Quartz (SIL-0011)

specimen number:
9273119

location:
Potrero Chico, Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

description:

Very large lustrous glassy gemmy grouping of double terminated smoky quartz crystals. These exhibit some skeletal growth in show inclusions as well. This is a rather large example for this locality and species, in super condition all around with no points of attachment.

The Potrero Chico canyon, located just outside the town of Hidalgo in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, is a famous natural feature that has historically seen localized limestone quarrying and lime production rather than metallic ore mining. Geologically, the area is a massive, breached anticline within the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, where ancient tectonic stress and the underground movement of a Jurassic-aged salt dome forced local Cretaceous limestone strata into steep, near-vertical walls and spires rising up to 2000 feet. While the region is surrounded by broader industrial quarry operations supplying the massive cement plants of Monterrey, the immediate canyon area saw small-scale stone extraction and traditional lime kiln activity by locals throughout parts of the 20th century. Large-scale exploitation within the canyon effectively ceased as its environmental value became recognized, culminating in its integration into the Sierra del Fraile protected area and its transformation during the 1990s into an internationally renowned destination for big-wall sport climbing.

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