# Vesuvianite > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vesuvianite > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vesuvianite.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesuvianite > Source revision: 1325818251 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Silicate mineral}} {{Infobox mineral | boxbgcolor = #747827 | boxtextcolor = #fff | name = Vesuvianite | category = [Sorosilicate](/source/Sorosilicate) | image = Vesuvianite-242685.jpg | alt = | caption = Vesuvianite from the Jeffrey Mine in [Val-des-Sources, Quebec](/source/Val-des-Sources%2C_Quebec) | formula = Ca10(Mg, Fe)2Al4(SiO4)5(Si2O7)2(OH,F)4 | IMAsymbol = Ves{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}} | strunz = 9.BG.35 | system = [Tetragonal](/source/Tetragonal) | class = Ditetragonal dipyramidal (4/mmm)
[H-M symbol](/source/H-M_symbol): (4/m 2/m 2/m) | symmetry = ''P''4/nnc | unit cell = ''a'' = 15.52 Å, ''c'' = 11.82 Å
Z = 2 | color = Yellow, green, brown; colorless to white, brown-black, light green, emerald green, violet, blue-green to blue, pink, purple, red, black, commonly zoned | habit = Short pyramidal to long prismatic crystals common, massive to columnar | twinning = Fine twin domains observed | cleavage = Poor on {110} and {100} very poor on {001} | fracture = Sub conchoidal to irregular | tenacity = Brittle | mohs = 6–7 | luster = Vitreous to resinous | refractive = ''nω'' = 1.703–1.752
''nε'' = 1.700–1.746 | opticalprop = Uniaxial (−) | birefringence = 0.004–0.006 | pleochroism = slight in colored varieties | streak = White | gravity = 3.32–3.43 | density = | melt = | fusibility = | diagnostic = | solubility = Vesuvianite is virtually insoluble in acids | diaphaneity = Subtransparent to translucent | other = striated lengthwise | references = [http://www.mindat.org/min-4223.html Mindat with location data][http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/vesuvianite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy]https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Vesuvianite Mineralienatlas }} '''Vesuvianite''', also known as '''idocrase''', is a green, brown, yellow, or blue [silicate mineral](/source/silicate_mineral). Vesuvianite occurs as [tetragonal](/source/Tetragonal_crystal_system) [crystal](/source/crystal)s in [skarn](/source/skarn) deposits and [limestone](/source/limestone)s that have been subjected to contact [metamorphism](/source/metamorphism). It was first discovered within included blocks or adjacent to [lava](/source/lava)s on [Mount Vesuvius](/source/Mount_Vesuvius), hence its name. Attractive-looking crystals are sometimes cut as gemstones. Localities which have yielded fine crystallized specimens include Mount Vesuvius and the Ala Valley near Turin, [Piedmont](/source/Piedmont).{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Vesuvianite|volume=27|page=1063|first=Leonard James|last=Spencer|authorlink=Leonard James Spencer}} The [specific gravity](/source/specific_gravity) is 3.4 and the [Mohs hardness](/source/Mohs_hardness) is {{frac|6|1|2}}. The name "vesuvianite" was given by [Abraham Gottlob Werner](/source/Abraham_Gottlob_Werner) in 1795, because fine crystals of the mineral are found at Vesuvius; these are brown in color and occur in the ejected limestone blocks of [Monte Somma](/source/Monte_Somma). Several other names were applied to this species, one of which, "idocrase" by [René Just Haüy](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Just_Ha%C3%BCy) in 1796, is now in common use. A sky bluish variety known as [cyprine](/source/Cyprine_(mineral)) has been reported from [Franklin, New Jersey](/source/Franklin%2C_New_Jersey) and other locations; the blue is due to impurities of copper in a complex calcium aluminum sorosilicate. ''Californite'' is a name sometimes used for [jade](/source/jade)-like vesuvianite, also known as ''California jade'', ''American jade'' or ''Vesuvianite jade''. ''Xanthite'' is a [manganese](/source/manganese) rich variety. [Wiluite](/source/Wiluite) is an optically positive variety from Wilui, [Siberia](/source/Siberia). Idocrase is an older synonym sometimes used for [gemstone](/source/gemstone)-quality vesuvianite. Also, ''Vessonite'' and ''Vassolite'' are variant spellings commonly encountered in the gem trade. [[File:Wezuwian (Vesuvianite) - Alchuri, Shigar Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.jpg|thumb|left|Vesuvianite - Alchuri, Shigar Valley, [Gilgit-Baltistan](/source/Gilgit-Baltistan), Pakistan.]]









== References == {{reflist}} == Additional sources == * {{cite book|last=Deere|first=W. A.|display-authors=etal|date=1962|title=Rock Forming Minerals|volume=1|pages=113–120}} * [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Vesuvianite.shtml Webmineral data] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060215172323/http://simplethinking.com/palache/vesuvianite.stm Vesuvianite at Franklin-Sterling] * [http://www.mindat.org/min-7490.html Mindat - Cyprine variants with location data] {{Commons category|position=left|Vesuvianite}} {{Authority control}} Category:Calcium minerals Category:Magnesium minerals Category:Aluminium minerals Category:Mount Vesuvius Category:Gemstones Category:Geology of Italy Category:Sorosilicates Category:Tetragonal minerals Category:Minerals in space group 126 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vesuvianite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesuvianite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesuvianite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.