Description

Detailed Description

This is a cavity full of deep orange chabazite crystals, of a slightly more orange colour compared to most from this find. The crystals are sharp and lustrous, with twins visible upon closer inspection. The area on the left of the specimen in the first photo that has the appearnce of being indistinct is actually a group of well-defined crystals that just didn’t come out well from that angle, but you can see them in the second photo. In excellent condition. Stands perfectly for display as photographed. A sweet specimen.

About the Minerals and Localities of the Bay of Fundy (click here)

About These Red Chabazites From Wasson’s Bluff

In one relatively small zone at Wasson’s Bluff, the chabazite crystals are a particular dark red hue – more intense and lighter than a brown, and most are a bit deeper and darker than a brick red or deep orange. This zone has produced sporadically over history. Most often, days of very hard work in this area yield absolutely nothing, but a few isolated finds in recent years have produced a small number of excellent pieces – these specimens are from those finds.

In historic times, these particular deep-coloured chabazites from Wasson’s Bluff were known as “acadialite”, named for Acadia (which is the English for L’Acadie, the colonial-era name for this part of Canada). The name “acadialite” is sometimes still seen on older collection labels, sometimes as a species name and sometimes as a varietal name. Under current nomenclature, these specimens are known as chabazite, with “acadialite” now considered a historical synonym.