Halite 1 Piece Crystals Raw Minerals Stones Rocks Collecting (2)

Halite or Alite Crystals 1 Piece 4.6 gr - cm 3.5 x 1.9 x 1.3 Rock Salt Raw Minerals Stones Rocks for Collection, only a piece, as in photo.

Halite or Alite (from the Greek άλς = salt and λίθος = stone), also called rock salt (name made up of salt and gem, due to its crystalline appearance), is a mineral formed from sodium chloride.
It occurs in cubic, more rarely octahedral, skeletal and twin crystals, granular or fibrous aggregates, crusts and stalactites. Typical of all is the blue, pink or violet color.
It is found mainly in the form of extensive banks formed by the evaporation of salt water masses (ancient salt lakes or seas); these banks are found included in the rocks of all geological ages and their thickness can vary from a few tens of centimeters to several hundred metres.
Often the rocks that enclose it are clayey, but compact, and therefore practically impermeable to water: this allows the conservation of the mineral, otherwise diluted by groundwater. In these deposits it is commonly associated with gypsum or other minerals.
Less important are the superficial and intermediary deposits, formed by evaporation of recent salt lakes, where halite often forms a compact crust that covers the brackish waters.
It is also observed, in small quantities, as a product of volcanic activity.
It tastes salty. It is soluble in water, rather insoluble in ethanol. It crackles at the torch and colors the flame bright yellow. Since it is slightly hygroscopic, it is preferable to keep it in a cool and closed place.
In Italy, compact halite associated with gypsum is usually found within Late Miocene sediments, deposited during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, in Tuscany, Calabria, Sicily. Finally, it is also found in very small colorless cubes in the dry fumaroles of Vesuvius.