Specifications
Description
Locality: Red River Floodway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The Red River Floodway is a 49 km channel along Winnipeg's eastern edge, built to divert spring floodwater around the city. It was completed in 1968. Selenite was found in test holes and during construction from 1959 on, and rockhounds have collected rosettes from the floodway banks ever since. Later excavation to expand the floodway exposed more crystals that are normally about six metres underground.
Selenite is the clear, crystalline form of gypsum, a hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4·2H2O), the same mineral used to make drywall. Around Winnipeg, selenite grows as rosettes, many crystals radiating from a common centre, inside the thick clay left by glacial Lake Agassiz, which covered much of southern Manitoba during the Pleistocene. The crystals range from clear or very pale yellow to rich amber.
The clusters begin as balls of intersecting crystals. Larger crystals can then grow outward from the centre, and these are often twinned into a shape that resembles a duck's bill. According to the Fluorescent Mineral Society, these duck bill crystals are known only from the Red River Floodway deposit. Under ultraviolet light they glow brightly and keep glowing for a while afterwards.
This one of a kind Golden Duck Bill Selenite specimen from Manitoba, Canada features a striking rounded cluster of translucent golden amber blades layered over a smoky brown crystalline core. The specimen shows the classic “duck bill” form, with flattened, curved, tabular gypsum crystals radiating outward like petals. Several larger honey-yellow blades stand prominently across the surface, while smaller sparkling crystal points and darker smoky layers create strong depth, contrast, natural movement, and added collector interest from its phosphorescent quality.
Selenite is a crystalline variety of gypsum, a hydrated calcium sulfate mineral that forms in evaporite environments where mineral-rich waters leave deposits behind. Manitoba Golden Duck Bill Selenite is especially known for these unusual flattened blade formations, most commonly associated with the Red River Floodway area near Winnipeg and gypsum-rich clay deposits connected to the ancient Lake Agassiz basin. These specimens are admired for their warm golden, amber, smoky, champagne, and root-beer colouration, rosette-like clusters, and distinctive “duck bill” crystal habit, which make them very different from the long clear selenite wands found in many other regions. Collecting at the Red River Floodway is now restricted. The floodway is provincial flood-control infrastructure, and digging is only allowed with provincial permission, so new material rarely reaches the market.
Spiritually, Selenite is often associated with cleansing, clarity, calm, and peaceful energy. Golden and smoky-toned varieties are sometimes connected with grounding, emotional balance, gentle protection, and warm uplifting energy. The radiating form of Manitoba Golden Duck Bill Selenite is often appreciated as a symbol of focus, renewal, and natural harmony, making this specimen both a collectible mineral and an eye-catching energetic display piece, while its phosphorescent nature adds another unusual quality for collectors who appreciate rare optical features.
Chemical Composition: CaSO4·2H2O
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.