Cavansite

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Name/Title

Cavansite

Entry/Object ID

2004.1.47

Description

Assemblage Zone: pegmatite dikes Chemical Composition: Ca(VO)Si4O10(H2O)4, Hydra Crystal System: Orthorhombic System Description: Common Name: Cavansite Group Name: zeolite Chemistry: Ca(VO)Si4O10(H2O)4 Location: Waghuli, Pune District, India Description: Bluish teal with white fuzzy crystals around them. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Color is greenish-blue to ocean blue. Luster vitreous to pearly. Transparency transparent to translucent. Crystal System: Orthorhombic Crystal Habits radiating acicular crystals forming spherical crystal clusters. Cleavage perfect in one direction. Fracture conchoidal. Hardness 3 - 4 Specific Gravity is approximately 2.33 Streak is blue. Associated Minerals include zeolites such as stilbite and heulandite as well as calcite, apophyllite , babingtoniteand quartz. Other Characteristics: larger crystals show an unusual internal reflection. Best Field Indicators are color, associations, locality and crystal habit. Fracture: Conchoidal Hardness: 3 Calcite Luster: Vitreous Occurrence: In a brown tu® partly ¯lling a fault ¯ssure (Lake Owyhee State Park, Oregon, USA); in a vesicular basalt and red tu® breccia, as cavity ¯llings and in calcite veinlets (Chapman quarry, Oregon, USA); in pores of altered basalt breccia and tu®aceous andesite (Poona district, India). Notable Occurrence is Poona, India and Columbia Co. and Malheur Co., Oregon, US Rock Type: Sedimentary Specific Gravity: 2.1-2.5 Streak: is blue Variety: Cavansite is a beautiful and rare mineral. It was only discovered in the last 30 years and is found in only a few locallities. By far the best crystals come from the famous zeolite quarries in Poona, India. Crystal aggregates consist of spherical rosettes with jutting pointed crystals. The deep blue color of even the smallest cavansite crystals is truly amazing. A beautiful blue cavansite rosette perched on top of the muted colors of the typical zeolites makes a dramatic crystal association. Cavansite's rarity and beauty explain its recent popularity.

Collection

Suomynona Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2004.1

Source or Donor

Suomynona Mineral Collection

Acquisition Method

Donation

Dimensions

Width

6 in

Depth

3 in

Length

9 in

Weight

5.65 oz

Dimension Notes

Dimension taken at widest points

Location

Location

Display Case

FS-3

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Exhibit

Moved By

Ian C.

Date

January 29, 2025

Notes

Major mineral groups installation