MONAZITE
Specimen mon-2

Dims: 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.5" (2.1 x 2.0 x 1.2 cm)

Wt: 16 g w/ specimen box

Clear Creek, Colorado

A single, partial Monazite crystal extends from the pegmatite base of this thumbnail specimen. Though the crystal is broken and incomplete, the breakage is not fresh and appears to have undergone slight healing. Its monoclinic tabular form is very good, and its brown color is standard. The crystal is opaque and has a luster that ranges from nearly matte to a dull waxy. Some quartz and another mineral that I cannot identify are also present in the base rock, which is hot-glued inside a plastic thumbnail box.

Dims: 2.2 x 2.0 x 1.1" (5.7 x 5.0 x 2.7 cm)

Wt: 3.7 oz. (105 g)

Lake View Mountain, Riverside County, California, U.S.A.

Several small and apparently tabular Monazite crystals are embedded in one end of this small cabinet specimen. The largest of these crystals has visible dimensions of 10 x 6 mm and shows excellent monoclinic form and a rhombic shape; the other crystals do not exceed 3 mm in length or width and their form is not as well defined. All have a moderate to dark golden-brown coloration and are dimly transparent to opaque, depending on their size. They rest in a feldspar base (likely albite).