John Betts' Photo Gallery
6QH-4Y3Galena, Quartz
Dimensions: 16 cm x 11 cm x 6.5 cm
Large gray metallic galena crystals up to 20 mm across with transparent colorless quartz crystals up to 24 mm long. The galena crystals exhibit hoppered growth, skeletal crystals with rounded edges that make them look like they melted.
Note the many small cavities visible throughout the galena.
Size overall: 16x11x6.5 cm
5X0-CVMGalena
Solution cavity in galena that was exposed when a galena crystal cleaved. The undercut and irregular shape of the cavity is evidence that the cavity was caused by natural dissolution of the galena, not by man-made microabrasive blasting.
Field of view approximately 6 mm.
TUC-X84Quartz
Dimensions: 33 mm x 18 mm x 17 mm
Doubly-terminated transparent colorless quartz crystal with flat basal pinacoid termination face (rare) on one end that has complex crystallization patterns on the surface. Many smaller quartz crystals are scattered around the sides.
33x18x17 mm
Mindat.org Photo of the Day - 1st Dec 2010
RMK-561Quartz
6.4cm long pseudomorph after epidote.
29H-GWDTourmaline
Slices are 4 cm.
[Originally uploaded as liddicoatite. May be
05G-NYUDiamond
Dimensions: 7 mm x 7 mm x 5 mm
Overall size of mineral specimen: 7x7x5mm
1.88 carat brown octahedral crystal.
L2R-RTWQuartz
Dimensions: 15 mm x 10 mm x 9 mm
Classic Babel-Quartz specimen, a variety of quartz so named because the crystal formed in layers resembling the ancient Tower of Babel. Overall size: 15x10x9 mm Ex Ex. John A. Manley ca. 1890s
XCC-84XSkutterudite
Dimensions: 8 cm x 5 cm x 3 cm
Heavy mass of solid skutterudite with low-relief crystals on the surfaces that were open to cavities allowing for uninterrupted growth. Overall size of mineral specimen: 8x5x3 cm. Size of individual crystals: 1-5 mm.
709-KV9Copper
Dimensions: 9 cm x 5 cm x 1.5 cm
Sculptural formation of native copper crystals that formed inside a thin fracture that restricted growth to a narrow width. The crystals are sharp and well defined, exhibiting spinel-law twinning. No damage. Overall size of mineral specimen: 9x5x1.5 cm. Size of individual crystals: 1-4 mm.