Barite

specimen number:
2063022

location:
Palos Verdes Hills, Los Angeles Co., California, USA

description:
Classic California locality for the species, this is a choice loose cluster of lustrous translucent barite crystals. Complete all around. In great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark and dates to the early 1980s if not into the 1970s.

The Palos Verdes Hills in Los Angeles County, California, consist primarily of Miocene-age siliceous and diatomaceous shales of the Monterey formation that have been heavily uplifted and terraced by tectonic activity and marine processes over millions of years. During the Miocene, basaltic dikes and volcanic intrusions injected into these marine shales, creating hydrothermal activity that facilitated the crystallization of secondary minerals. Mineral collecting in this coastal region has long focused on the sea cliffs and road cuts, particularly around locations like Long Point and Point Vicente, where collectors carefully search the fractures and cavities of the shale and basalt contacts. Within these tight spaces, low-temperature hydrothermal solutions deposited attractive crystalline formations, yielding notable specimens of bladed barite alongside associated minerals like calcite, gypsum, and zeolites.

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