Gypsum

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Gypsum, 10.1 cm, from the Red River Floodway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Thousands of gypsum “rosette” groups have been dug from the banks of the Red River Floodway in central Canada. Completed in 1968, the 29-mile man-made channel diverts spring floodwater away from the City of Winnipeg. A clay layer below the surface contains the gypsum specimens which occur in pods scattered irregularly through the deposit. Since harsh winters and frost heaving destroy the crystals near the surface, collectors dig pits as deep as ten feet in search of good crystals. These tan-brown rosettes are rarely larger than 3 inches, so it was astonishing to see larger yellow and orange, undamaged groups at the 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. The story told was that nearly 25 years ago, Allen and Margaret Akins had used a backhoe to dig to the productive layer and extracted these soft and fragile specimens, then packed and stored them until recently putting them on the market.