Golden Calcite with Barite

Superb orthorhombic crystals of Golden Barite occur in cavities in large concretions in the 70-million-year-old ancient Pierre Shale Seaway on Elk Creek, South Dakota. The crystals can be colorless, yellow, amber, root beer, or wine colored; are quite transparent; and are often implanted on yellow calcite crystals. The concretions were first formed by ancient Mollusks that perished on the seafloor and were rolled into small fossil balls by Ocean currents. Later, nearby Meteorite impacts sent large Tsunami waves down the seaway rolling the small fossil balls into the larger septerian concretions we find exposed today.

The smaller rhombohedral crystals forming the yellow Calcite, came from the dissolved shells of the ancient sea life that once thrived in this warm shallow seaway. The Barium for the Golden Barite, leached from the volcanic ash generated from the Rocky Mountain Uplift, that was caused by Plate Tectonics. Then, during the last Ice Age 40,000 years ago, erosion exposed the concretions and allowed Pleistocene meteoric waters to dissolve, transport and precipitate the calcium carbonate and barium sulfate to form the crystals we find in the septarian concretions. Both the Calcite and Golden Barite crystals fluoresce a bright yellow-white and greenish-purple respectively under shortwave ultraviolet light. The Golden Barite phosphoresces too!