everydaygeology: Everyday Mineral #2: Gypsum Gypsum is a calcium sulfate mineral. It commonly forms
everydaygeology:Everyday Mineral #2: GypsumGypsum is a calcium sulfate mineral. It commonly forms in dried-up lake beds due to the increased concentration of dissolved calcium as the lake water evaporates. Due to the way it is formed, geologists informally classify gypsum as an ‘evaporite” mineral along with other minerals that commonly form the same way. If you can, go visit White Sands National Monument in New Mexico- miles and miles of gypsum sand dunes that used to be a lake!Gypsum has several uses. Mainly, it is the chalky component of drywall (aka sheetrock or gypsum board). Gypsum rarely forms beautiful crystals (top photo) and more often forms fibers or chalky aggregates of small crystals (bottom photo). Due to the chalkiness, it was used in ancient times for plaster and mortar. More recently, Gypsum is used in fertilizers as a source of calcium. It is also used in some dietary substances for calcium content or texture. Photos- Top: Wikipedia, Bottom: U Minnesota Earth Sciences -- source link
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