{{Short description|Silicate mineral}} {{Infobox mineral | boxbgcolor = #747827 | boxtextcolor = #fff | name = Vesuvianite | category = Sorosilicate | image = Vesuvianite-242685.jpg | alt = | caption = Vesuvianite from the Jeffrey Mine in Val-des-Sources, Quebec | formula = Ca<sub>10</sub>(Mg, Fe)<sub>2</sub>Al<sub>4</sub>(SiO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>5</sub>(Si<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>)<sub>2</sub>(OH,F)<sub>4</sub> | IMAsymbol = Ves<ref>{{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}}</ref> | strunz = 9.BG.35 | system = Tetragonal | class = Ditetragonal dipyramidal (4/mmm) <br/>H-M symbol: (4/m 2/m 2/m) | symmetry = ''P''4/nnc | unit cell = ''a'' = 15.52 Å, ''c'' = 11.82 Å <br/>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 = ''n<sub>ω</sub>'' = 1.703–1.752<br>''n<sub>ε</sub>'' = 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 = <ref name=Mindat>[http://www.mindat.org/min-4223.html Mindat with location data]</ref><ref name=HBM>[http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/vesuvianite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy]</ref><ref>https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Vesuvianite Mineralienatlas</ref> }}
'''Vesuvianite''', also known as '''idocrase''', is a green, brown, yellow, or blue silicate mineral. Vesuvianite occurs as tetragonal crystals in skarn deposits and limestones that have been subjected to contact metamorphism.<ref name=HBM/> It was first discovered within included blocks or adjacent to lavas on 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.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Vesuvianite|volume=27|page=1063|first=Leonard James|last=Spencer|authorlink=Leonard James Spencer}}</ref>
The specific gravity is 3.4 and the Mohs hardness is {{frac|6|1|2}}. The name "vesuvianite" was given by 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. Several other names were applied to this species, one of which, "idocrase" by René Just Haüy in 1796, is now in common use.<ref name="EB1911"/>
A sky bluish variety known as cyprine has been reported from Franklin, 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-like vesuvianite, also known as ''California jade'', ''American jade'' or ''Vesuvianite jade''. ''Xanthite'' is a manganese rich variety. Wiluite is an optically positive variety from Wilui, Siberia. Idocrase is an older synonym sometimes used for 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, Pakistan.]]
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br> == 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