishi "Desert Rose" and "Calcite"

Desert rose is a kind of gypsum crystal, which is named "Desert Rose" because its shape is very similar to rose petals and grows in the desert.

Cause of Desert Rose: Desert Rose is a symbiotic body of calcite, quartz and gypsum. Its main component is limestone, which grows in low-lying desert areas and is formed by weathering in wind and rain sculptures for tens of millions of years.

Desert Rose Origin: Desert roses are very rare because of their special geographical conditions. Its main producing areas are East, South Africa and Arabian Peninsula, as well as desert areas of the United States, Mexico, Morocco and China.

Characteristic of Desert Rose: Desert Rose is soft in texture and has a hardness of 2 degrees. Desert roses are shaped like blooming petals, with thick petals, thin petals and big flowers and small flowers. For example, secondary crystallization of some minerals can produce small flowers on the large petals of desert roses. Among them, desert roses with clear petals, large crystal blocks, high surface finish, transparent or translucent shape have high collection and ornamental value. Weathering and erosion are serious, but the value is not high.

Desert roses of different origins have their own characteristics in shape and color, such as desert roses in Inner Mongolia, China. They are larger in shape, thicker in petals and darker in color. Desert roses in Mexico are mostly globular with thinner petals and lighter in color.

Calcite is a kind of calcium carbonate mineral. Knocking on calcite can get many square fragments, so it is named. Calcite belongs to tripartite system and is a common mineral crystal widely distributed. Its chemical composition is calcium carbonate.

Calcite genesis: Calcite clusters are mainly occurring in hydrothermal vein deposits with carbonate rocks as wall rocks. They are widely distributed, accounting for more than 40% of the total crust. They are the most important rock-forming ores in the crust. They are found in limestone mountains and widely in Tertiary and Quaternary limestone and metamorphic rock deposits.

Origin of calcite: Calcite is found all over the world. The representative origins are China, Mexico, Britain, France, the United States, Germany and so on. In China, calcite is mainly produced in Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan and other provinces, where a large number of carbonate strata are distributed and magmatic activity is not developed, so the formation temperature of calcite is generally lower than that of crystal.

Characteristics of calcite: General calcite is white or colorless, because it contains other metal chromogenic elements showing light red, light yellow, light tea, rose red, purple and other colors. Completely transparent and pure calcite crystal is Iceland stone. It is an important optical material. It has complete rhombohedral cleavage, glassy luster, transparent to translucent, soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid and produces bubbles. It has the greatest strong birefringence function. The objects seen through it show double images.



Calcite crystals are generally well developed and have various shapes, such as columnar, rhombohedral, plate, triangular and so on. The size of single crystal varies from several millimeters to tens of centimeters. The aggregates can be clusters of crystals, or granular, massive, fibrous, bell-emulsion and other shapes. Sometimes calcite can coexist with metallic sulphide crystals such as pyrite or sphalerite, which is very beautiful.

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