Catalog Search Guide
You can search our catalog using different mineral attributes. For example, you can search by color such as green, yellow or purple, or by chemical elements such as uranium, calcium or iron, or by mineral groups such as phosphate, silicate or carbonate. You can also filter by crystal habit like crystal, geode or crystal on matrix, by specimen size such as thumbnail, small, medium or cabinet, and by features such as radioactive or fluorescent minerals.
Mesolite
Mesolite is a delicate member of the zeolite group, part of the natrolite subgroup alongside natrolite and scolecite, sitting compositionally between the two with a calcium-to-sodium ratio close to 1:1. It typically forms as fine, hair-thin acicular crystals radiating from a central point, often building dense sprays or domed "puff-ball" clusters with vitreous, semi-transparent needles and pyramidal terminations. First described in 1816 from the Cyclopean Islands near Catania, Sicily, it forms in gas cavities of basalt, andesite and related volcanic rocks alongside other zeolites and apophyllite.
The most celebrated modern source is the Deccan Traps of Maharashtra, India, especially the classic vugs around Pune (Poona), Nashik and Aurangabad, where mesolite grows with stilbite, heulandite, chabazite and apophyllite. Exceptional large-crystal sprays also come from Skookumchuck Dam in Washington State, from Prospect Park Quarry in New Jersey, and from classic European sites such as Talisker Bay on Skye and Hvalfjörður in Iceland.
Because true mesolite can be nearly impossible to distinguish from natrolite and scolecite without optical or chemical testing, well-documented specimens are especially valued. Its extreme fragility, easily broken needles and tendency to detach from matrix, make undamaged, fully radiating spheres and sprays prized centerpieces for zeolite and systematic mineral collections.
Sorry, there are no products in this collection
