Egypt

Field of view 18 mm. Collection M. Kampf No 72-056a.

Sample with 9x6x3cm - May of 2000

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

Picture width is 3mm. Nice clear crystal of Pirssonite. Depth of field is achieved with CombineZM.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

A sharp, terminated individual crystal of trona. Acquired from Richard Tayler Jason Evans collection

© Jason J. Evans

A lustrous, burnished brown, spear-like, stellate Iron hydroxides, primarily goethite after Marcasite floater specimen from the White Desert of Egypt.

Transparent single crystal of green peridot variety of forsterite with well formed termination. Nearly flawless internally. See the article Famous Mineral Localities: Saint John's Island, Egypt in Mineralogical Record, Nov.-Dec., 1976. Ex. A. Stevenson collection #690. Overall size of mineral specimen: 11x11x4 mm. Size of individual crystals: 11 ...

© 2001 John H. Betts

Libyan Desert Glass, a impact glass found in the Great Sand Sea along the Libyan-Egyptian border. This specimen weights 22 grams and is about 55 mm wide. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

© H. Raab

Picture width is 2,5mm. Small clear crystals of Gaylussite grown on Northupite. Depth of field is achieved with CombineZM.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

Halite, white hoppered crystals up to 2 cm with yellowish tabular crystals of trona - Ex Marco Marchesini coll., April 2005 - Coin diameter 15 mm

© Dott. Geol. Marco Barsanti - geoman1@tin.it

Picture width is 60mm. Nice specimen of pink Trona crystals. Color comes from microorganic inclusions.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

Nice clear crystal of Pirssonite. Picture width is 3 mm. Depth of field is achieved with CombineZM.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

The fragment, from specimen BM1911.370, displaying extraordinary glassy fusion crust to one face; with original museum label from the British Museum Collection in London. Michael Farmer collection.

© Michael Farmer

Very nice 4 mm crystals of trona. The white spheres on the rigt one are burkeite. Lit.: Rivista Mineralogica Italiana, 2009 nr 4. Collected by Marco Marchesini. Photo and collection: Paul Mestrom

© pmestrom@home.nl

A group of Libyan Desert Glass I have purchased over the years. Measurements given are for the largest piece back right. Total parcel is 63.9 grams in mass. These pieces were selected for color, clarity, natural finish, and interesting inclusions. Some of the darker inclusions are dark brown when backlit, and a bluish color in reflected light. ...

Deeply indented mass of pale yellow "Libyan desert glass". Purchased 4/2024 at Maine Mineralogocial & Geological Society show from Multifaceted Minerals.

© 2024 E. L. Clopton

The specimen was found by Marco Marchesini, with whom I exchanged it during the micromount event in Cremona, Italy, in september 2025. Collection and photo Henk Smeets.

© www.tomeikminerals.com

Single crystal, 4cm long.

© Elijah Fayerman

dimension sample cm. 13 x 7 photo and collection Luigi Chiappino

Perfect up to 1,5 cm crystal. In my personal collection. Photo Simone Citon

© Simone Citon

Geminato entirety The whole 11 mm Specimen and photo by Enrico Bonacina

© Enrico Bonacina

Libyan desert glass, a silica impactite resulting from high temperatures associated with meteorite impact or airburst.

© 2019 Michael C. Roarke

A dramatic, large 774 gram piece of Libyan Desert Glass. Libyan Desert glass or Great Sand Sea glass is found in areas in the eastern Sahara, in the deserts of eastern Libya and western Egypt. Fragments of desert glass can be found over areas of tens of square kilometers. It is considered to be an impact-caused material of meteoritic origin, made ...

© Rob Lavinsky & MineralAuctions.com

Tabular crystal size 0.4 mm Collection and photo Roberto Bosi

© Roberto Bosi

photo and collection Joachim Esche modified Wild M420 photomacroscope with apozoom, Stackmaster linear actor and control and Canon EOS 550D

© Joachim Esche 2019

A lemon yellow tektite commonly referred to as Libyan Desert Glass. It has a mass of 65.1 grams and quite nice color. The surface has been naturally sandblasted from long term exposure to the elements. I have heard the term ventifact used to describe pieces like this. Purchased at the 2023 Tucson gem show.

Canon 5D mk III, Zeiss Mikrotar (Luminar) 40 mm 1 : 4.5 with bellow. Stacking with Wemacro.

© Hans van t Zelfde

1.8 x 1.4 x 0.6 cm. A sharp, very gemmy crystal from the old classic locality for gem peridot. Literally the oldest, perhaps dating back to the time of Cleopatra and the Egyptian Empires, anyhow. This island mine is now submerged underwater and inaccessible, gone forever. Specimens can still be obtained in old collections from time to time, and ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

This is a sharp, lustrous crystal of gemmy olivine (peridot) from the Ernie Schlichter Collection (2 x 1.1 x 0.6 cm).

© Trinity Minerals and Houran

Approx 8cm. Luca Bertelli specimen, Munich Show 2009

© J.Ralph 2009

Pseudo of goethite after marcasite. Looks a little bit like a "Nana sculpture" from Niki de Saint Phalle... Specimen size 5 x 3.4 x 2.3 cm. See second image. Christian Bracke Collection.

© Christian Bracke

This is a fabulous Peridot crystal from the famous locality for gem and carving grade peridot of ANCIENT times (i.e. as far back as biblical times!). This material is EXTREMELY hard to come by on the market and is in both color and form quite distinct from the much more common Pakistani material mined in the late 1990's. Additionally, the clarity ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

An exceptionally rare specimen purchased from EM Gunnell in 1953! This is from the source of the peridot gems of the ancient world, a locale now long gone and to my knowledege not collected from after the early 1900s at latest. These peridots were found MANY years ago and remained for centuries, until Pakistan's Soppat valley material came out in ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

Sample not crystallized with 11x6x3cm - May of 2000

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

Selection of large smoky quartz crystals, largest is 20cm tall. Don Edwards specimens, Bakewell Show 2009.

© J.Ralph 2009

Lybian silica glass as a prehistoric tool.

© De Nul, Richard

Originally formed as marcasite crystals on the sea bottom, these unusual specimens later were pseudomorphed to iron hydroxides, primarily goethite, and make for amazingly sculptural and attractive examples of crystalography in action. They form all kinds of wild shapes but these are among the more dramatic! This radial burst of crystals looks ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

A superb gem quality peridot from the classic locality for the mineral! Glassy transparent undamaged terminated peridot crystals are forming a 2.0 x 1.6 x 1.0 cm cluster without matrix. Complete all around. The quality is excellent for a large "thick" crystal from this old locality. Ex Lloyd Tate collection. Ref: The Mineralogical Record 7 (6): ...

© Dan & Diana Weinrich Minerals

Large (25cm) group of Trona crystals. Luca Bertelli specimen, Munich Show 2009.

© J.Ralph 2009

crystal size: up to 1 cm Photo & Collection: Foschi-Tagliabue

© A.Tagliabue & F.Foschi

Crystalline group with microcline crystals up to 2cm - Overall size 9x8x4cm - October of 2004 - From Fabio Bigazzi collection

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

A flawless, gem crystal of Peridot measuring 1.3cm x 1.1cm x .5cm. Specimens from this historic locale are nearly impossible to find today. Jasun McAvoy photo.

© Jasun McAvoy & mineralman.com

Tektite - (Impactite) - December of 2002. More or less to at thirty million years it collided an asteroid where today it is the desert in Egypt and that it exploded before reaching the soil, generating temperatures of the order to 1800 degrees that made to melt the sand and the rock, giving the " Desert Glass "

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

Transparent single crystal of green peridot variety of forsterite with well formed termination. Nearly flawless internally, some exterior flaws. See article: Famous Mineral Localities: Saint John's Island, Egypt in Mineralogical Record, Nov.-Dec., 1976. Ex. Cranbrook Institute #376-12. Overall size of mineral specimen: 14x7x6 mm. Size of ...

© 2003 John H. Betts

Small emerald fragments from the Umm Kabu (Um Kabu) mining area, Wadi Gimal. Overview: 40 mm.

© richard@denul.net

Picture width is 80mm. Nice specimen of Thenardite crystals.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

Sample with 10x6x4cm - May of 2000

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

Hollow epimorph of Goethite after marcasite. Field width: 3.5 cm. P Haas photograph and collection (no. 46-014).

© Peter Haas

Sample with 8x6x3cm - May of 2000

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

Classic desert-rose formation of barite crystals in rosette shape. The barite crystals have sand inclusions giving them an opaque, brown color. Has original from the U.S. National Museum (Smithsonian). Ex. Robert C. Linck (1905-1970); Ex. Smithsonian No. 86580. Overall size of mineral specimen: 7x6x4 cm. Size of individual crystals: 3-4 cm.

© 2003 John H. Betts

Burnished brown to black, knobby, arborescent goethite after marcasite floater specimen from the White Desert of Egypt. This specimen has one expert repair, which is barely noticeable. One of the major "branches" has been reattached to the "trunk". Ex Bruce Carter Collection. 7.2 x 7.0 x 3.1 cm

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

These dramatic pseudomorphs were originally formed as Marcasite crystals on the ocean bottom. These unusual specimens were later pseudomorphed to iron hydroxides, primarily goethite, making for a very three-dimensional and attractive mineral specimen. These radial bursts of crystals were found in the remote western desert of southwest Egypt and ...

© Russ Rizzo & Cal Neva Mineral Company

RRUFF Project Specimen ID: R060357 Locality: Libyan Desert, Sahara Desert, Egypt Source: Herb Obodda 017 Pale tan amorphous fragment

© Rruff Project

Tektite also known as "lybic glass". Luca Toffolo's photo and collection.

© Luca Toffolo 2009

Marcasite replaced by iron hydroxides, primarily goethite. These occured as floaters in the sand of the White Desert, and erode out over time. French dealer Alain Carion and his son made the long trek out to collect them several times, but I am told that it is difficult now. The specimen features cube-liek crystals sticking out every which way ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

Two in situ layers of dogtooth calcite crystals with a layer of flowstone in the middle.

© Ryan Eagle

Massive sample with 5,5x4x3cm - May of 2000

© Photo & Collection of Martins da Pedra

1.8 x 1.4 x 0.6 cm. A sharp, very gemmy crystal from the old classic locality for gem peridot. Literally the oldest, perhaps dating back to the time of Cleopatra and the Egyptian Empires, anyhow. This island mine is now submerged underwater and inaccessible, gone forever. Specimens can still be obtained in old collections from time to time, and ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

Libian desert glass (lechatelerite). Specimen is from the collection of the British Museum of Natural History #1906,362 (1975). Scale at bottom of image is an inch with a rule at one cm.

© Rock Currier

Talk about rare gem crystals - these bright peridot crystals were mined in Egypt in the early 1900s, and are just not around anymore, unless they turn up out of the blue from some old collection. All four of these crystals are terminated and completely gemmy. A real collectors item for sure! 0.7 x 0.7 x 0.2 cm, 0.6 x 0.5 x 0.3 cm, 0.6 x 0.5 x 0.3 ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

A 1 cm crystal of Forsterite from St. Johns Island, Red Sea, Egypt. Specimen and photo: Knut Eldjarn.

© Knut Eldjarn

Image width: 30 mm.

© richard@denul.net

20.5 x 0.7 x 0.7 cm. A fulgurite is formed when lightning flashes into desert sand and literally melts the sand around the impact site into a glass cast following the shape of the electrical discharge. Obviously, large fulgurites, being thin-walled and elongated as they are, are fragile and hard to obtain. This is a fairly good-sized specimen, ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

Originally formed as marcasite crystals on the sea bottom, these unusual specimens later were pseudomorphed to iron hydroxides, primarily goethite, and make for amazingly sculptural and attractive examples of crystalography in action. They form all kidns of wild shapes but these are among the more dramatic! They were found in the remote western ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

Pseudo of goethite after marcasite after shell. Specimen size 4.6 x 3.7 x 1.1 cm. Christian Bracke Collection.

© Christian Bracke

4.4 x 1.9 x 1.5 cm. Now here is something rare on the market - a quartz crystal (with inclusions) from Mt. Sinai in Egypt, known much better for its prominent place in Old Testament history than for mineral specimens. The inclusions are listed as clay, but they appear a bit more like chlorite.

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

A nice chunk of Libyan desert glass showing the typical yellow green colouration and the markings caused by sand blasting, one side is rough and hackly so i guess this part was not exposed to the elements? There are a few greyish opaque spherical objects embedded in some cavities, my guess is they are just some kind of mineral that has been ...

© Jason J. Evans

Pseudo of goethite after marcasite. Specimen size 5 x 4.1 x 3.2 cm. Christian Bracke Collection.

© Christian Bracke

Picture width is 4mm. Nice Octaeder of Northupite with some small clear crystals of Gaylussite. Depth of field is achieved with CombineZM.

© Elmar Lackner 2007

Forsterite var. peridot. Specimen is from the collection of Arthur Montgomery (1973). Scale at bottom of image is an inch with a rule at one cm.

© Rock Currier

Forsterite. Specimen is from the collection of Arthur Montgomery (1973). Scale at bottom of image is an inch with a rule at one cm.

© Rock Currier

Forsterite (var. Peridote). Specimen size: 1.4 x 1.2 x 0.3 cm.

3.4 x 2.9 x 2.9 cm. A fascinating floater specimen of goethite that has replaced (pseudomorphed) a spiky ball of crystallized marcasite retaining its crystal form perfectly. The triangular form is repeated in small sub-faces all over the crystals. Beautiful specimens from the Egyptian desert. Now, I am told it is too dangerous to go get these, ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

An beautiful emerald on quartz matrix found at the Cleopatra Mines. The crystal is 25 x 11 mm.

© richard@denul.net

Gemmy green forsterite variety peridot crystal. Label is about 7 cm long. Harvard Mineralogical Museum specimen 94654. P. Cristofono photo.

© 2007 Peter Cristofono

Emerald on quartz matrix. Crystal is 15 mm long.

© richard@denul.net