Calcite
The varieties of calcite, CaCO3, are so numerous and so varied that an entire display case at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is devoted to just calcite. Calcite is the most abundant of the carbonate minerals.
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A calcite sample which looks something like a cactus. From the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona. The top is about 3 cm across.
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Calcite growing with metallic copper. Calcite crystal about 3-4 cm across. From the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan.
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Calcite formation from Coahuila, Mexico. Sample 8-10 cm across.
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Three more of the almost endless variety of calcite growth patterns. The left sample is about 15 cm across.
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Calcite formed with sphalerite, the black crystals, and with fluorite, purple crystals. Elmwood Mine, Smith County, Tennessee. Calcite crystal about 6-8 cm.
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