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Because gypsum dissolves over time in water, gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand. However, the unique conditions of the White Sands National Park in the US state of New Mexico have created a 710 km 2 (270 sq mi) expanse of white gypsum sand, enough to supply the US construction industry with drywall for 1,000 years. [ 18 ]
When the overall temperature of the cave started to drop below 56 °C (133 °F), the hydrothermal and sedimentary anhydrite crystals dissolved, and gypsum (CaSO 4 · 2 H 2 O) crystals formed. [7] The hydrated sulfate gypsum crystallized at an extremely slow rate over the course of at least 500,000 years, forming the enormous crystals found ...
Stalagmites, stalactites, and draperies by a pool. Lechuguilla Cave offers more than extreme size. It holds a variety of rare speleothems, including lemon-yellow sulfur deposits, 20-foot (6.1 m) gypsum chandeliers, 20-foot (6.1 m) gypsum hairs and beards, 15-foot (4.6 m) soda straws, hydromagnesite balloons, cave pearls, subaqueous helictites, rusticles, U-loops, and J-loops.
White Sands National Park is a national park of the United States located in New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range.The park covers 145,762 acres (227.8 sq mi; 589.9 km 2) in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a 275 sq mi (710 km 2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals.
The gypsum is mostly in the form of alabaster. There are several types of alabaster found at the site, including pink, white, and the rare black alabaster. This black alabaster can be found in only three veins in the world, one each in Oklahoma, Italy and China. Another form of gypsum can be found in the many selenite crystal formations. [4]
The Gyp Hills near Medicine Lodge were named for the gypsum of the Blaine Formation. The soluble gypsum, anhydrite and dolomite produce many caves in the area. [14] [15] The Big Basin of Clark County is a 1.2-mile (2 km) diameter, 115-foot (35 m) deep, dissolution collapse feature that formed by the dissolution of salt beds in the subsurface.
Geologic map of the Michigan Basin. The Michigan Basin is a geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan.The feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip toward the center of the peninsula.
Geological map of Mammoth Cave National Park, incl. St. Louis Limestone Outcrops of the St. Louis Limestone near Frenchburg, Kentucky. The St. Louis Limestone is a large geologic formation covering a wide area of the midwest of the United States.