Analcime

specimen number:
2312361

location:
Zlatolist, Krumovgrad, Kardzhali, Bulgaria

description:
Choice large sharp translucent crystal of analcime with little attached matrix. Neat locality example for the species, in excellent condition.

The region around Zlatolist, located in the Krumovgrad municipality within the Kardzhali Province of southern Bulgaria, has a complex geological history rooted in intense Paleogene collision-related volcanism within the Eastern Rhodopes. During this epoch, massive volumes of intermediate and acid lava flows and volcaniclastic sediments were deposited in shallow marine and terrestrial settings, later undergoing extensive hydrothermal alteration and low-temperature diagenesis. Within the cavities, amygdales, and microdruses of the local basaltic and andesitic rocks near Zlatolist, rare secondary mineral assemblages developed. These cavities host a variety of well-crystallized zeolites and associated minerals, including quartz, calcite, harmotome, mordenite, heulandite, and analcime. Analcime itself is a tectosilicate zeolite mineral that typically forms pseudo-cubic or trapezohedral crystals in such mafic volcanic vesicles, arising from the interaction of alkaline solutions with volcanic glass and primary silicates.

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