Fluorite with Calcite

specimen number:
2092179

location:
Lowville, Lewis Co., New York, USA

description:
An unusual locality specimen, green cubic crystals of fluorite to 0.4 cm in size are covering most of both sides of matrix. Minimal chipping present. Crystals of calcite are present as well.

Lowville, New York, located in Lewis County, is a noted locality for high-quality fluorite crystals found within the Black River Valley. Geologically, these specimens occur in hydrothermal veins and solution cavities within the Ordovician-aged Lowville Limestone and Pamelia Formation. The fluorite typically forms as transparent to translucent cubic crystals, often displaying a delicate light green, colorless, or pale yellow hue, frequently associated with minerals like calcite, celestine, and occasionally strontianite. Historically, this area has not been a site for large-scale industrial mining of fluorite for commercial flux or chemical use. Instead, the deposits were primarily uncovered during 19th and 20th-century quarrying operations for road metal and building stone, with significant mineral finds documented during active quarrying periods from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Today, the locality is highly regarded by collectors for its classic New York mineral specimens, particularly those recovered from the historic Roaring Brook and various local limestone quarries.

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