Glendonite - Specimen

Locality: Olenitsa River, White Sea Coast, Kola Peninsula, Russia

Description: Glendonite is a fossil of cold water. It is calcite that has taken over the shape of ikaite, a hydrated calcium carbonate (CaCO₃·6H₂O) that only stays stable near freezing. Ikaite grows in cold, alkaline, organic-rich sea-floor mud. When the water warms or the crystal is brought out, ikaite breaks down within hours to days, and the calcite that replaces it keeps the original spiky crystal form. That is why geologists use glendonites as clues to past cold-water conditions.

These come from the Olenitsa River on the White Sea coast of Russia's Kola Peninsula, where they occur in young coastal deposits from the Holocene, the time since the last ice age. Dating them has been tricky. Radiocarbon suggests about 8,500 to 8,900 years old, while a uranium-thorium date of about 4,100 years is considered a better fit with the region's history.

The name comes from Glendon in New South Wales, Australia, where the form was first described. Glendonites are now known from rocks spanning hundreds of millions of years, and scientists have built a global database of them to track ancient cold periods.

These pieces form spiky clusters. The large size is two conjoined clusters.

In crystal traditions, glendonite is associated with learning and intuition.

Chemical Composition: CaCO₃ (calcite pseudomorph after ikaite, CaCO₃·6H₂O)

Chakra: Third eye, Crown and Soul Star

Small
Approximate Size of 1 piece: 2.5cm x 2.5cm x 2cm
Approximate Weight of 1 piece: 10g

Medium
Approximate Size of 1 piece: 3.5cm x 2.5cm x 1.5cm
Approximate Weight of 1 piece: 14g

Large
Approximate Size of 1 piece: 4cm x 2.5cm x 2.5cm
Approximate Weight of 1 piece: 20g

Quantity: 1pc

We do our best to buy quality products- although not every rock is the same. If you choose to purchase the "staff pick option", we will select the best of the batch for you. Otherwise, it will be at random from the larger batch we have in stock.