Gypsum

specimen number:
2063307

location:
Red River Floodway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

description:
A beautiful cluster of glassy gem gypsum crystals, these slightly yellowish in color. No real points of attachment and only sparse minor micro-damage present, in my opinion this is in great condition. A beautiful example of this well-known material. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. These are brightly fluorescent under longwave ultraviolet light.

Constructed between 1962 and 1968 to divert floodwaters around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the Red River Floodway is an artificial channel excavated through fine glaciolacustrine clay deposits laid down by ancient glacial Lake Agassiz. During its construction, massive earth-moving operations exposed sub-surface horizon layers rich in authigenic selenite, a crystalline form of gypsum. Mineral collectors quickly recognized the site as a premier locality for unique, golden-amber to colorless floater clusters, rosettes, and twinned swallowtail or duckbill crystal configurations. Today, these pristine, highly lustrous specimens remain famous among amateur and professional collectors for their geometric aesthetics, strong ultraviolet fluorescence, and phosphorescence.

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