Thomsonite with Natrolite
specimen number:
9302347
location:
Queqertarsuaq, Disko Island, Qeqertalik, Greenland
description: Several pockets within this matrix are lined with micro crystals of thomsonite and natrolite. In good condition. Qeqertarsuaq, situated on Disko Island in the Qeqertalik municipality of western Greenland, has a rich history tied to early Inuit hunting grounds, Norse exploration, and later whaling and colonial outposts established in the 18th century. Geologically, the island is dominated by Paleocene-Eocene plateau basalts formed during the continental breakup of the North Atlantic, resting upon older Cretaceous-Tertiary sedimentary layers containing fossilized flora and coal. Mineralogically, the region is internationally famous as the world's primary terrestrial occurrence of massive telluric, or native, iron, which formed when hot basaltic magma assimilated carbon-rich sedimentary rocks, a rare natural smelting process that produced massive iron blocks historically utilized by local Inuit to forge cutting tools long before European contact.
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