Thenardite

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Thenardite

Thenardite

Name/Title

Thenardite

Entry/Object ID

2014.1.46

Description

Chemical Composition: Al(OH)3 Crystal System: Hexagonal System Description: Common Name: Thenardite Chemistry: Na2SO4 Group: Sulfates Location: Mexico Description: Small grouping of flat, rectangular crystals. Color is gray. Physical Charateristics: Color is typically gray, white, colorless or brownish white or yellowish white. • Luster is vitreous, pearly to resinous. • Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent. • Crystal System is orthorhombic: 2/m 2/m 2/m. • Crystal Habits include tabular, dipyramidal, flattened, diamond-shaped crystals; often intergrown. Twins form arrowhead like crystals and crossed interpenetration twins. Also as crusts, granular and as massive rock forming beds. • Cleavage is perfect in one direction (pinacoidal). • Fracture is uneven to hackly or splintery. • Hardness is 2.5 - 3. • Specific Gravity is approximately 2.7 (average for translucent minerals). • Streak is white. • Other Characteristics: Easily soluble in water, has a salty taste, is fluorescent white in shortwave UV and yellow-green in longwave UV and can color a flame yellow (for sodium). • Associated Minerals include halite, mirabilite, gypsum, glauberite, trona, blodite, alunite, picromerite, sborgite, borax and other borate and non-marine evaporite minerals. • Notable Occurrences include several California sites such as Searles Lake, San Bernardino County; Soda Lake, San Luis Obispo County; Bertram deposit, Imperial County and Furnace Creek district, Inyo County; as well as Camp Verde Yavapi County in Arizona and sites in Nevada, USA; Espartinas, Madrid Province, Spain; Siberia, Russia; Mt Etna, Sicily, Italy; Chile; Kazakhstan and Canada. • Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, environment of formation, associations, cleavage, taste and fluorescence. Hardness: 7 Quartz Rock Type: Sedimentary

Collection

RAGM Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2014.1

Source or Donor

Crater Rock Museum (unknown donors)

Acquisition Method

Gift

Dimensions

Height

2-1/8 in

Width

1-3/8 in

Length

2-1/4 in

Location

Location

Display Case

FS-11

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Permanent

Moved By

Curtis Gardner

Date

December 27, 2023