Deccan Flood Basalts, Maharashtra State, India
The quarries of the Deccan Flood Basalts are among our Top 12 Mineral Localities.
The localities hosted by the Deccan flood basalts in India are the source of the world’s finest zeolite and “zeolite-related” specimens. Specifically, the mesolite, scolecite, stilbite, stellerite, goosecreekite, fluorapophyllite, okenite, gyrolite, cavansite, pentagonite and powellite are easily among the world’s best.
The basalt, from which these magnificent minerals are extracted, formed when lava spewed from cracks in the earth's crust and then spread out over a wide area, cooled and hardened. The cavities in which these crystals grew are actually gas bubbles that formed in the flowing lava as it escaped from the pressures deep within the earth, much like the bubbles that form in a soda pop when the cap is removed. Groundwater carrying dissolved minerals flowed through the porous rock and entered the pockets, precipitating these delicate crystals inside the voids.
The term "pillow" basalts is often used to describe some of the rocks of these flows. This term is used for basalts that erupted under water or flowed into water. In doing so, the lava formed as piles of flattened, lobate masses that look like a stack of pillows. The basalt flows of the Deccan Plateau, cover more than 200,000 square miles and have yielded countless fine quality zeolite specimens. The name "zeolite" refers to a group of silicate minerals characterized by crystallographic structures that form distinct channels at the atomic level. These channel ways have distinct measurements and properties in each zeolite mineral, which allows them to be used as chemical filters. Ironically, although zeolites are common and found worldwide, many of the industrial varieties are grown synthetically by the ton.
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Stilbite cast after Okenite
Pune, Maharashtra State, India
$950
70mm x 50mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
CAVANSITE, STILBITE
Wagholi, Pune District (Poonah District), Maharashtra, India
$340
57mm x 33mm x 30mm
From: Quebul Fine Minerals
Calcite, gyrolite, prehnite
Malad Quarry, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
$250
87mm x 69mm x 62mm
From: Spirifer Minerals
Heulandite with Stilbite
Jalgon, Maharashtra State, India
$42
53mm x 42mm x 31mm
From: The Crystal Circle
Cavansite on Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Pune Dist., Maharashtra, India
$9000
70mm x 70mm x 70mm
From: The Arkenstone
Powellite on Stilbite
Nashik District, Maharashtra, India
$1400
20mm x 20mm x 10mm
From: The Arkenstone
Cavansite with Stilbite-Ca
Wagholi Quarries, Pune Dist., Pune Div., Maharashtra, India
$2750
30mm x 30mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
Fluorapophyllite-(K) with Stilbite
Jalgaon Dist., Nashik Div., Maharashtra, India
$7000
80mm x 70mm x 60mm
From: The Arkenstone
Apophyllite
Pune District, Lonavala, Maharashtra, India
$12
21mm x 12mm x 8mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Red Stilbite
Auarangabad near Nasik, Maharashtra Province, India
$33
37mm x 51mm x 23mm
From: GreatCrystals.com
Cavansite
Maharashtra Province, Poona District, India
$35
55mm x 72mm x 34mm
From: GreatCrystals.com
Cavansite
Wagholi Quarry, Wagholi, near Poona, Maharashtra State , India
$175
43mm x 39mm x 21mm
From: GreatCrystals.com