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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I'm going to break down my Upper Peninsula posts as I finish going over them, so they're going to be out-of-order, but kind of an organized out-of-order, if that makes sense.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Resistant to freeze-thaw cycles, the JS was a popular building stone. An 1875 issue of the Mining Journal of Marquette (MI) reported the stone was fireproof as it was tested during the Great Chicago fire, when "Lake Superior brownstone walls stood intact while marble fronts crumbled."

Jacobsville Sandstone.
Distinct layers of gritty red sandstone. Topped with a thinner lens-shaped white layers within the red, including spotted sections. There is a rock within one of the white layers, firmly wedged in place. Smaller rocks are consolidated in places. The red coloration is from iron oxide. Mottled, spherical spots with sharp boundaries from leaching and bleaching.
Quartz-rich to feldspar-rich sandstone.
Though the sandstone has low permeability, it acted as an aquifer with water traveling through crack and fissures. About 25,000 cubic-meters of water as withdrawn daily for human use in 1985.
Deposited during the final Rigolet Phase of the Grenvillian Orogeny about 1010-980 million years ago.
Purple Sharpie for scale.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Though the formation was well-cemented and of low porosity, it acted as a mostly unconfined aquifer with water traveling through cracks and fissures. Covering an area of 4,363 square miles, it produced approx. 6.5 million US gallons of freshwater per day for human use in 1985.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Jacobsville Sandstone displaying distinct layers bounded by darker red lines. Stained red by hematite after deposition, the white spots are where groundwater leached iron from the formation. The stone is quartz- and feldspar-rich with low permeability. Deposited about 1.01 Ga to 980 Ma.

Distinct layers of gritty red sandstone with some small white spots and darker red layers marking pulses of formation. The red coloration is from iron oxide. Mottled, spherical spots with sharp boundaries from iron leaching and bleaching.
Quartz-rich to feldspar-rich sandstone.
Though the sandstone has low permeability, it acted as an aquifer with water traveling through crack and fissures. About 25,000 cubic-meters of water as withdrawn daily for human use in 1985.
Deposited during the final Rigolet Phase of the Grenvillian Orogeny about 1010-980 million years ago.
Purple Sharpie for scale.

Jacobsville Sandstone.
Distinct layers of gritty red sandstone with some small white spots and darker red layers marking pulses of formation. The red coloration is from iron oxide. Mottled, spherical spots with sharp boundaries from iron leaching and bleaching.
Quartz-rich to feldspar-rich sandstone.
Though the sandstone has low permeability, it acted as an aquifer with water traveling through crack and fissures. About 25,000 cubic-meters of water as withdrawn daily for human use in 1985.
Deposited during the final Rigolet Phase of the Grenvillian Orogeny about 1010-980 million years ago.
Purple Sharpie for scale.

Jacobsville Sandstone.
View from the top of gritty red sandstone's rough, darker red layer. The red coloration is from iron oxide.
Quartz-rich to feldspar-rich sandstone.
Though the sandstone has low permeability, it acted as an aquifer with water traveling through crack and fissures. About 25,000 cubic-meters of water as withdrawn daily for human use in 1985.
Deposited during the final Rigolet Phase of the Grenvillian Orogeny about 1010-980 million years ago.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

JS is composed of 27% nonundulatory- & 27% undulatory-quartz, 23% K-feldspar. The way a mineral darkens as a thin section under crossed-polars can be diagnostic of how it formed. Undulatory quartz is deformed and has a wavy extinction, nonundulatory quartz grains go extinct as one unit.

The purple/brown/tan formation with swirly woodgrain pattern, is the Orienta Formation of immature lithic sandstone with some beds of fine conglomerates.

A large V-shaped divot in the formation pointing to a lens of damp rock supporting green vegetation. The ground is littered with pieces that have fallen off the wall.

Intreped, baggy-clothes-wearing, wild-haired nerd taking photos with a phone and clutching a guide to Roadside Bedrock and Mining Geology of the Upper Peninsula Michigan, United States by Elisa J. Piispa and Steven D.J. Bauman.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Four distinct facies: conglomerate, lenticular (lens shaped) sandstone, massive sandstone, and red siltstone. Mostly quartz, feldspar, fine-grained silt, with volcanic clasts, Jacobsville’s heavy mineral suite is 84% ilmenite, 4-5% leucoxene, 4% garnet, 3% apatite, 3% zircon, and 1% tourmaline.

Wall of tan to brown blocky and layered Jacobsville Sandstone. There are also some scraggly plants.

$Image showing the muddy, wet trench at the bottom, and grass and tree-lined top of the Jacobsville Sandstone. There is a mix of light tan to dark brown throughout the wall. The top layers are lighter in color with blocky fractures. Middle area is a bit darker with breakage that is thinner. The bottommost layer somewhat greenish-tan to black fine sediments with scoops of material gouged out.$ The grassy top of the formation rolls over the sandstone cap, and there is a diagonal crack in the upper left. Within the middle section cross bedding of red and tan sand are visible. Upper layers show the spotting and iron leaching on the thicker red sandstone. The lower third are crumbly and coated in broken debris.

The grassy top of the formation rolls over the sandstone cap, and there is a diagonal crack in the upper left. Within the middle section cross bedding of red and tan sand are visible. Upper layers show the spotting and iron leaching on the thicker red sandstone. The lower third are crumbly and coated in broken debris.

Another view of the lower half of the formation. The middle section shows sand dunes and waves, while the lower half has a shallower incline that collects more rubble from above. Additionally the bottom of the formation shows finer grain sizes, steeper waves, and swirling patterns.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

This formation is in the depression in the larger V-shaped area within Baraga County, on the dark line separating the tan and beige areas. By Perry G. Olcott - USGS (pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_..., linked to from pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_...), Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?...

Map of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It has its counties outlined and labeled, plus four colors designating the Jacobsville Sandstone formation. The beige areas do not have Jacobsville, the other areas notate the thicknesses of the formation within those areas. Tan is 0 to 100 feet thick, light brown is 100-1,000 feet thick, and brown is greater than 1,000 feet thick. "Figure 137. The Jacobsville Sandstone formation is about 1,000 feet thick along the southern shore of Lake Superior."

View of Lake Superior and the Keweenaw Peninsula with its deciduous trees showing fall colors. The Jacobsville Sandstone formation is at the viewer's back for this photo.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

The Jacbosville Sandstone (JS) is the youngest formation of the Keweenaw Supergroup. It filled the mid-continental rift that was tearing current North America apart. The rifting began 1.1 billion years (Ga) ago, continuing for about 200 million years (Ma). Long wall of exposed JS along M-41.

Wall of red and somewhat white stone topped with trees and grass, next to a busy road. The Jacobsville Sandstone extends long out of the photo's view to wards the west.

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Dave Rodland @daverodland.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Good morning butterflies, it's #MineralMonday again! Of quartz, we're still celebrating the winner of #MinCup26! 🧪⚒️💎

Qurtz exhibit, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I knew exactly where you were from that quartz display! I need to visit Carnegie again someday.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Southbound drive over the Mighty Mac, Mackinac Bridge, a large suspension bridge (the largest in the Western Hemisphere) connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas over the Straits of Mackinac that connect Great Lakes Michigan and Huron.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Northbound drive over the Mighty Mac, Mackinac Bridge, a large suspension bridge (the largest in the Western Hemisphere) connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas over the Straits of Mackinac that connect Great Lakes Michigan and Huron.

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Susie Leopold @blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I have a ton of photos from visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it was absolutely gorgeous, with peak fall foliage and stupid 89°F temps on Saturday. I want to thank everyone for suggestions! I used the roadside guide and a ton of determination to do more than I should have, but it was worth it!

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

One of the most frequent daydreams people share with us is a wish to win a specimen of the Champion. This year, you can.

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Drew @drewavery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

And once again a key bit of history

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Congratulations to our Mineral Cup 2026 Champion Quartz! For #MinCup26, we collectively chose a nostalgic beauty of resilience as persistence as our champion. Please celebrate #Quartz, a friend to humans since time immemorial! www.mineralcup.org/about/2026-q...

A single quartz point, deep violet in its core and entirely clear around the outside, with ghostly traces of the crystal's former shape inside, as well as a few tiny bubbles.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This has been a weird year with some challenges we just couldn’t fix in time. We have ideas on what to do, but hearing from you makes all the difference. Please fill out our Players Survey and give us your thoughts on what’s important to you! www.mineralcup.org/2026/players...

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Congratulations, Quartz! After a decade of #MinCup, this key rock-forming mineral of optical tricks is the #MinCup26 Champion! Due to intense manipulation attempts in the final hours, the exact winning margin is still being audited. Please join us tomorrow for celebration!

A clear double-terminated quartz crystal with petroleum inclusions. Credit: John Sobolewski

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Gawen Jenkin @gawenjenkin.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Add a scale bar and it is considerably more interesting… (A younger me for scale, in Namibia)

Geo-geek looking pleased with themselves next to what is billed as the largest natural quartz cluster on display 3.5 m high, 14.1 tons

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tanterei.bsky.social @tanterei.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hard choice again in #mincup26 finals, but I'm in for #Bergkristall (or #Quartz). Apart from its usefulness for time keeping its use in decorative goblets in the 16th century is fascinating mastery! Images from Fed. Art Collection Saxony: skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Result/Index...

A decorative cup in the shape of a galleon intricately cut from quartz some time in the 16th century in Milano.
Source: https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/117995

A goblet made of a golden, intricately decorated, base holding a mantle made of quatz. Topped by a lid of gold and quartz, with an ivory figurine on top.

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authodizer @doktrock.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Re-upping this #Quartz aka rock crystal vase on display at the Prado for #MinCup26 !⚒️

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Dr. Erik Klemetti Gonzalez @eruptions.site · 01/10/2026

I tend to lay low during the Mineral Cup, but I will just leave this Clovis point here for all to enjoy. It ain't cuprite. #MinCup26

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FGQuartz @fgquartz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Not all glass is created equal. 👀 Quartz glass can handle extreme heat, thermal shock, and demanding industrial conditions that ordinary glass simply can’t. So, what makes it so special? fgquartz.com/what-is-quar...

fgquartz.com

What Is Quartz Glass? Definition, Properties & Uses | FGQuartz

Quartz glass explained: composition, SiO2 purity, JGS grades, properties, pricing & sourcing guidance. From FGQuartz, manufacturer since 2005.

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Boudinage are one of the most spectacular geologic structures and some of my favorite rocks. The boudins are the eye-shaped lenses of rock wedged between the white quartz layers. This happened when the rocks were being stretched by tectonic forces. The eye-shaped lenses, augen… 👇🏼 #MinCup26

Boudins of amphibolite layers (metamorphosed basalts) that were stretched between quartz schists (Norway). Photo credits: Haakon Fossen.

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Dr. Christine Beavers @xtalgrrl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I have to be #TeamQuartz on this one. Quartz is used as a pressure standard in high pressure crystallography experiments. It's a reliable friend in a stressful situation! #minCup26

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

For the watch fans on team #Quartz this #MinCup: Did you know there's a calibration contest?

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 01/10/2026

I went to Geneva a few weeks ago and spoke on a panel about the nature of time for a Geneva Watch Days event. While I was there, on a lark, I entered a competition to most precisely calibrate a Swiss watch. And today I found out that I won! 😃 www.instagram.com/reel/Dd6hUTB...

Me peering through a little magnifier at a tiny watch mechanism connected to some monitoring equipment, while making adjustments with a small screwdriver

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Naturae Lapides @naturaelapides.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The time for quartz has come. Only quartz offers us such beauty as this chlorite quartz, where a plant world seems frozen for eternity. #QuartzDeservesToWin www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... #MinCup26

chlorites intégrées dans un cristal de quartz géométrique

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spooky murwolf the wereduck 〓〓🏳️‍🌈𓅄✊🐺🪄🎡 @murduck.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Quartz is our beautiful friend, Going back in time without end: Infinite variations, Bold or subtle gradations; And on Quartz, so many wonders depend. VOTE QUARTZ #MinCup26

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It doesn't take much editing to make xkcd 2501 about #MinCup. marshdeer.github.io/xkcd2501-gen...

Custom variant of xkcd comic 2501: Average Familiarity.

[Ponytail and Cueball are talking. Ponytail has her hand raised, palm up, towards Cueball.]
Ponytail: Minerals are second nature to us MinCup fans, so it's easy to forget that the average person probably only knows graphite and halite.
Cueball: And quartz, of course.
Ponytail: Of course.
[Caption below the panel]
Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

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Maria Gorick @mariagorick.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Bwa Gwyn (The White Arch) near #Rhoscolyn. Enduring fierce winds and storms, this spectacular sea arch, sculpted from #Quartzite, is a monument to the resilience and beauty of #Quartz #TeamQuartz #MinCup26 #YnysMon #Anglesey

A massive white quartzite arch rises from the sea beneath a blue sky.

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hematite for color and #quartz for structure in the sandstone of Arches National Park (which looks *exactly* like the license plate). #MinCup26

mineralcup.org

Vote in Finals — Mineral Cup & Ore Cup

Vote in Cuprite vs Quartz Credit: Tony Peterson and Harold Moritz

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“Quartz stands as one of nature’s most versatile and enduring creations. With its simple chemical formula yet endless structural variations, it embodies both the beauty and complexity of Earth’s geology.” You never forget your first. Quartz! #MinCup26

share.google

Quartz Mineral: Formation, Properties, Uses & Crystal Varieties

Discover how quartz forms, why it is found almost everywhere on Earth, and how this crystal became essential in geology, technology, gemstones, glass, and modern industry.

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Elizabeth V @geolizzy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Tough choice for me today, but I’m going with #quartz because I’m ready for it to finally win #MinCup26

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Cranberry Gneiss, Mesoproterozoic, 1.05 Ga; Appalachian Mt.s, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Gneiss is a metamorphic rock that high temp & pressure have caused the minerals in granite to separate into light & dark bands. The light bands are quartz. #MinCup26 #QuartzDeservesToWin

A banded rock with bands of dark mineral and white quartz.

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Cas✨// Snap @snapcracklepoppies.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#MinCup26 FINALS 🤩 If it were against anything else, cuprite would have my vote, but I NEED Quartz to finally get its win~ it just feels right that the mineral that makes up 12% of the earth’s crust gets its accolades 🥺 📣 Let’s go, team SiO2

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MineralExpert.org @mexporg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Crystalline pink #Quartz from Lavra da Ilha, Minas Gerais, Brazil. #MinCup26 #MinCup #mineral #crystal #mineralogy

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MineralExpert.org @mexporg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Large #Quartz cluster with #Gwindel from Puiva, Ural Mts., Russia. #MinCup26 #MinCup #mineral #crystal #mineralogy

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authodizer @doktrock.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A cluster of #Quartz crystals from the Tucson show ⚒️🧪 #MinCup26

A cluster of light green, elongated, quartz crystals, probably 10 or so cm across, pointing in all different directions. Label says

Quartz
1,500 (not sure if that's a price?)

Huanggang Mine, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
#02705 K

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Quartz is a common mineral, with some very important and uncommon properties. One is piezoelectricity. When quartz is squeezed, it generates an electric charge. Together, quartz and earthquakes can promote the formation of gold nuggets, that can be quite large. #Quartz #MinCup26

Native gold wrapped around white quartz.

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Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Vote #quartz! I found this doubly terminated Herkimer “Diamond” in NY a few years ago by cracking tons of dolostone searching for vugs coated in small quartz crystals (druzy) that are black from hydrocarbons. This piece opened, but not enough to let the crystal fall. I kept it like this b/c it’s rad

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Herkimer diamonds are naturally double-terminated quartz crystals with exceptional clarity, mined primarily in Herkimer County, New York. Double termination is very rare in quartz. Link for more info in ALT! #Quartz #MinCup26

"Herkimer diamond" quartz crystals. More at: https://geology.com/articles/herkimer-diamonds.shtml

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A geologic dyke (or dike) is a sheet-like body of rock that cuts vertically or steeply across the layers of pre-existing older rocks. In this case, a quartz dike. These cross-cutting relationships allow relative dating of geologic features. #Quartz #MinCup26

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DTwyman @dtwyman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

2026 calls out for versatile quartz which under stress when rubbed or crushed triboluminescences, shining rather than crushed. Tough & adaptable quartz converts light & vibrations into understandable sounds & visuals, humans & quartz are ubiquitous on earth but not in the galaxy this is Quartz yr.

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🌌Forebodings of Éskʷətayit @joxter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm going graphite again this #MinCup26 match for the whole being one of the first minerals to ever form & the being used by humans since the neolithic. Both are amazing contenders, but #Graphite juuust outdoes #Pyromorphite for me.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 4 Linked by archaic translations and mineralogical misunderstandings, the quarterfinals are ending in hexagons with vivid pyromorphite vs writeable graphite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo between translucent lemon-yellow hexagonal crystal jutting out of a mass of shiny black bubbling minerals and metallic silver graphite hexagon with crosshatched surface set even within a matte translucent white rough crystal mass.

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OUGS Social Media @ougeolsoc.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Two of my winners head to head, but it has to be #halite for me in #MinCup26 Quarterfinal 3, for its ability to move mountains. Look what salt does to the Austrian Alps at Hallstatt, Austria. Saving halite's role in ocean chemistry and currents for the semis. C'mon #TeamHalite get those votes in!

Cross section of Austrian Alps S to N at Plassen, showing Permian/Triassic salt rock, Haselgebirge Fm

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CRB @crossbaumann55.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If I weren't already in the Halite camp, all these clever poems would begin to pull me over. But fluid inclusions? Trapped organisms? That should be a closer for anyone still on the fence. Halite!

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#Halite may just be one of the most sung-about minerals. Let's build a #HalitePlaylist! First up: Shawneetown by The Longest Johns "Whisky's in the jug, boys, and wheat’s in the sack We'll trade 'em down to Shawneetown, and we'll bring the rock salt back" #MinCup

m.youtube.com

Shawneetown | The Longest Johns

YouTube video by The Longest Johns

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