gypsum - sand selenite rose from a dry lake near Oujda, Morocco - hand/display specimen which locally forms dunes

which locally forms dunes

which support the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge

which subsequently became lithified into a sandstone

This is uniformly grain-sized

gypsum - sand selenite rose from a dry lake near Oujda, Morocco - hand/display specimen which locally forms dunesSelenite gypsum sand rose CaSO4 2H2O Selenite gypsum sand roses form in seasonal desert lakes as they dry. Selenite is typically transparent, but when it crystallizes in sandy conditions it forms rosettes of flattened crystals, the rose petals, which are either encrusted with sand or with sand embedded throughout. The color of the gypsum crystals depends on the color of the sand in that dry lake. These Moroccan examples are particularly attractive.