Aviemore Selenites

Aviemore selenite (gypsum) crystals are found in a freedom camping area on the edge of Lake Aviemore with easy access

Selenites

The selenites are located some 250m down the road from the entrance to Waitangi Station. This area is well used by campers during the summer months—being well perched up above the lake.

During wet weather the track into the site gets dug up exposing the crystals. The crystals can also be found along the roadside in the clay banks.

I have check out areas across the road from the drive in and down at the lake shore where the clays are very similar to that higher up but nothing was found.

Gypsum is formed under high evaporative conditions in sedimentary rocks. In some conditions it forms the desert rose form of gypsum.

The mineral gypsum has several varieties that differ by the shape of the crystals and their textural arrangements. The variety called gypsum alabaster is made of fine grained crystals. The satin spar variety is made of tiny fibrous crystals and has an attractive silky lustre. The most famous variety of gypsum is called selenite, which is characterized by colourless and transparent crystals such as found at Avimore.

Apparently gypsum will form in any environment in which there is high evaporation of marine waters, so how did it form here—was this area once undersea, was it formed at the same time as the limestones in the Waitaki Valley?

By the way selenite means ‘ moon rock’ in Greek.