Calcite from Santa Eulalia Mining District, Chihuahua, Mexico

CALCITE (Helictite, "Flos Ferri" habit)

An elegant, sculptural helictite whose snow-white calcite loops twist through space in frozen curves, crowned by glittering translucent terminations. From the Santa Eulalia district of Chihuahua, one of Mexico's most storied mining regions, whose labyrinthine mines have produced world-class specimens for more than a century. This specimen represents one of the finest helictite specimens ever recovered from any Mexican locality.

Helictites owe their improbable geometry to capillary forces. Every helictite grows around a minute central canal through which seeping water feeds the advancing tip; at this scale, capillary and hydrostatic pressure can deliver calcite-bearing solution to the growing surface in any direction, even against gravity, depositing new material wherever pressure dictates and producing the wandering, curling contours for which these formations are prized.

Formerly in the collection of Gary R. Weaver, this specimen combines geological curiosity with unexpectedly elegant movement, resembling a piece of abstract natural sculpture.