Hydroxylapophyllite-K

specimen number:
2062745

location:
Fairfax Quarry, Centreville, Fairfax Co., Virginia, USA

description:
A loose grouping of elongated colorless slightly translucent semi lustrous hydroxylapophyllite crystals. In good condition with slight cleaving on one edge. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Fairfax Quarry, located near Centreville in Fairfax County, Virginia, is situated within the Culpeper Basin, a Mesozoic rift basin formed during the breakup of supercontinents millions of years ago. The local geology is dominated by a massive diabase intrusion, often referred to as trap rock, which cooled beneath the Earth surface. Mining operations began here in the early 20th century to supply crushed stone and aggregate for county roads and regional construction. Over decades of commercial stone extraction operated by local companies, the quarry also gained international renown among mineral collectors for its exceptional cavity-filling mineral specimens, particularly green prehnite and glassy apophyllite crystals.

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