Heulandite

specimen number:
2062445

location:
Upper New Street Quarry, Paterson, Passaic Co., New Jersey, USA

description:
Lustrous slightly translucent colorless crystals of heulandite measuring to just under 2.0 cm in size on matrix. In great condition. Choice miniature for this classic locality.

The Upper New Street Quarry in Paterson, New Jersey, was a historic trap-rock mining operation active primarily from 1893 to 1925, after which commercial extraction wound down and the site was eventually built over. Geologically, the quarry is situated within the First Watchung Mountain, which consists of an Early Jurassic basalt flow formed roughly 200 million years ago during the breakup of Pangaea. Within the cooling fractures, vesicles, and cavities of this dark igneous rock, mineral-rich hydrothermal solutions deposited a famous suite of secondary minerals. Among these, heulandite formed as distinct, pearly, translucent crystals often prized by mineral collectors for their glassy luster and delicate crystal habits alongside other zeolites.

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