Celestine

specimen number:
2063677

location:
Bull Creek, Austin, Texas, USA

description:
This is a wonderful thumbnail for this Texas classic. A deep blue glass gem quality sharply terminated crystal of Celestine with little attached matrix. Perfect all around. Collected by Don Saathoff in April, 1989.

The geology around Bull Creek in Austin, Texas, is characterized by Cretaceous-age limestone formations where mineral-rich groundwaters circulated through cavities, fractures, and sedimentary layers over millions of years. This unique hydrological and chemical environment fostered the crystallization of celestine, an orthorhombic mineral composed of strontium sulfate that frequently occurs in sedimentary rock cavities and vugs. Bull Creek became legendary among regional mineral collectors for producing exceptionally distinct, glassy, transparent-to-translucent columnar crystals featuring characteristic deep blue terminations. Because the site is now situated within protected city parkland, active field collecting is strictly prohibited, making historical specimens recovered by early local rockhounds highly prized additions to mineral collections.

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