American Mineralogist, Volume 66, pages 885'907' l98I

The largest crystals

PEreR C. Rtcrwooo
Schoolof Applied Geologlt
(Jniversityof New South |l'ales
Kensington,N. S.W. 2033, Australia

Abstract

No upper limit on the sizeof crystalsis to be expected,-butthe dimensionsand occurrences

of the largestknown crystalsin each of twenty-four categories(nine classes)of minerals are
presentedand discussed.The largestauthenticatedbrystal of any type is a beryl from Mala-
katna, MalagasyRepublic, being l8 m in length, 3.5 m in diameter,having a volume esti-
mated at 143m3 and a massapproximately380'000kg.

Introduction throughout the world, has, however, yielded much

data which is presentedhere for it has never pre-
Palache (1923) wrote, "How large can crystals
viously been brought together in a single com-
grow? What teacher of mineralogy but has been
pilation.
askedthis questionmany times. He would probably
reply that there is no limit but if he tried to tell of the The ComPilation
biggest that had been found he would find it difficult
to give an exact answer". Among the many improb- How best to presentthis data has been a problem
such as Pa-
able taleshandeddown from studentto studentis the for a list including every mineral species,
compile, would have
story of a mysterious locality in the Urals where a lache (1923) commenced to
and extremely difficult to
quarry was made inside a single feldspar crystal. And been both cumbersome
compilation gives (Table
yet there may be truth in this, for the undocumented produce. Accordingly, this
the mineral
report of such an orthoclasecrystal can be traced to t; th" lutg"tt known crystalsfor each of
used by Mason and Berry
Lindgren (1933,p.754).Its sizewas given by Hurlbut classesin the classification
compositions named in
(1968,p.14)thus ". . . in the Ural Mountains a quarry (1968,p.197).Each of the
separately listed and the
30 x 30 feet of unknown depth was opened in a iheir class titles has been
been con-
single feldspar crystal", and Kostov (1968, p.55) most common minerals-silicates-have
In addition' some data for or-
wrote "There are known, . . . orthoclasecrystalsl0 m sideredby subclasses.
x l0 m weighing up to 100 tons,.. ." Regrettably, ganic minerals are Presented.
like many giant crystalsit was not accurately mea- For each of the twenty-four mineral categories,
sured, so its true dimensions remain unknown. there are listed in Table I the crystalswhich have the
greatest
More than half a century has passedsincePalache greatestlength, the greatestvolume, and the
a single crystal has all three rec-
(1923)published,in this journal, a list of the largest mass. Sometimes
entries for a category have often
crystals known to him, and wrote "Will not every ords, but multiple
establish
reader of this magazinesupply such data as he pos- proved necessaryto encompassthese and
that sequence. Additional specimens
sesses?"The plea must have been unheededfor an ihe records in
has been in-
updatedlist did not appear,although Spencer(1928)' are also listed whenevera larger crystal
or where doubt existsthat it
Frondel (1935),and Jahns (1953) subsequentlyre- completelydocumented,
crystal. All data are given in SI units with
corded additional data on large crystalsof minerals is a single
measurements being indicated by an aster-
which were of particular interestto them. A more re- converted
or calculated parameters being en-
cent appeal (Rickwood, 1976)for such data was also isk and estimated
parentheses. Converted measurements
rewardedwith fittte response.An extensiveliterature closed by
(or two signifi-
search, and a multitude of letters to mineralogists have been rounded to the nearestcm

l /09I 0-088s$02.00
0003-004x/8 885
EE6 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS

Table l. The largest crystals of minerals

CLASS ASSIITIED
DIMENSIoNS(n) VOU'IIIE I{ASS DEI{S-MT REFERENCES
lxzx3(n3)(kg) (g/-3)

I. MTIVE ELEMEN'IS

a, Kmacite (q -ircn alloy) 0.92 0.54 0.23- ( o .0 3 E ) g3 (7.9o)

- (rgsE)
FESENKOV
Fe-Ni 0.13
Gressk, MiEk oblast,
u . s . s. R .

a2 cold *0.30
-Au (r9.3) (r96EPp.27E
STNXANXAS
Mother Lode,
2w)
Cali fomia,
u.s.A.

a< Sulphur 0.225 0. 165 ( <0 . 0 0 2 5 ) ( <s . 1 4 ) (2.05) de MIGIELE (Pes.

5
Cm.22. ro. 79)
PerticaE Mine, Urbino, (Figur 1)
Italy.

2. SULPIiIDES € SULPHOSALTS

(i)SULTHIDES € RELAIED
COilPOIJNN

bl stibnite 0.60 0.0s (0.0s) (0.001s) (6.ss)

' (4.63) f l A D A( 1 9 0 4 , p . 2 r ) .
sb2s3
P A T A C H (E1 9 2 3 , p . 3 6 2 ) .
Yokohi Mines, Ichinokawa,
Shikoku Island, Iyo
Prcvince, Japan,

b? Stibnite O.S8S 0.057 0.048 (0.00r6) ( 7. 4 r )

- (4.63) }|ANISct (Pors,Cm,
sb2s3
rE. I.50) (Figuro 2)
Ichinokara, Iyo,
Shikoku, Japan.

b. *0,25
Galena 0.25 0.25 c0.01s61 (rr8) c7.56) GREG6 r.ETTS6l
" Pbs (r8sE, p.41s).
Great Luey lr{ine, Isle PAIAGIE [r923,p.362).
o f l r { a n ,U . K . (Ftgue 5)

(ii)SULPH6ALTS

cr Tenkntite 0.3O (o. @3rE) (14.7') (4.61)

- PIN(I & HIT,soN
(Cu,Fe)
l2As4Sr3 (1977,p.33)
Tsmeb, Nmibia

c? Arp.rodite 0. lE 0,I5 8.12 (0.00324) (20.0e) (6.2)

- cUILLEWN(1964,p.1)
Ag8GeS6
( 1 9 7 2p, . r r s ) .
Bolivia

OXIDES AND HYDROXIDES

(i) OXIDES

-1 Coludite *0.76 0.61 ( ls, 4)

<0.0064 : 0 . 0 0 2 97 ) (s.2) H N T E Y( r 9 s 5 , p . 7 7 )
( Fe , N'l) (Nb , Ta)
206 PAGE(PeE.Cm.
Bob Ingersoll l{ine,
Dike No.l, Black Hills,
6 . 6 .E 0 )
S.Dakota, U.S.A.

dz Corodm 0.65 0. 40 (0.03s6) '152 (5.98) IIALL (1920,p.128,

Al2 03 (diil)
PTATE XXI)
nr.Mica Sidins. PAIA(}|E(1923,p. 363)
Transvaal, R.5.A. ( F I G U R E4 . )

cant figures) and calculations of volume and mass
have been based on the rounded figures, assuming
simple geometricalshapes.
For each crystal, only the original reference is
cited unlessit is in a rather obscurepublicatron,or a
later paper includes additional data. Several mea-
surements have been obtained from the book by
Sinkankas (1964\, but this author did not cire the
data sourcesso this information could not be veri-
fied. Books by Guillemin (1964, 1972)arc lisrs of se-
 RICKWOOD LARGEST CRYSTALS

lected specimenscontained in various museum col- literature (Dana and Brush, 1812, p.l5; Hurlbut,
lectionsand were most useful sourcesof information. 1968,p.156; Murdoch, 1943;Palacheet al., 1944,
However, occasionaldiscrepanciesin dimensions p.l0l) as having been found in the Copper Range,
have been noticed betweendata given by Guillemin Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, U.S.A' However,
and that supplied by curators.In theseinstancesthe Mr. A.Y. Johnstone(Pers.Comm.20.5.77)notedthat
information provided by museumcurators has been thesewere almost certainly crystal aggregatesand the
preferred. Note that Guillemin (1964) renumbered largest of the rare single crystals from the area was
the pagesfor each museum so that it is necessaryto only 4.4 x 3.2 x 3.2 cm.
know the location of the crystal before data can be L3 This crystal (Fig. l) is in the collection of
retrieved. the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milan, Italy. A
The crystalsrecordedhere merit inclusion by vir- sketch supplied by Dr. V. de Michele (Pers.Comm.
ture of their size and not their beauty. Indeed many 22.10J9) gives the listed dinensions which are more
of theselarge crystalshave irregular form and little accurate than those given by Guillemin (1964, p.l;
aestheticappeal.Very large crystalscan be difficult, 1972,p.5) and de Michele(1978,p.42).A small patch
if not impossible,to accuratelymeasureunless they of calcite adheres to the sulphur so that the true
are completely mined out of their matrix. Seldom weight is not known.
would a geologistbe presentthroughout such an op- Other notable sulphur crystalsare:
eration and so, of necessity,some dimensions may (i) one 18 cm long from Perticara,Urbino, Italy
have been obtainedfrom miners. It is also difficult to and kept in the Institute of Mineralogy, Milan, Italy;
ascertainthat theseare single entities and not aggre- Guillemin (1964,p.l).
gatesof smallercrystals.Hence,unlessan author has
specifically indicated that the material is a single
crystal, there has been a consciousrejection of all
data on "masses","aggregates","deposits'n,"shoots",
"pods", etc.
Notes on entriesin Table I
Almost all of the entries in Table I require com-
ment and to avoid an extensivelist of footnotesthese
comments are included in the text. The alphabetic
designation signifies the mineral category to which
the comment relates,and the subscript numeral in-
dicates the specific entry. Dimensions published in
Imperial units have been converted to metric units
and are given in parenthesesin thesenotes.
o1 This specimenis "... a monocrystalhex-
ahedrite , .." being describedas "an irregular bowl-
shaped mass,with an overall length of 92 cm and a
width of 54 cm: it attains a thicknessof about 23 cm
along the edgesbut is only 13 cm thick near the cen-
ter". (Dr. B. Mason,Pers.Comm.3.l.79).
The density of kamacite was found by Henderson
and Parry (1954)to be 7.90+0.02g/cm'.
As this is extraterrestrialmaterial, this entry is ad-
ditional to thoseof terrestrial minerals.
d2 Sinkankas(1964,p.280)mentioned ". . . oc-
tahedral plates to 12" broad. . ." (0.30 m) from an
unspecifiedlocation in California, but the Curator,
Fig. L The largest authenticated(terrestrial) NATIVE
Mineral Museum, Division of Mines and Geology,
ELEMENa| crystal by length, volume and mass. Sulphur,
Stateof California, U.S.A. cannotconfirm this occur- PerticaraMine, Urbino, Italy. This photographhas been supplied
rence.(Mrs. E.M. Learned,Pers.Comm. 28.9.79). by, and is producedby permissionof, Dr. V. de Michele, Museo
Very large specimensof copperare recordedin the Civico di Storia Naturale, Milan, Italy (Table 1-a3).
 RI CKIIOO D: l,tlRcEST CRYSTALS

(ii) ". . . presqueparfaitsde 15 d 20 cm. . ." from

Kuibichev, U.S.S.R. which are in the Fersman Mu-
seum, Academy of Sciences,Moscow, U.S.S.R.;
Guillemin (1972,p.98).
(iii) specimen32156ain the American Museum
of Natural History, New York, U.S.A. which is bro-
ken but still measures14 x 13 x 8 cm and came from
Cianciana,Sicily; Frondel (1935,p.473).
(iv) one 12.70 x 8.89 x 6.35 cm from Maybee
Quarry, Monroe County, Michigan, U.S.A. and
which is in the Cranbrook Institute of Science,Mich-
igan, U.S.A.; Mr. A.Y. Johnstone(pers. Comm.
20.5.77\.
(v) "Groups de gros cristaux parfait de l0 d 15
cm" from Conil, Cadiz, Spain and kept in the Mu-
seumof Natural Sciences,Madrid, Spain; Guillemin
(1964,p.l).
Graphite crystals 20 cm long have been reported
from unspecifiedlocalitiesin Sri Lanka; Weinschenk
(1900,p.292.297), Kostov (1968,p.105).
b, One 5 cm dimension is inferred. Note,
Wada (1904,p.zl) stated ". . . crystalsmore than 60
cm long were found". This specimen is in the Wada
Collection, Central ResearchLaboratory, Mitsubishi
Metal Mining Company, Yonu-Shi, Saitana pre-
fecture, Japan; it was found in lyo province which
has since been renamed Ehime prefecture; Namu
(1970,p.152).
bz One of a group of crystals (Fig. 2) in the
Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut, Universitiit
Hamburg, Germany; Dr. M. Hiinisch (pers. Comm.
18.1.80).Guillemin (1972,p.5) reported that the
length of the largestof thesecrystalswas 65 cm, but
the new measurementsdo not confirm that size.
However, Dr. Hiinisch reported that the group had
twice been repaired and "may be, the length once
wasabout 65 cm". The next largestcrystalis 52 x 2.9
x 3.25cm. Fig. 2. The largestauthenticatedS(ILpHIDE crystal by length.
Other notable crystalsof stibnite from this locality Stibnite, Ichinokawa, Iyo, Shikoku, Japan. This photograph was
are: supplied by, and is rcproducedby permissionof, Dr. M. Hiinisch,
(i) a 54 x7 x 4 cmcrystal,specimen15426nthe Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut, Universitat Hamburg,
Germany (Table l-b2).
Ecole National Superieuredes Mines, Paris, France;
Guillemin (1964,p.2;1972,p.27).
(iD a 42 x 4 x 4 cm crystal in the Museum of the of Sciencesof the U.S.S.R.,Moscow,U.S.S.R.is 35
Geological Survey, Pretoria, South Africa (pers. x 15 cm; Guillemin (1964,p.2; 1972,p.94-95).
Comm.,The Director,27.9.77\. b3 This specimen(BM 61213\is in the British
(iii) a 40 x 3 cm crystal in the Wada Collection; Museum (Natural History), London. Figure 3.
Guillemin (1972,p.8l). The Fersman Museum, Academy of Sciences,
(iv) a 40 cm crystal in the Facult6 des Sciences, Moscow,U.S.S.R.,has a cube of pyrite 25 x 18 x
Paris, France; Guillemin (1964,p.4; 1972,p.43). 15 cm from Aktchitao, Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R.
A cleavagefragment of orpiment (AsrSr)from ya- (Guillemin, 1964,p.4; 1972,p.98), and the Institute
kutia, U.S.S.R.in the FersmanMuseum. Academv of Mineralogy, Heidelberg,Germany has a pyritohe-
 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS
Fig. 3. The largest SULPHIDE crystal by volume and mass.
Galena, Great Laxcy Mine, Isle of Man, U.K.{composite cubo'
octahedra up to 25 cm, specimen BM 61213). Photograph
rcproduced by permission of the British Museum (Natural
History), London (Iable l-Q)'
dron of pyrite 20 cm (in diameter?) from Rio Marina,
Elba, Italy (Guillemin, 1964,P.l).
c1 This was stated to be a set of "tetrahedral
crystals up to 30 cm on an edge"-Pinch and Wilson
(1977, p.33) and a perfectly symnetrical shape has
been assumed.This is probably specimen 428 of the
Kegel Collection which is now part of the Roebling
Collection of the Smithsonian Institution; White
(1977, p.5lfalthough the latter stated the size as
12" x 12" (30 x 30 cm) with a 6" (15 cm) tetrahe-
dron.
c4 This is specimenC5l in the Cranfield Col-
lection of the SmithsonianInstitution, \{a5hington,
U.S.A. (Guillemin, 1972,P.lll).
Other notable sulphosaltcrystalsare:
(i) Tetrahedrite (Cu'rSboS")from a mine at Ira-
zein, AriCge,France.A tetrahedralcrystal with edges
15 cm in length and a massof 2.6 kg is in the mu-
seum of the University of Paris (Sorbonne), Paris,
France (Dr. P. Bariand, Pers. Comm. 28.11.80);it
was photographically documented by Bariand and
Bariand (1976, p.9G-l).
(ii) Proustite (AgrAsS,) from Schneeberg,Ger-
man Democratic Republic. A specimen mined in
1936 is reputed (Dr. P. Bancroft, Pers. Comm.
17.7.'19)to include a well terrrinated crystal 5 in. x 3
n. (12.7 x 7.62cm); it is in The Bergakademie,Frei-
berg, German Democratic Republic. Guillemin
(1964,p.4) reportedthat this academyhad a proustite
crystal, 8 cm X 3 cm, from Nieder Schlemma,Sax-
ony, Germany.
In his book, Bancroft (1973, p.la\ has a photo-
graph of a proustite crystal from Chaflarcillo, Ata-
cama. Chile which is 8.3 x 6.4 cm (Pers. Comm'
x 3.5 cm.
(iii) Bournonite (PbCuSbS3),Vibora Mine,
Machacamarca, Bolivia "... up to l0 cm ia 5i2s."-
Palacheet at., (1964,p.409). A larger crystal, 4.5 in'
diameter and I in. thick (11.43 cm diameter x 2.54
cm thick) is part of a group from Liskeard, Cornwall,
England, that comprisesspecimen42222n the Brit-
ish Museum CNatural History), London, England'
(Dr. P. Bancroft,Pers.Comm. 17.7.79).
(iv) Enargite (CurAsSn),Tsumeb,Namibia, 8 x 3
cm,-Pinch and Wilson (1977,p.24), and "... large
cleavagesto 2" x 3" (7.6 x 5.1 cm) at La Paz, Bo-
livia"; $inkankas(1964,P.318).
d, Hanley (1953)describedthe minerals at the
Bob Ingersoll Mine, Keystone District, South Da-
kota, U.S.A. and stated(p.77) that in Dike No. I the
wall zone of cleavelandite-quartz-muscovite pegma-
tite contains"Columbite, commonly in thin platesas
much as 2.5 ft. long (0.76 m) and 2 ft. wide (0.61
D), . . ." In Dike No. 2 the quartz-albite pegmatiteis
coarserat the 4,950ft. level than at the surface,"' ' ',
and columbite platesare as much as 2.5 ft. long (0.76
m) and 1.3ft. wide (0.40m) at this level." (p.79). Dr.
L- R. Page (Pers.Comm. 6.6.80)describedthese as
being ". . .very thin, as I remember,about one quar-
ter of an inch or less." (=0.0064 m).
d2 The dinensions of this crystal (Fig. 4) were
obtained by measurementof Hall's (1920)Plate XXI
and are larger than valuesreportedby Palache(1923,
p.363)who gave6l cm and 30 cm, the latter distance
being clearly in error. The shapeis roughly a cone on
a hemispherical baseand a volume calculated for this
form is only in accordwith the statedmassof 335 lbs.
(152 kg) if the density is 4.27 E/cm:' The crystal was
found at Cleveland Rhone Tributes, a working on
the left bank of Sudimani (or Sudimane) Spruit'
south of Manuel's Kop (or Manual Beacon),13.5km
NE of Mica Siding, about 25 km SW of Phalaborwa,
Transvaal,Republic of South Africa. It is on display
in the museum of the Geological Survey, Pretoria,
South Africa. Note that Guillemin (1964' p.l) erro-
neously statedthe massto be 160 kg.
d, This was recordedby Jahns(1953'p.569)to
be a crystal, howevet in the source reference Blake
 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTAT.

(1884, p.341) clearly stated it to be a ..mass,,an(

Ziegler (1914,p.656)was in no doubt rhat this was ar

verse orientation" and no doubt led to use of the

terial.to be "nearly pure columbite', a density of 5.2

ql1\'is more appropriate, so yielding a *iight of
825 kg.

crystals were given.

e2 "The world's finest specinens came from
Wood's and Low's chromite minesnear the pennsyl_
vania-Maryland border, Lancaster County, lennsyl_
vania; crystals to 7,, (12.8 cm) acrosshave been ie-

lation; ProfessorA. H. Jahnshasstated(pers.Comm.

25.4.77)that the specimenwas accuratelymeasured.
g The rhombohedraledgeshave been assrmed
equal on one face so that the volume is the product of
each of the dinensions and sin, 7g.0g". These three
This museumpossesses two other noteablebrucite setsof measurementsmay relate
specimensfrom this localitv: to the samecrystal
and hence the data of Descloizeaux(1g47, p7lO1
(i) " . . ^ cleavage .urfu* with longest dimen- may -
. : have been misquoted. Indeed, palache oi.
sion - 19 cm. ."; Frondel (1935,p.472). (1951,p.155)and Bancroft(t973,p.129)reporred "t the
(ii) A block with crystals l0 x g cm; Guillemin crystal
to be 20 x 6.5 feet (6.10 x l.9g n) and pa_
(19M,p.3;1972,p.t03)
lache (1923,p.363) previously indicated rtimensions
Sink6fia5 (1964,pp.339-340)reportedbrucite oc_ of6 x
2 m to have beengainedfrom an unstatedac_
curring as "Fine white cleavageplatesto 4" (10.2cm)
count by Descloizeaux.
x 7" (17.8cm) in marble from Wakefield, . . .,,.
Some other large specimensof calcite are:
f A spherical shape was assumedfor calcu_ (i) Two very large crystals recorded by Kelley
 RICKWOAD: LARGEST CRYSTALS 891

Table l. (continued)

CLASS
ASST'|MED
MINERAL, FORMULA6 (n)
DIMENSIONS VOLT'ME MASS =--
DENSIF REFERENcES
OCC-1'RRENCE x2x3 (n-) (ks) (c/m-)

dl Colunbite *0.61 0.5l (0.rs9) (s.2) B L A K E( 1 8 8 4 , P ' 3 4 I )

- Jl*lNS (1953,P.s69).
(Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)206
IngersoIl No.l, Black
Hills, S.Dakota,U.S.A.

(ii) HYDROXTDES

er Ferroan-Brucite *0.51 (2.40) B E R M A 6N W E S T( 1 9 3 2 ,

' (Mg,Fe) (oH) p . 3 1 3 ,F i s . l ) .
2
John-Manville Mine,
Asbestos, Quebec,Canada,

e, Brucite (2.40) S I N K A N K A (S1 9 6 4 , P . 3 3 9

-
Ms(oH)2
l{ood's and lpw's Mines,
Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, U.s.A.

el Brucite 0. 14 0.08 ( 1 .I 2 x 1 0 ) (o-27) (2.4o) F R o N D E (L1 9 3 5 , P . 4 7 2 )

-
Me(ffi)
z
Texas, Lancaster Couty,
P e n n s y l v a n i a ,U . S. A ,

4. HALIDES

f Fluorite ( s. 0 6 )
CaF2 (dim.)

A Dyke, Petaca Dis-

trict, N e wM e x i c o , U . S . A

(19,$0)from near the Harding Mine, Taos County,
New Mexico. The larger crystal "... is estimatedto
haveweighedat leastthirty tons (33,069kg) or possi-
bly as much as fofty tons (4,093 kg) before it was
partially mined." Cr. 365) and is shown in a photo-
graph; Kelley (1940,Fig. 3, p.364).
(ii) A polysynthetic scalenohedron of calcite
from Joplin, Missouri, U.S.A., with dimensions I m
x 40 cm is in the American Museum of Natural His-
tory, New York, U.S.A. (specimen32565);Guillemin
(1972,p.103).
h, This is specimen BM66038 in the British
Museum (Natural History), London, U.K. and is a
bundle of subparallel fibrous crystals.The measure-
ments s'ere made by the author and Mr. P. Tandy
(3l.10.80).
h2 This specimen is in the Musee de I'Afrique
Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium; Dr. M. Deliens (Pers.
Comm.20.8.79).Guillemin (1964,p.l) reportedthat
this museum had a larger crystal (1.5 cm long) from
this occurrence; however, Dr. Deliens has indicated
that during a recent re-examination of the entire col-
lection it was found that the crystal was malachite
and not gerhardtite.
There are few measurementsof nitrate crystals re-
corded in the literature but Dietze (1891,p.446) and
Osann (1894,p.584)did note that crystalsof daraps-
kite, Nar(NO')(SO.)'HrO at Officino "Lautaro",
Pampa del Toro, Chile had crosssectionalareasup
to I cm2.
i As the habit is statedby Palacheet al. (1951)
to be nearly equant, the secondand third dimensions
have been assumedequal. Note that Schaller (1930,
p.137) wrote that "some of the crystals are of im-
mense size, the largest one seen measuring 8 feet
Q.aa m) (c axis) by 3 feet" (0.91m). This crystal was
confirmed to exist by Dr. V. Morgan (Pers. Comm.
12.1.79)and is still in situin old underground work-
ings now closedby Federal mine regulations(Dr. J.
Siefke,Pers.Comm. 22.4.80).
j, If linear dimensions are calculated on the
basisof the axial ratios -0.6331:l:0.6462' then the
greatestlength is 2.20 cm.
j, Specimen 86453 in the British Museum
(Natural History), London, U.K. The crystals are
". . . as much as 6 mm acrossand are honey-yellowto
reddish-brown in colour." "The crystals are very flat,
and their contour is squarewith more or lessrounded
corners. They are formed of eight low pyramids, four
above and four below, directly above one another in
 RICKI{OOD: LARGEST CRISTALS

Table l. (continued)
ct"Ass
ASSIJMED
MI\ERAL, FORMULAG
---TdimnEIeE- DENSITY REFERENCES

5. CARBONATES, NITMTES,BORATES
IODATES

(i) CARBONATES

g Cal cite
(93 82) (254,252) (2.71') x o S T O V( 1 9 6 8 , p . s 3 6 )
CaC03

He lgustadi r,
Reydarfjtirdur, I ce land

Calcite
( 103.39) ( 2 8 0 ,r 8 7 ) (2.71) DESCLoIZEAU
( 1x9 4 7 , p . 7 7 0 )
CaC0"
He lgustadi r,
Reydarfjdrdur, Iceland

Calcite
CaC0 < *5 49 s.49 2.74 (79.06) (2 7r) D A N A€ B R U S H( r 8 7 2 , p . 6 S )
I cdland

( ii) NTTMTES

hr Soda nitre (nitratine) 0-I74

- (2 2s)
NaNoj
Taiapaca, ChiIe.

h2 Gerharctite _ -o)
Lu2(NO3) (0H)
0.003 o.ools o.o0l (4.sx10 (. .r . 5- J_ X
.^-5-
tU J (3. 40) D E L I E N S( P e r s . C o m .
3 2 0. 8 . 7 9 )
Likasi, Shaba, Zaire

(iii) BoMTES

i Kemite * 2. 4 4 0 9l (0.e1) (2.02) (3.854) 1.908 S O { A L L E (R1 9 3 0 , p F . 1 3 7 , 1 4 7 )

Na2B
407.4H20
PALACHEet al
Kraer, Ken Couty, (19st, p.336)
California, U.S.A.

pairs. The pyramids are so much rounded that the
k Palache(1923,p.363) wrote,,Gypsum Chile,
Braden Mine. . l0 ft. x 3 in. (3 met€rsx g cm) Lind_
gren"; however, Lindgren (1933, p.6g5) stated ,.A
crystal of gypsum l0 feet long and 2 feet in diameter
was found in a cave...". A squarecrosssectionhas
(ii) Talmage(1893,p.86) describeda remarkable
set of large selenite(CaSOo.2HrO) crystals from a
cave at South Wash, Fremont River canyon, Wayne
County, southern Utah, thus. . ..Cleaved slabs are
obtainablesix feet (1.83m) in length, and two and a
half feet (0.76m) in breadth. One of the longestper-
fect prismsyet obtainedextendsfifty one inches,. . ."
(1.30m).
I, Reid (1925, p.l2) wrote ..The most impor-
tant bodies,both as regardsquantity and quality, oc-
cur at the Dundas Extended,West Comet, and Ade
laide Mines where crystals of hyacinth red and deep
scarletcolour, l0 to 12 centimetreslong, with perfect
terminations,are found...". Subsequentlyin mine
descriptions the only mention of such crystals is un-
der the headingof Adelaide Mine (,.. . .3 to 6 inches
(7.6-15.2cm) in length. . ;' p.79).A larer publication
(TasmanianDept. Mines,1970,p.37),lists 10-12cm
crystal of crocoite only at the Dundas Extended and
West Comet Mines.
12 This crystal is in the collection of Edward
Swoboda,Los Angeles,Catfornia, U.S.A. The sec-
ond dimensionhas been determinedfrom the photo-
graph published by Bancroft (1973, p.t4l) and the
third dimensionhas been assumed.Sinkankas(1964,
p.403) wrote "The largest single crystals,sometimes
 RICKIIOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS

Table l. (mntinued)

CLASS
DIMENSIONS (N) VOLI'ME MASS REFERENCES
MINERAL, FORMULA
O
OCCURRENCE 1
lx2\3 (n-) (kc)

(iv) IODATES

jr (0'016) (0.016) (0.016) (4.36xl0-6) 0.020 4.59 DIETZE(1891'P.448)

Lautarite
'
Ca(IOa),

Panpa del Pique IiI,

or Panpa Grove, Chile
-R L
-
j) Schwartzenbergite 0.006 0.004 0.002 1.6xl0 ( L r s x r O -) 7 .39 SMITH 6 PRIOR
- (19It, p.78)
Pb-(I0-)c1-0.
5 - J J J TANDY(PersCom.
San Rafael Mine, Sierra 3.12.80)
Corda, Caraoles, Chile.

6. I"OLYBDATES,TIINGSTATES
SULPHATES,CTIROMATFS,

(i) SULPHATESAND RELATEDCOMPOUNDS

*3.05 0 43 0 43 0.564 (2.32') P A L A G I E( 1 9 2 3 , P . 3 6 3 )
k Gypsum
C a S o 4. 2 H 2 o LINDGREN ( 1930,P . 685)
Braden Mine, Chile

(ii) GTRoMATES
*0.15 (s.99) R E I D( 1 9 2 s , P . 7 9 )
11 Crocoite
^
PbCrO4

Adelaide Mine, Dundas,

Tasnania, Australia.

terminated,reachedlengths of 3y2" (8.9 cm) and di-
ametersof %" (0.95 cm).
Crocoite crystalsfrom Beresovsk,Urals, U.S.S.R.
measuring8 to l0 cm long and I cm diameter are in
the Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria;
Guillemin (1964,p.3).
mr Key (1977,p.50)wrote "Thesereachedthe
astounding size of 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter, but
they were so thin and fragile that damagewas severe:
a sample from this occurrenoe is on display in the
American Museum." Pinch and Wilson (1977,p.34)
similar$ described ". . . thin crystals up to 60 cm
across intergrown with each other," as occurring at
this locality. However, Sinkenkas(1964,p.434) had
previously claimed "and in magnifisisnl reticulated
clusters, probably the world's largest crystals, from
Glove (Sunrise) Mine, Tyndall district, Santa Cruz
County (Fig. 235). Some Glove crystals reach 4"
(10.2 cm) on edge and consist of exceedinglythin
tablets of yellowish color, sometimescoated with des-
cloizite." Wulfenite crystals, with l0 cm edges,from
the Glove Mine, Amado, Arizona, U.S.A. comprise
specimen 10,000of the ftseUing Collection in the
Smithsonian Institution, ${a5hington, D.C., U.S.A.
(Guillemin, 1972, p.122),.
Kostov (1968,p.487)citeda rangeof 6.5-7.0E/cmt
for the density of wulfenite, but altlot'gh Mason and
Berry (1968,p.378)gavethe samerange,they stated
that the calculated value is 6.815 g/cm' and lower
and higher densitiesoccur due to substitution of Ca
for Pb and W for Mo, respectively.This calculated
value has beenassumedhere but note that Palacheet
al. (1951,p.1083)gave 6.88 g,/cm' as the calculated
value.
rn2 This (Fig. 5) is specimen#40351 in the Na-
tional Museum of Natural Sciences,National Muse-
ums of Canada, Ottawa. The largest crystal is
chipped and the dimensions reported here were sup-
plied by Dr. J. D. Grice of that Museum and are
more accuratethan thosegiven by Key (1977,p.50)'
Wilson (1977,p.8l) published a photographof an-
other large wulfenite crystal from Tsumeb, Namibia,
and the part-owner has reported the dimensionsto be
7.8-9.1 x 5.9-6.5 x 1.2-2.5cm (Mrs. M' Zweibel,
Pers.Comm.,Feb.79).
Large wulfenite crystals also occur at M'Fouati,
Morocco and Guillemn(1972, p.2l) noted that some
5-10 cm x I cm were in the Ecole Nationale Super-
ieure des Mines, Paris, France.
n, Frondel (1935,p.473) statedthat this speci-
men is in the American Museum of Natural History,
New York, U.S.A., but it has not proved possibleto
obtain additional data. Further, he wrote the name
"Wada" after his entry relating to this crystal, but in
 894 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALI

Table l. (continued)

ASSUMED
DIMENSIoNS(m) VOLUME DENSITY REFERENCES
x2x3 rn3) (s/ cn3)

1, Crocoite 0.11
- o.Otl (0 O1r) (1.33x10-5) (5.99)
Pbcro4 B A N C R 0 F(Tr 9 7 3 , p 1 4 0 ,
1 4r )
Adelaide Mine, Dundas,
Tasnania, Australia.

(iii) IIIOLYBDATES

nl Wul feni te *0.6l

- (6.8Is)
PbMoO4 (dim) K E Y( 1 9 7 7 ,p . s 0 )
Tsuneb, Nanlbia

n? Wulfenite 0.083
- 0.07s o.o3o (I.87x10-a) (r 27) (EY (Is77,p.S0);GRTCE
PbMoo4 (6.8ls)
( P e r s . C o n n . S 0 .1 . 7 9 )
Tsueb, Nanibia (Figure S)

(iv) TUNGSTATES

n Scheelite 0.33
r cawoo [6.r0) FRONDEL(193s,p.479)

Japan

n2 Scheelite 0.20 0.145 (9.60xr0 )

- 5.85S (6.r0)
CaWO4 G U I L L E M I N( r 9 6 a , p . 3 )
Kranat Pulai, perak, l'A.l'ID( pye r s . C o m . , 3 . 1 2 .8 9 \
Ma Iaysi a

nj Wolfranite *0.20
- (7.3r)
(Fe,Mn)wOa HEss (1909,p.ls2)

Good Luck Clain,

Hill City,
S.Dakota, U.S.A.

the book on the minerals of Japan by that renowned
mid. Subsequently,Mr. P. Tandy, British Museum
(Natural History), U.K. has written (Pers. Comm.,
3.12.80,13.2.81)to report that the baseedgesare lZ
cm long and the othersare 14.5cm. Thus the calcu-
lated volume is I128.77cm3and for a density of 6.1

enonnous crystal 13" (33 cm) from tip to tip is re_

corded by the Japanesemineralogist Wada. Very
large crystals also come from Korea, as at Taehwa.

be consideredto be adequatelysubstantiated.
i2 This scheelite crystal from Kramat l\rlai,
Malaya (Specimen BMl937, 98) was reported by
Guillemin (1964,p.3) to be ..octaedrede 20 cm,,. In_ Fig. 5. The laryat MOLYBDATE crystal by volume and mass.
spectionof the specimen(31.10.80)revealedthat this Wulfenite, Tsumcb, Nsmibia. This specimenis No NMNS#40351
in the National Museum of Natural Scicnces,Thc National
dimension was approximately correct for the distance
Museums of Canada and the photograph is rcproduccd by
betweenthe most remote apicesof the squarebipyra- permission of Dr. J. D. Grice (Table l-mj.
 RICKWOOD: LA|IEST
B/cm'the correspondingmassis 6685.50g. However,
the actual weight is 5855 g for some of the corners
are missing. An encrustation of fluorite complicates
matters but ignoring it, for its mass is unknown,
yields a calculatedvolume of 959.84cm3.
n3 Hess(1909,p.152)describedthe wolframite to
be mostly brilliant black and occasionally to have
"the purplish rosiny appearanoeof hubnerite. Single
cleavagebladesreach perhaps8 inchesin length."
n{ This is an elongate and truncated octahe-
dron (Fig. 6), Specimen#97239 in the Geological
Museum, Harvard University, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
ProfessorC. Frondel (Pers.Comn.23.l.79) reported
its weight as l8% lbs. (8.28kg) and this hasbeen con-
firmed by Dr. C. A. Francis (Pers. Comm. 12.7.79)
when the latter sent a sketch with edge lengths.
Guillemin (1964, p.l) reported inaccurate dimen-
sionsof 20 x l0 cm.
01 Dr. J. J. Norton (Pers.Comm.27.ll.79)has
written "The crystal was one that had been mostly
mined, hencewas not seenin its entirety, but enough
of it remainedto allow an estimateof its size." It was
not photographed. The density of 3.00 g/crr3 has
been derived from Kostov's (1968, p.a50) values of
3.ll g/cmi (amblygonite) and 2.98 g/cmi (mon-
tebrasite)togetherwith the stated composition Mo*
(Norton et al., 1962,p.8l).
Ziegler (1913, p.1056) described mineral occur-
r€ncesat the Hugo Mine, Keystone, South Dakota,
U.S.A. and wrote of amblygonite, LiAIPO.(F,OH):
"The latter mineral occurs quite irregularly in nod-
ules and pockets,sometimesof great size.Thus one
shoot of practically solid amblygoniteshowedon the
face of the open cut for a distanceof 15 x 22 x 40 ft.
(4.57x 6.71x 12.19m). Masses300to 400Ib (136-
l8l kg) in weight are frequently found,. . . ." No-
where did he imply that these were single crystals as
Norton et al. (1962, p.77) have reported. However,
Dr. Norton has written (Pers. Comm. 18.9.79)"So
far as I can remember, all amblygonites I have seen
were single crystals,whether small or large (I have
seenprobably a dozenof 5 tons (4,536kg) or more). I
am not aware that amblygonite ever fonns large ag-
gregatesof small primary crystalsin pegmalilss.Cer-
tainly it doesnot at Hugo. But it is possiblethat large
crystalshave been found closeenoughto each other
to be regardedby miners as a single body, and re-
ported as suchby them to a geologist,who i5 unliksly
to be present long enough to seethe whole situation
as the amblygoniteis uncoveredduring mining." Dr.
L. R. Page (Pers.Comm., 6.6.80)has written, "The
amblygonite massesof the Hugo, Bob Ingersoll, and
CRYSTALS 895
Fig. 6. The largcst TUNGSTATE crysttl by mass. Schcelite,
Moctezuma,Sonora, Mexico. This photograph was supplied by,
and is reproduced by permission of, Dr. C. A. Francis,
Mineralogical Museurn, Harvard Univcrsity, Cambridge,
Massachusetts,U.S.A. (Specimen1*97239)(Table l-na).
Tinton depositsall have the appearanceof uniform
material and as I remember each individual mass
had no obvious difference in cleavage in different
parts of the body: We consideredthem crystals,but
their rounded irregular outer shapecausedus to call
them masses.I saw similar massesof amblygonite at
the Bikita mine in Southern Rhodesiain 1957 only
my recollection is they were even larger in size and a
few had shapessuggestingcrystal faces."
Accordingly, it is worth recording here some ex-
ceptionally large amblygoniteoccurrences:
(D Dr. L. R. Page (Pers. Comm., 6.6.80) dis-
cussedamblygonitemassesat Tinton, South Dakota,
U.S.A. and wrote "However, the miners told of tak-
ing out a "continuous" massfor about 125feet (38.1
m) on the SW side of the main pit. This is not shown
in plate 40 of Prof. Paper 247 because those parts
that remained are under an overhang. To the SE,
however,on SectionGG' a l5-foot mass(4.57 m) is
mapped-this I remember as one crystal, but
rounded."
(iD At the PeerlessMine, Keystone District,
Black Hills, South Dakota, U.S.A., Hess (1925,
p.289) reported an amblygonite mass 27 feet across
(8.23 m) and other dimensionswere said to be com-
parable but not fully exposed.Dr. J. J. Norton (Pers.
Comm. 18.9.79)suggestedcalculating the volume of
 RICKIIOO D: L/|RGEST CRYSTALS

Table l. (continued)
CLASS DIMENSIONS(n) VOL|TME MASS ASSWED REFERENCES
DEI.6ITY
MINERAL,FORMUI"Aq I x 2 x 3 (e/*3)
[n J
OCCURRENCES

t4 Scheelite 0.18 (0.00r36) (6.10) F R O N D E(LP e r s . C o m .

CaWO4 2 3 .r . 7 9 )
FMNCIS (Pers. Com.
Moctezum, Sonora, Mexico 1 2 . 9 . 7 9 )( F i g u r e 6 )
7. PHOSPHATES,
ARSENATES,VANADATES

(i) PHOSPHATES

or Anblygonite *7.62 1.83 (s4.02) (r02,060) (3.00) NoRTON,PAGE€ BROBST

L i A l P 0 4( F ' 0 H ) ( 1 9 6 2 ,p . 8 r )
Hugo Mine, Keystone,
S.Dakota,U.S.A.

Triphyllite *3.66 0.61 ( 0 .6 r) (r .36) (4,868) (3.58)

"2 F R O N D E(LP e r s . C o m .
Li (Fe, Mn)P04 1978)
Palemo Pegnati te
N e wH m p s h i r e , U . S . A .

01 Triphyl li.te *2.44 1.83 t.22 (s.4s) (19,5rr) (3.58)

- I ' f O O R(EP e r s . C o m .
L i ( F e , M n )P O a rs. r. 79)
Palemo No, I
Pegnatite, New
Hmpshire, U.S.A.

(ii) ARSENATES

P1 Legrandite *>0. 15 (4.0r) EIEREY (Pers.Com.

-
Znr(Asol,,214trO 9.r.79)

OjueIa l4ine, Mexico.

such by assuming a1 slliFsoidal shape; if the am-
blygonite is equidimensional then it would weigh
about 875,000kg.
(iiD At Beecher Lode, Custer District, Black
Hills, SouthDakota,U.S.A. ,,A 200-ton(1g1,000kg)
mass(of amblygonite)is said to have been removed
from the north pit,.. ."; Joralemon(1953,p.70).
(iv) At Dike No. l, Bob Ingersoll Mine, Keys-
tone District, Black Hills, South Dakota, U.S.A.-
"According to Mr. Johnson,one amblygonite mass
had a surfacelength of about 30 ft., (9.14m) an aver-
agewidth of about 4 ft., (1.22m) and extendedfrom
the surfacenearly to the adit level."-Hanley (1953,
p.78). The third dimensioncould have been as much
as 30 ft. (9.14rr),judging from sectionII, on plate Z,
and hencethe weight could have been about 160,000
kg.
02 Professor C. Frondel (pers. Comm. l97g)
stated that this crystal was only partially exposed
when he saw it, so the third dimension has had to be
assumed.
03 ProfessorP. B. Moore (Pers.Comm. 15.1.79)
has written. . . "The Dan Patch pegmatite (Black
Hills, South Dakota) had a triphylite crystal (or nod-
ule) which I saw in 1968 and it was about l0 feet
(3.05m) across.At PalermoNo. I pegmatitein New
Hampshirerecent(1975-1977)mining by the owners
uncovereda triphylite with sarcopsideexsolution la-
mellae and part of it was trenched out. When I last
saw the remains the "crystal" was at least 8 feet wide
(2.44m),6 feet deep(1.83m) and 15 feet long (4.5?
m), but it wasn't fully exposed.I took a crude mea-
surement by footstep pacing. The only problem is
that it could have been more than one single crystal
but I have seen crude crystals of the same species
measure6' x 8' x 4' (1.83x 2.4 x 1.22m)."
The largest of these "Crystals" had a volume of
20.4 m' and a mass in excessof 73,000kg, but as
doubt was implied about it being a single crystal this
specim.enhas been excluded from the tabulation.
Some other notably large phosphate crystals are:
(i) an apatite, Car(POo)r(F,Cl,OH)found at the
Aetna Mine, Quebec,Canadawhich was reported to
be 7 ft x 4 ft diam. and to weigh 6 tons (2.13 m x
 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS E97

Table l. (continued)
ASSTIMEI)
DIMENSIoNS(n) VOLUME MASS DENSITY REFERENCES

lx2x3 ('3) (Id tr/g".1

P2 Minetite 0.06 (o 027) (3.79x10-s) (7.24) wILSoN(r977,p.62)

- (Figure 7)
Pb, (AsO4)3Cl dian.
Tsueb, Nmibia.

iii) VAMDATES

qr Vanadinite (6.88) S I N K A N K A (S1 9 6 4 ,

' Pbs(v04) p.423)
3cr
Djebel Mahseur, near
Oudjha, Morocco.

o^ Vamdinite
Pbs(vo4)3cl o.12 0.04 (1 .66xrO-4) (1.14) (6.88) G U I L L E M I N( 1 9 6 4 ,
dian. P'r)
Abenab, 28kn N of
Grootfontein, Nilibia.

8. SI LICATES

(rJ Nesosilicates

tl Garnet 2.3 ( 3 7 ,s 0 0 ) (3.7s) B A R T f l( 1 9 3 0 , P . r 2 8 )

(Fe,Mg,MBCa) BARfi (1962'P.300)
3
(Ar, Fe)
2Sig0I2
Kristiansand, S.Norway

l.22ndiam., 5443kg)-Anonymous (1889,p.6; 1890, p, Dr. P. G. Embrey wrote (Pers. Comm.,

p.159).If a hexagonalcrosssectionis assumed,which
would accord with the description that "It is perfectly
formed." (Anonymous, 1889, p.6), then the calcu-
lated volume is 2.06m3and the massis 6548kg for a
density of 3.18E/cm'. The published estimatedmass
of 6 tons (assumedshort tons and thus equal to 5443
kg; Anonymous, 1890,p.159)yields a density of 2.64
g/crrt, which is too low.
(ii) amblygonite, LiAIPO.(F,OH), from North
Morning Star Mine, San Domingo Wash, N.E. of
Wickenburg,Arizona, U.S.A. The largestcrystal was
stated(ProfessorR. H. Jahns,Pers.Comm.,26.10.77)
to have a "... maximum exposeddimension of five
feet eight inches" (1.73 m). Note that previously
Jahns(1952,p.40) describedcrystalsup to six feet in
diameter(1.83m) but the sourcewas unspecifiedand
the largest crystal mentioned in the detailed mine de-
scriptions was only five feet in diameter (1.52 m);
Jahns(1952,p.8l; 1953,p.569).
(iii) a vivianite, Fe'(POo)r'8H2O,crystal from
Anloua, Camerounwhich is 1.30m long; Guillemin
(1964,p.2; 1972,p.2l). This specimenis in the Ecole
Nationale Superieuredes Mines, Paris, France.
1.1.79),"I have seen4" (10.2 cm) prisms, although
we have none of this size, and I believe a specimenis
known with 6" (15.2 cn) prisms or perhapslonger".
Wilson (1978,p.35) wrote about a. . . "remarkable
single 8 inch (20 cm) spray of legrandite. . ." but no
details are presently available.
Stellate sprays of erythrite, Cor(AsOo)2'8H2O,
with "acicular needlesto 4" .. . (10.2cm) were stated
by Sinkankas (1964, p.409) to have been found in
cavities in the Grube Rappold Mine, Schneeberg,
Saxony,Germany.
pz This specimen is in the collection of Keith
Proctor, Colorado Springs, U.S.A.: the photograph
(Fig. 7) was previously published by Wilson (1977,
p.62). The diameter between prism faces of this hex-
agonal crystal has been estimated from the photo-
graph. A slightly smaller crystal (2 in. long x I in. di-
ameter:5.1cm X 2.5 cm diam.) from this locality was
mentionedby Key (1977,p.49).
An aggregate of novacekite, Mg(UOr'AsOo),
'9H2O, crystals,measuring6 cm in length is shown
in a photograph by Bariand and Bariand (1976,
p.120); the occurrenceis at Brumado, Bahia State,
 RICKWOOD: I/IRGEST CRYSTALS
Fig. 7. The largestIRSEIVITE crystal by volume and mass
that has beenautlenticated.Mimetite, Tsumeb,Namibia from the
collection of Keith Proctor. The photograph is reproduced by
permissionof the photographerDr. Wendell E. Wilson, Editor of
The Mineralogical Record and was originally published on p. 62 of
volume 8(3) ofthatjournal (Table l-p2).
Brazil and the specimenis in the University of paris
(Sorbonne), Paris, France. Dr. Bariand (pers.
Comm., 28.11.80)has written that the largestcrystal
has a length of 5 cm.
g, Young (1976, p.243) recorded vanadinite
crystalsat Mibladen, Morocco thus, "I would say the
largest crystals never exceed two inches (5.1
cm). . . . that would be exceptional".
gz This is the largestcrystal on specimen4525
in the museumof the GeologicalSurveyof South Af-
rica, Pretoria, R.S.A. It was vanadinite but now is
pseudomorphed by descloizite crystals, pbZn
(VO.)(OH); Guillemin (1964,p.l). The smaller di-
mension has been assumedto be the diameter of a
hexagonalcrosssection.
Dr. P. G. Embrey has written (pers. Comm.,
9.2.79) about a similar crystal from this locality
which is specimenBMl933, 308 in the British Mu-
seum(Natural History), London, U.K. It is 8 x 4 cm,
has a massof 324g, and before polishing was coated
with descloizite.
rr This is an irregularly shapedshell of garnet
around a block of limestone,and it may be a crystal
aggregate.The density was calculated,not assumed,
and is almost certainly smaller than the true value;
the reported weight (37.5 tons) was taken to be in
metric tonnes.A sketchaccompaniesboth references
and from it the maximum dimensionof the garnet is
measuredas 2.3 m, a value incompatible with the
statedvolume estimate(10 m') even if the limestone
is included.
t2 Subsequently, Kolderup (1960,p.74) stated
"Here a giant crystal, measuring90 cm, was found"
. . . , and Kostov (1968,p.318)recorded"In the west-
ern part ofNorway garnethasbeenfound as porphy-
roblasts with a diameter of I m in amphibolite".
Theseaccountsprobably relate to the samespecimen
which is the very imperfect dodecahedral crystal,
(Fig. 8) mentioned in Table l, and which is kept at
the Natural History Museum, Bergen,Norway. Note
that the volume has been calculated from the re-
ported massand density.
13 Of necessity,a cubic shapewas assumedbut
as this is most improbable for topaz the true mass
and volume will be less than the calculated values.
A transparent perfect crystal of topaz from Minas
Geraes,Brazil which weighs3@ kg and is 80 X 60 X
60 cm is in the American Museum of Natural His-
tory, New York, U.S.A.; Guillemin (1972,p.l}3).
ta The form was statedto be roughly spherical
and the calculated mass of 1.70 short tons accords
with the reported value of "over 1.5 tons". (Levin,
1950,p.546). The density is the mean of ten values
for type XH garnetsas given by Levin (1950,Table
l).
s This crystal is roughly circular in cross sec-
tion and consistsof a cylinder 49 cm x 37.8cm diam-
eter, betweentwo truncated cones,32 cm and 33 cm
high with smallestdiametersof 17.8and 13.9cm re-
spectively(Fig. 9). All dimensionshave been calcu-
lated and are basedon the 40 cm rule included in the
photograph taken by Staffan Waerndt. The volume
has been calculated assuming the above idealized
form. The calculated massof 375 kg is slightly larger
than the 300 kg estimatedby Dr. B. Lindquist (Pers.
Comm. 19.1.79)who reported that the "crystal is
rather flattened so I prefer to estimateits weight by
transforming it into a box shape,the edgesbeing 55,
15,and 90 cm respectively.Assuming density4.0 the
mass should then be 297 kg,1.e., around 3@ kg."
(13.2.79).The crystal is on display at the Naturhisto-
riska Riksmuseet,Stockholm, Sweden.
Other large sorosilicatecrystalsare:
(i) those recorded by Sinkankas(1964, p.521)
 E9
RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS

Table l. (continued)

DIMEIISIOIIS (n) VOLIME ASSUMED REFERENCES

DENSITY
(g/cn J

Gamet I 0. 7 o.4 3 . 98 KoLDERUPand RoSEI',IQVIST

( Fe , Mg,Mn,Ca) (Al, Fe) (r9s0);
3 2 (19sr)
ROSEI.TQVTST
sisotz (Figure 8)

Gjdlanger, l{. Notray

Topaz *0.91 (0.91) (0.91) (2,677) ( 3 .s s ) BANDY (19s1, P.s2l);

A125iO4(F'0H) J/rHt.ls(1953, p.569)
2
Ribaue-Alto Ligonha
district, Mozanbique

Garnet *0.9 I ( o .3 9 s ) (r,s44) LEVIN (1950,pp.s2o,524,

( F e , M g , M n , C aa) ( A l , F e ) ? (dim) s40)
sisorz
Barton Deposit, Gore
Mt., Adircndacks, U.S.A.

(ii) LICATES
SOROSI

Orthi te r. 14 0 .3 8 (0.0938) (37s) (4.0) LINDQVIST(Pe!s. Com.

5
(Ca, Ce) (Al, Fe) (dim) 19.1.79) (Figure 9)
, a
si30r2 (o 'oH)

Arendal, Noflay

being slender blades of allanite, (Ca,Ce,La,Na),
(Al,Fe,Mn,Be,Mg),O(OH) (SiO.) (Si,O') which at
the Rutherford Mines, Amelia, Amelia County, Vir-
ginia, U.S.A. attain 16 inches(40.6 cm) in length.
(ir) Sinkankas (op.cit., p.520) also cited two oc-
currences of epidote, Ca'AlrFe SirO"(OH), from
which crystals 12 inches long (30 cm) have been ob-
tained.
(iii) Bjdrlykke (1935,p.255) in writing about or-
thite, (Ca,Ce)' (Al"Fe)rSi3Orr(O,OH)from lveland,
Setesdal, S. Norway, stated "It usually occurs in
large ill-defined crystals up to a weight of 100 kgms
and more ..." but no specific locality was given.
However, in detailed descriptions of 108 pegmatite
oocurrenoeshe nowhere mentioned thesecrystals but
did write "The orthite was presentin large ill-defined
crystals"-Locality 58 Mllland 7 Gt.23l) and "Or-
thite was abundanl in large ill-defined crystals."-
Locality 99 KAbuland I ("Amerika") 0.240).
t The reported mass(estimated as 250 tons) re-
quires a density of only 1.75 g/cm' if metric units
and a hexagonal cross section are assumed. The
length and weight were confinned by Dr. A. Gsell
(Pers.Comm.,4.5.77)but he stateda slightly smaller
diameter of 3 m which is consistent if he measured
between hexagon edges and if the larger diameter
was measured between corners. Jensenand Frigstad
(1967,p.l6) recordedthe samelength (18 m) and a
diameter of 5 m, but the latter is probably erroneous
in view of the similar estimatesof the two local geol-
ogistswho saw the crystal in 1964.
A taperedberyl crystal33 feet long (10.06m) and
6 feet (1.83 m) in diameter was recordedby Stevens
(1972, p.50) as having been found in 1950 at the
Bumpus Quarry, Albany, Oxford County, Maine,
U.S.A.
The crystal reported by Waldschrtidt (1920) as
being the largest known of beryl came from the Bob
Ingersoll mine, South Dakota, U.S.A., and had a di-
ameterof l.l7 m (46 in.) and a known lengthof I'12
m (44 in.).
rr1 Spencer(1928, p.259) recorded this crystal
as being *47 feet in length with a crosssection 3 to 5
feet. and from it 90 tons of material was quarried
. . .". Thesedata are a curious admixture of those for
severalcrystals describedby Schaller (1916, p.138).
The second dimension (80 cm) has been estimated
from the photograph(Fig. l0) and a squarecrosssec-
tion was assumed.This was the longest crystal dis-
covered at this locality, but it was thinner than the
subsequentlymentioned specimenwhich yielded the
greatestvolume and mass.
 9m RICKIYOO D: LARGEST CRYSTALS

p.l4l), Spence(1929,p.69) and Hewitt (t968, p.29)

recordeda phlogopite crystal from this mine with a
stateddiameter of "over 9 fee|" (2.7a@.
v2 Holland (1902,p.63) noted that this speci-
men was ". . . l0 feet acrossthe basalplanes and up
to 15 feet acrossthe folia."
Sinkankas(1964,p.482)wrote "The world's record
(muscovite,KAlr(AlSi3O,") (OH)r,) for sizeis held by
a singlecrystalfrom the Inikurti Mine, Nellore, India
which measuredl5 feet (4.57m) in length and l0 feet
(3.05m) in diameter and delivereda total of 85 tons
(77,lll kg) of muscovite".A densityof 2.79 E/cm'
accordswith this data, and is within the range given
by Kostov(1968,p.361)i.e.,2.76-3.0g/cm'and in-
dicateslittle substitution by iron. A hexagonalcross
section,l0 feet betweenapices,has beenassumedfor
Fig. 8. The largest.IVESOS/LICATEcrystal by length, volume
calculation purposes.
and mass that has been authenticated.Garn€t, Selvik, north of
Gjy'langer Molle, Fjaler herred, Sogn of Fjordane fylke,
Norway{IO0 x 70 x 40 cm). photograph provided by, and is
reproducedby permissionof, ProfessorB. A. Sturt, Universitv of
Bergen,Norway (Table l-rr).

Waldschmidt (1920, p.ll) wrote .,At the Etta

Mine, . . . , spodumenecrystalshave beenmined that
were more than fifty feet (15.24 m) long and from
four to six feet (1.22-1.83m) in diameter."However,
this claim seemsdoubtful.
u2 Kostov(1968,p.340)recordedroundedmet-
ric measurements (13 m x 2m x I m) and a massof
65 tons (58,967kg. if short tons) from which an im-
probable density of 2.27 g/cm3 is derived. Ziegler
(1913,p.1054;1914, p.655)recordeda smallercrystal,
42 feet long and 5 ft. 4 in. maximum diameter (12.g
m X 1.63m maximum diameter)which,.would yield
90 tons (81,647kg) of spodumene"(1914.p.655)but
would necessitatean impossibly high density of 4.g
g/cm3 rf the "diameter" is the diagonal of a square
crosssection.The tabulated crystal was decayedand
yielded only 37 tons (33.6 tonnes) of spodumene;
Hess(l9ll, p.650).
vr Calculations have been based on an as-
sumedhexagonalcrosssection.Palache(1923,p.363)
estimatedthe total weight as ,.. . . not less than 90
tons" (81,647kg) but this is far too low for the stated
dimensions.He also attributed the data on this speci-
men to Ellsworth, but no mention of it can be found Fig. 9. The largestSOROSILICATE crystal by length, volume
in the numerouspublicationsof the latter (Mr. H. R. and mass. Orthite, Arendal, Norway. This crystal is in the
collection of the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholn and the
Steacy,Pers. Comm., 4.11.77,20.1.78;professor photograph by Staffan Waerndt is reproduced by permission: the
L. G. Berry, Pers.Comm.,3.2.78).de Schmid(1912, ruler is 40 cm (Table l-s).
 RICKIaOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS 901

Table l. (continued)

ASSUMED
(n)
DIMENSIONS MASS DENSIfi REFERENCES

x2x3 {;f (kc) (g/c'3)

(iii) cYclosILrcATEs

BeryI 18 3.5 ( 579,480) M I C I I E L( P e r s . C o m .

t
(dim) 4 . 5. 7 6 )
B e- A I ^ S i - O .^
J Z O ld

l.4alaki a1im, l.,lalagasY

(iv) INOSI LICATES

Spodunene *14.33 0.80 ( s .i 7 ) (28,427) S C H A L L E (R1 9 1 6 , P . 1 3 8 ,

ur
- Plate VA)
LiA1Si2O6
(Figure l0)

Etta Mine, S.Dakota,

U.S,4.

*12.80 1.83 0.91 (66,0s2) H E S S( 1 9 I r , p . 6 s r )

u. Spodunene
'
Lintsirou

Etta Mine, S.Dakota,

U.S.A.

(v) PHYLLOSILICATES

* I0. 06 4 .27 ( r 1 9. r 4 ) (333,592) (2.8) P A L A C H(E1 9 2 3 , P . 3 6 3 )

v, Phlogopite
' (dian')
K M- eJ -' t A I s i - 0 . ^ l
J IU-
(F,0H)2

Lacey Mine, Loughborough

TownshiP, ontario, Canada

v3 Fersman(1931,p.l19) statedthat a biotite 2,337squarefeet (2l7.ll m'), yet individual cleavage

crystal, K(Mg,Fe), (AlSi3O,o)(OH,F), with an area planesextendunbroken acrossthe entire mass,which
of 7 m2 had been found in a feldspar mine at Evje, is probably x 5inglecrystal'. Thesedimensionscorre-
Norway and Barth, who worked on this area, men- spond to the open cut area on Section CC' of their
tioned 2-3 m flakes of both muscovite and biotite Plate 7, but the entire area of microcline shown on
(1928,p.464)and specificallygave Rosas,Iveland as that sectionhas a maximum length of I 18 feet (35.97
a locationfor 3 m long biotite flakes(1931,p.ll8). m), a width of 45 feet (13.72m) and the surfacearea
v4 Harding (194, pp.3+35) wrote "One large is29l2 sq. feet (270.5fr\ Crosssectionsthrough the
mica crystalof phenomenalsize,discoveredby Justin pegmatite are drawn at 35 foot (10.67 m) intervals
Purdy and extractedby Purdy Mica Mines in 1943, and crosssectionalareasof microcline age nil (EE'),
was the source of spectacularsheetsof clear mus- 141.3m2 (DD'), 2705 m2 (CC'), ll.l2 m'?(BB') and
covite with dimensions greater than 5 by 8 feet. One 20.15m2 (A,A'). Thus continuity of microcline seems
sheet from this huge crystal, one of the largest ever probable from 3 m south of EE', as indicated on the
encountered in the history of Ontario mica-mining, plan, to somewheresouth of AA'; a o;1i6rrm dis-
was secured by the Royal Ontario Museum, To- tance of 138feet (a2.06m). However,Dr. L. R. Page
ronto". This, the largest authenticated phyllosilicate (Pers. Comm., 6.6.80)has stated that "This deposit
is shown in Figure ll; Harding (1944, p.34) pub- had been minsf, for about 125 feet (38.10m) at right
lished a photograph of a similar specimenwhich may angles to the cleavage.The miners cliaimed that the
have come from the samecrystal. cleavage had remained the same througbout the pit
wr Hanley et al. (1950,p.60) wrote "The mass lenglh. I have always maintained that this was the
of mierocline exposed in the north face of the main largest crystal I'd ever seen". As the north face of the
open-cut is about 75 feet (22.86 m) wide and 40 feet open cut is shown as being about l0l feet (30.78m)
(12.19 m) thick at the maxinum and has an area of north of AA', the microcline is likely to have ex-
 RICKI{OOD: L/IRGEST CRYSTALS

Table l. (continued)
CLASS (N)
DIMEI\lsIONS
q
v0ul.tE ASSU{ED REFERINCES
MINEML, FORMTJLA DENS-iiY
-.'T-
lx2x (n (: g / c n J
v? Muscovite *4.57 S.Os
- (2.79) H o L L A N D( 1 9 0 2 , p . 6 3 )
K A 1 2( A l s i 3 o t o ) ( o f l ) (dian. )
2 SINKANKAS(1964, p.482)
Inikurti Mine,
Nellore, India.

v1 Biotite 3 - (3.0) B A R T H( 1 9 3 1 , p . r r 8 )
-
K(Mg,Fe)r(Atsi30t0)(oft,F)2

RosBs, IveIand, hovay.

v4 Muscovite
'
KAr2(AlSi3orO)(oH)2 *>2,44 >1.52 (2.79J HARDII{G(r944,.p.54)
(Fi8ure Il)
Purdy l,tica Mines,
0ntario, Canada.

(vi) TEKToSILICATES

wr Mi.cmcline
' '49.38
KAlSi308 35.97 13.72 (6214.4t) ( r s , 9 0 8 ,8 9 0 ) (?.56) HANLEY,HEINRICH € PAGE,
( r9s0,p.60)
Devils Hole Beryl Mine P A G E( P e r s . C o m . , 6 . 6 . 8 0 )
Frenont Couty,
Colorado, U.S.A.

w? Perthite
-
(K,Na)A1Si3o8 *r0.67 4.57 (89 .23) (230,2r3) (2.s8) NORTON,PAGEC BROBST
(1962, pp.6a,6s)
Hugo Mine, Keyston€,
S. Dakota, U.S.A.

wl Feldspar >lO ( 1R8 9 0 ,p . z s l ) ;

BRdGGE
BRoGGE ( 1R8 9 4 ,p - 6 7 ) .
Kure, S. of Mass, ( 1 9 2 4 ,p . 7 0 6 ) .
KEMP
Noflay

tended a further 24 feet (7.32 nS south of AA,. 'w2 As the composition of this perthite is Ab,
Hence,the probable maximum length of microcline (Norton et al., 1962,p.65)
the density is approxi-
is 138+ 24: 162feet (42.05+ 7.32: 49.3gm); the mately 2.58 g/cni (Kosrov,
1968, Fig. 396). This
maximum breadth and width have been taken as crystal was carefully
measured by Drs. J. J. Norton
thoseshown on sectionCC,. It is much more dimcult and L. R. Pagefor it occurred
on a corner ofa quarry
to estimatethe original volume for the easternpor_ wall and all three dimensions
could be determined.
tion of the microcline has been truncated bv erosion Dr. Norton wrote (Pers.
Comm. 18.9.79)that prior to
and mining. Simple surfacereconstruction,to allow measurement". . . a sizeable part
of this crystal had
for mining, increases the area of nicrocline from already been removed
by mining . . .', . Subse-
20.15m'to 67.3m2 on AA, and from ll.l2 rr, to quently, it was completely
mined out and it was
167.7m2 on BB'; however,compensationfor erosion never photographed.
is too. subjective to be of value. Accordingly, using Norton et al. (1962, p.64,65) described perthite,
areas shown as the reconstnrctions on AA; to DDa (K,Na)AlSirO., in Zone 3a
of the Hugo pegmatite,
and assumingzero arcaat the presumedtermination Keystone,South Dakota,
U.S.A. thus: ..Largestcrys-
points, the total volume has been calculated (using tal observed
was 35 by 15 by 6 foot (10.62x 4.57 x
equations for a cone and its frustrum) to be 6214.41 1.83m), but much larger
crystalswere exposedin the
mi Q19,459.8ft.,) and the mass to be 15,90g,g90 early yearsof mining (G.
M. Schwartz,oral commu-
kg(17,536.6 short rons). nication, 1948)." "The largest crystal observed con-
This may have been the largest crystal ever discov_ tained an estimated 250 tons
of perthite.', (226,796
ered but it cannot be regarded as fully authenticated, ke).
particularly in respectto the microcline having been Dr. Norton wrote (Pers. Comm. 1g.9.79)that
one single crystal throughout. G. M. Schwartz,an eminent geologist,had said to
 RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS
Fig. 10. The largcst INOSILICATE crystal by length
Spodumenc,Etta Mine, South Dakota, U.S.A.-{14.3 m long)
Photograph copied from Plate VA, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin
610, (1916) and reproducedby permissionof the Director, U.S.
Geological Survey (Table l-ur).
him ". . . that he had in the 1920'sseenthe cleavage
of a single perthite crystal over the whole face then
being minsd. This crystal would have been several
times as large as the one I reported."
The Bikita and Nolan Mines, Zimbabwe, are cut
into a pegmatite body which ". . . contains some of
the largest crystals I have ever seen--?erthite crystals
more than 40 feet (12.19 m) long"; Dr. L. R. Page
(Pers.Comm., 6.6.80),Surprisingly,however,Wilson
and Martin (1964)do not mention these.
w3 These reports have been kept becausethe
above perthite is a mineral intergrowth and could be
disputed as a single crystal.
wa The reported weight is assumed to have
been in long tons. Hurlbut (1968,p.l4) recordedthe
dimensionsas 30 x 30 feet (9.14x 9.14m).
w5 Fersman(1931,p.l 19)recordeda 100tonne
microcline, KAISi3OE,crystal from Norway which
was l0 m long, Barth (1928,p.4O4)mentionedmicro-
cline crystals between 5 and l0 n in length as occur-
ring in dykes in Iveland, Norway, and Barth (1947,
p.53) (1960, p.40) also describedpegmatitescutting
amphibolite at Evje, Norway as being ".. . very
coarse-grained,feldspar and quartz, SiOr, crystals at-
laining 8 metres in length". These are all general
statements which cannot be found in detailed de-
scriptions of the feldspar mines of this area as given
903
Fig. I !. Thc largest authenticated PHYLLOSILICATE crystzl
by length. Purdy Mica Mines. Ontario, Canada. This cleavage
flake is in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada and the
photograph has been supplicd by, and is reproduced by
permissionof, Dr. J. A. Mandarino (Table l-va).
by Andersen(1931),Barth (1931,1947,1960)and
Bjlrlykke (1935).Both Barth (1931,p.l 14)and Bjlr-
lykke (1935,p.217-219)recordedmicrocline crystals
with faces up to 6 m in length, and weighing more
than 100 tons, at Tveit, Norway and specifically at
Tveit-3, one of six pegmatitesin the area. Barth
(1928,p.al9) also recorded6 m long microcline crys-
tals at Rudjord in Lyngdal, Norway.
Other notable tektosilicate crystals are:
(i) The largest quartz (SiOr) crystal which has
been substantiatedwas found at Manch6 Felipe,
near ltapor6, Goiaz, Brazil (Frondel, 1962, p.244)
and was 20 feetlong (6.10m), 5 feet (1.52m) acrossa
prism face and was estimated to have weighed over
44 tons (39,916 kC.). If the crystal was regular in
shape, and lacked pyramid faces, then the volume
would have been 36.78 m3 and the mass 97,479kg;
the weight estimate is lessthan half of this calculated
value and must be questionable.Campbell (1946,
p.797) described qvartz "Crystals uP to 6 m long with
9(X RICKWOOD: LARGEST CRYST'ALS

Table l. (continued)

CLASS DII"IENSIONS
rn) VOLI'ME MASS ASSI,MED REFERENCES
q
MINERAL,FORMULA DENSITY
1
OCCURRENCES lx2x3 (nJ (ks) (g/.r3)

Mi crcc Iine (4.27) (4.27) (4.27) >200,000 (2.s6) B J O R L Y K K[ 1E9 3 5 , p p . 2 I 3 .

KAlSi308 240)

Frikstad 9 (r'Steli'r)
Pegnatite, Iveland,
Setesdal, S.Noryay

s Orthoclase 10 l0 ({0.40) ( ( 3 e .6 s ) * l0 1,605 (2.s6) L I N D G R E(N

1933, p.7s4);
4
KAlSi3OS Kosrov (1968, p. ss)

U r a 1 s ,U . S . S . R .

ws Perthitic Microcline *9. 14 3.66 2.13 (7r.2s) ( 185,250) HEss (1933, p.455)
-
(K,Na)Arsij08

TVeit, Iyeland district,

N. of Kristiansand,
Noryay

ORGANICMINERAI^S
-s)
Whewe
1 1i te 0.05s 0.055 0.015 (c.l .3xlo ( c . 0 .0 3 0 ) (2.23) G U I L L E M I (NI 9 6 s , p p 1 , 2 )
CaC2O HOFI,,IANN (Pe6 -Conn.
4'H20
s.3.80)
Zwickau, Saxony, Ge many ( Figure u)

x) llhewellite 0 .0s4 0.039 0.0085 ( 7.4x10 -) 0.0165 (2.23) SVENEK(Pers.Coru.

-
CaCr0r:Hr0 4.9.79)

Pchery, Theodor Mine,

Kladno District. Czechoslovakia

Footnotes:
* InPerial
neasurenentshave been converted to netric. N.B, lO00 ks = I tonne = I.IO23l3 short tons = 0.984206 long tons.
( J Calculated or estimated va1ue.
Unless otheflise stated, the densities have been estinated from values given by KOSTOV(1968).

the prism face 1.5m wide were seen,"someof which
were shown in the photographs that accompaniedhis
paper.
(ii) Dr. D. D. Hogarth (Pers.Comm.25.1.78)ob-
served a scapolite ((Na,Ca).[Al,Si)SirO,](Cl,CO,))
crystal, now concealedbeneath the Gatineau Park-
way, at Pinks Lake, Gatheau Park, Canada which
he conservativelyestimatedto be at least 15 feet by
2.5 feet (4.57x 0.76m).
x1 This is specimen 27153 in the Bergak-
ademie,Freiberg, D.D.R., which is a twinnsd crystal
that weighs 100 g with the matrix. Dr. F. Hofinann
(Pers.Comm. 5.3.80)reportedthe thicknessto be 30
mm, so 1'e13 singlecrystal this has been halved. The
mass has been estimated assumingthat the matrix
weighs roughly a third of the total; the volume corre-
sponds to the estimated mass. This crystal is shown
in Fig. 12. The density was obtained from PaLacheer
al. (1951,p.ll00) who noted "Among the natural oc-
currenoes may be mentioned Burgk near Dresden,
Saxony, where crystals up to severalinches in size oc-
cur with calcite in the footwall of a coal seam."
x2 This twinned crystal was obtained from coal
deposits25 km west of Prague,and is specimen6185
in the Prirodovedecke Muzeum, Prague, Czech-
oslovakia. The twin was reported by Dr. J. Svenek
(Pers. Comm. 4.9.79) to weigh 33 g; this and the
smallest dimension have been halved to estimate the
size of a single crystal.
Discussion
It may be seen from Table I that the largest au-
thenticated crystal whether considered by length,
volume, or mass is the beryl (18 m, 143 m3, and'
379,480kg respectively) from Malakialina, Malagasy
Republic. However, the mysterious orthoclase crystal
found in the Urals, U.S.S.R.(Lindgren, 1933,p.754)
could have been the biggest by volume and mass for
the calculated depth of only 40 cm seemsimprobable
in conjunction with two other dinensions each of ten
meterc.A depth of only 1.44m would yield the great-
est volume and 1.49m would yield the greatestmass
as well; both values would be plausible. The micro-
cline deposit in Colorado, U.S.A. may well have con-
 RI CKWOOD: LARGEST CRYSTALS

and mineralogists.Included in this paper are photo-

graphs of 12 of thesecrystals (sulphur, stibnite, ga-
lena, corundum, wulfenite, scheelite,mimetite, gar-
net, orthite, spodumene,muscoviteand whewellite).
Photographic evidencehas been published for two
additional crystals from this list, ferroan-brucite
(Berman and West, l932,Fig.l) and crocoite (Ban-
croft, 1973,p.lal) and sketchesof a garnet (Barth,
1930,p.128;1962,p.300)and whewellite(Guillemin'
1964,p.22) have been printed. The largestcrystal of
which photographicevidenceexistsis the 14.3m (47
foot) long spodumene(Fig. 9) from the Etta Mine,
South Dakota,U.S.A.
In 1928,Spencercogently discussedthe problems
and philosophy of museumsin regard to large crys-
tals. However, it is unfortunate that not even photo-
graphsexist of most of theseunique specimens.

Acknowledgments
I have been aidcd in making this compilation by rccciving in-
formation from many people.In particular, I would like to record
my gratitude{o: Dr. M. Deliensin Belgium; ProfessorI. Kostov in
Bulgaria; ProfessorL. G. Berry, Dr. J. D. Grice' Dr- D. D.
Hogarth, Dr. J. A. Mandarino and Mr. H' R. Steacyin Canada;
Dr. J. Svenekin Czechoslovakia;Dr. P. Bariand and Dr' A. Gsell
in France;Dr. F. Hofmann in the German DemocraticRepublic;
Fig. 12. The largestORGANIC crystal by length, volume and
Dr. M. Hlnisch in Germany; Dr. P. G. Embrcy, Mr. J' P. Fuller'
mass.Whewellite, Zwickau, Saxony,Germany. This is specimen
and Mr. P. Tandy in Great Britain; Dr. V. dc Michele in ltaly; Dr.
27153n the Bergakademie,Freiberg,D.D.R. and the photograph J. A. Dons, Mr. I. Hernes,and ProfessorB. A. Sturt in Norway;
is reproducedby permissionof Dr. F. Hdfmann (Table l-x;).
Dr. C. Anhausser,Mr. M. Keyser,and the Director of the Geolog-
ical Survey, in South Africa; Dr. B. Lindquist in Sweden;Dr. P'
Bancroft.Dr. C. A. Francis,ProfessorC. Frondel, Mrs. N. C. Har-
ris, ProfessorR. H. Jahns, Mr. A. Y' Johnstone,Mrs. E. M.
tained the largestcrystal ever discoveredbut there is Learned, ProfessorS. B. Levin, Dr. B. Mason, ProfessorP. B.
insufficient evidenceto support that claim. The vol- Moore, Dr. H. Michel, Dr. V. Morgan, Dr. J. J. Norton, Dr. L. R.
ume and massof the main microcline body so far ex- Page,Dr. J. J. P€ters,Dr. W. E. Wilson, and Mrs' M. Zweibel in
ceedcoresponding parametersfor any other crystals the U.S.A. I would also like to thank my former colleague,Mrs.
(x 43.5 and x 41.9 respectivelyover the beryl from Ellen Sigmond (University of lceland) for her interest in this
work, which was commencedwhile I was attachedto the Nordic
Malagasy)that the parametersgiven in Table I must Volcanological Institute, and who has helped me to obtain data
be regardedwith scepticism. about some Norwegian specimens.Finally, I offer my thanks to
Of the 60 crystalslisted in Table l, 20 are known Mr. Norris D. McWhirter, Editor of the GuinnessBook of Rec-
to be in museumcollections(sulphur, stibnite (2), ga- ords, whose appreciation of my first efforts enoouragedmc to
geologists.Dr. B. J. Hensen
lena, argyrodite, corundum, brucite, soda-nitre,ger- make a complete compilation for
kindly criticized the manuscript, and the advice of Profcssor C.
hardtite, schwartzembergite,wulfenite, scheelite(3), Frondel resultcdin many improvementsto it.
vanadinite, garnet, orthite, muscovite, whewellite
(2)),3 (crocoite,legranditeand mimetite) are in pri-
vate collectionsand I (kernite) is still in situ. Three References
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brucite (e,) is likely to be in a museum,probably in
Anonymous (1889) Canadian Mining Rcview, 8, (ll)' 6. (not
the U.S.A. sighted;extractby Dr. D. D. Hogarth-25-l-78).
An attempt has beenmade to obtain photographic Anonymous (1890)The Canadian phosphatcindustry' Canadian
proof of the data in Table I from museum curators Mining Rcview,9, (ll), 158-160.
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