I am always amazed by the mother nature of how complexity our geosystems are, not only for the habitable environment, also the formation of these aesthetic crystals.

Unique environment creates unique things. Diaspores in Turkey (trademarked as zultanite) provide a good story of its formation from multi-metamorphic processes in Cretaceous to Miocene. Parent source of the former microcrystalline diaspores are metabauxite, which originally karst unconformity-type bauxite horizons (in marble, metamorphosed limestone) were affected by the regional Alpine metamorphism. The lateral, gemmy, well-crystallized diaspores are formed by hydrothermal fluid that remobilized constituents of the metabauxite in the fracture zones which caused by pervious folding. The source of baxuite may come from some of much earlier formed shale or gneiss that were weathered and end up with bauxite deposits. So far, the İlbir Mountains area of the Milas-Muğla province, SW Turkey is the only place where produces gem-quality, color-change (Olive-green to carmine, depends on the light) diaspore.

Tomorrow is gonna be the first day of a new semester, hope the V-shape beauty stands for a "Victory" of my project lol.

Muğla Province Turkey. 2.3cm tall (xl about 2.6cm)

Jeff Scovil photo