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calcite
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A photograph of three fragments of calcite made up of one gray cube and two smaller transparent fragments. calcite crystal structure Diagram showing several shapes of natural calcite crystals. The top section illustrates four untwinned crystal habits, each with different geometric forms. The bottom section displays two examples of twinned calcite crystals, highlighting how their structures differ. Red dashed lines and axes indicate symmetry and orientation. Steep white chalk cliffs rise sharply with sparse trees along the top edge on the eastern coast of Mon island, Denmark. calcite Zincite in white calcite from Franklin, N.J. Relations between lamellar twinning and cleavage planes in dolomite and calcite. This difference can be discerned best when thin sections of the minerals are viewed under a microscope. Diagram of double refraction: an unpolarized light ray enters a transparent calcite crystal and splits into a straight ordinary ray and an upward-bending extraordinary ray.
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calcite summary
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Basalt sample returned by Apollo 15, from near a long sinous lunar valley called Hadley Rille. Measured at 3.3 years old.
(Bed) Rocks and (Flint) Stones

calcite: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Terence P. Scoffin, An Introduction to Carbonate Sediments and Rocks (1987), is a well-illustrated, easy-to-read book about limestones and dolostones. Both Albert V. Carozzi, Carbonate Rock Depositional Models: A Microfacies Approach (1989), an extensively illustrated treatise of the author’s ideas about the geneses of carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks; and Richard J. Reeder (ed.), Carbonates: Mineralogy and Chemistry (1983), a collection of summaries that deal with the carbonates, including calcite, are written at the professional level.

R.V. Dietrich

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Added mineral quick-fact box. Sep 24, 2026
Modified link of Web site: Minerals.net - Calcite. Aug 02, 2026
Add new Web site: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources - Lite Geology 42: Calcite (PDF). Apr 05, 2025
Add new Web site: International Gem Society - Calcite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information. Feb 21, 2025
Add new Web site: PNAS - Catalysis and chemical mechanisms of calcite dissolution in seawater. Dec 02, 2024
Add new Web site: International Journal of Scientific and Research Publication - Synthesis and Characterisation of CaCO3 (Calcite) Nano Particles from Cockle Shells Using Chitosan as Precursor. Oct 10, 2024
Add new Web site: Mindat - Calcite. Aug 28, 2024
Add new Web site: Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery - The Mineral Calcite. Jun 05, 2024
Add new Web site: Scientific Reports - Structural evolution of calcite at high temperatures: Phase V unveiled. Mar 13, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Wisconsin-Madison - Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey - Calcite. Jan 20, 2024
Add new Web site: Natural History Museum of Utah - What is Calcite. Oct 25, 2023
Add new Web site: Minerals.net - Calcite. Sep 15, 2023
Add new Web site: University of Minnesota - Common Minerals - Calcite (and Aragonite). Jun 07, 2023
Add new Web site: Geosciences LibreTexts - Calcite Group Minerals. Mar 18, 2023
Add new Web site: Geology.com - Calcite. Feb 03, 2023
Replaced photograph of chalk cliffs. Apr 25, 2013
Photographs of travertine, chalk, and coquina added. Mar 19, 2010
Added new Web site: Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery - Calcite. Feb 05, 2009
Article revised and updated. Dec 08, 2006
Article added to new online database. Jul 26, 1999
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