This specimen is Kyanite, a nesosilicate mineral. Kyanite is used in the manufacturing of ceramics. The Kyanite crystal in this specimen is blue. The overall specimen measures 11.5 cm x 7 cm x 5cm.
- Catalog Number:
- 400349
- Object/Specimen Description:
- Specimen Count:
- 1
- Locality:
- US Southeast (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY)
- Collecting Locality:
- North America, United States, North Carolina, Yancey County
One of the most striking, yet least diagnostic, features of many minerals is their color. Well-formed mineral crystals span the entire rainbow of tinctures, from red (cinnabar, garnet) to yellow (sulfur), green (malachite), blue (azurite, lazurite), and violet (the amethyst variety of quartz). Minerals containing iron and magnesium are often dark brown or dark green. Impurities, trace amounts of elements that do not normally belong in the mineral, may change the overall color of a crystal. For instance, depending on the trace amounts of impurities it contains, quartz may look colorless (no impurities), light pink (titanium, iron, or manganese), milky white (tiny bubbles of gas or liquid), purple (iron), yellow (iron), or brown (extra silicon). However, multiple minerals may have almost the same color, so scientists must rely on other physical properties to make definite identifications of mineral specimens.