The crystal mountain, Egypt

Crystal Mountain is located between the Bahariya and Farafra areas. .it is about 90 km from Farafra, about 160 km from Bahariya, and 10 km from Agabat, are no Quartz crystals, They are probably Barite (Schwerspat, BaSO4) and/or Calcite crystals (Kalkspat, CaCO3), which to ascertain at the hardness of the crystals easily. Quartz (SiO2) has the hardness 7, Barite and Calcite the hardness 3.5-3.0 (after Mohs-scale). Quartz crystal can scratch glass, Barite or Calcite can it not.

The origin of this Crystal Mountain is interesting. The hill was opened during works at the road from Farafra to Bahariya by chance and destroyed in part. The material was installed into the road. Today is the Crystal Mountain a popular stop for the tourists.

Still more interesting is the geological context. The hill is not a paleokarst cave with columnar-shaped stalagmites. It is a subvolcanic vault, which was emerged probably during the Oligocene age. The visible layers are e.g. White Desert limestone of the Khoman Fm.* (Late Cretaceous age), as well as a younger coal seam and hydrothermal impregnated reddish to brownish ferruginous layers.

The strata are broken or brecciated and intensely with each other folded. It is to be ascertained intense heat. The coal seam e.g. was transformed to anthracite (?). The crystals have increased out of climbed hydrovolcanic solutions. The hot solutions were high concentrated with BaSO4 and/or CaCO3, which had been solved from the sediments. The solutions have penetrated into all cavities. After cooling of the solutions the crystals could increase. It were formed columns or round domes with crystals within.

#undiscovered_egypt
#discover_egyptian_desert
#camping_in_egypt