Thenardite

specimen number:
2354240

location:
Soda Lake, San Luis Obispo Co., California, USA

description:
Good cluster of gray thenardite crystals measuring to 2.2 cm in size in a cluster without matrix. In great condition.

Located in the Carrizo Plain National Monument of San Luis Obispo County, California, Soda Lake is a dynamic ephemeral alkaline playa basin where arid climate conditions, intense seasonal evaporation, and internal drainage concentrate dissolved salts from surrounding runoff. The geology of the basin features thick accumulations of evaporite minerals deposited in alternating wet and dry cycles. Historically, the area attracted commercial interest and intermittent harvesting during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as prospectors sought to exploit the rich saline deposits. The playa is especially notable for hosting abundant crusts and efflorescent deposits of thenardite, an anhydrous sodium sulfate mineral that crystallizes directly from the evaporating sodium and sulfate rich brines under arid desert conditions.

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