What Does the Largest Gypsum Geode in China Look Like?

What Does the Largest Gypsum Geode in China Look Like?

国内最大的36吨巨型石膏晶簇晶洞什么模样？

 

An unveiling ceremony was held for a giant gypsum geode at Henan Geological Museum on August 26. As a new treasure of the museum, the giant gypsum geode weighing 15 tons officially met the public thereafter.

大河网讯 8月26日，河南省地质博物馆举行巨型石膏晶洞揭幕仪式，又一镇馆之宝、一块重达36吨的巨型石膏晶簇晶洞标本揭开其神秘的面纱，正式与广大观众见面。

The unveiling ceremony. [Photo provided to dahe.cn]

The geological specimen, the witness of the earth’s 4.6-billion-year history, is not only the important physical evidence for us to reveal the earth’s secrets and explain how nature works, but also the foundation and lifeblood of geological museum.

地质标本是地球46亿年历史演变的见证，是人类揭示地球奥秘、解释自然规律的重要物证，也是地质博物馆的根和血脉。

The giant gypsum geode. [Photo provided to dahe.cn]

According to the introduction, this gypsum geode, discovered at the lead-zinc mining area on Bijia Mountain in Weishan county of Dali city, Yunnan province, is about 150 centimeters in length, 190 centimeters in height and 270 centimeters in width. Some of its columnar single crystals even exceed 1 meter in length with a maximum diameter of 40 centimeters. Within the geode, sparkling and clear columnar crystals of different sizes are distributed. The geode is well preserved, just like the Crystal Palace. As the largest gypsum crystal cluster ever found in China, it is not only a unique treasure of nature, but also a new popular science material for the geological museum.

据介绍，该石膏晶簇晶洞标本的长、高和厚分别为450、290和270厘米，重达36吨，产自云南省大理市巍山县笔架山铅锌矿区。其柱状单晶体最大直径可达40厘米，长可达1米以上，晶洞内分布大小不等的晶莹透亮的柱状晶体，原始晶洞保存完整，犹如水晶宫。这是国内迄今发现的最大的巨型石膏矿物晶簇，是独一无二的自然珍宝，为地质博物馆增添了新的地学科普素材。（中文来源/大河网 记者/何心悦 翻译/赵汉青 审校/张玉红）