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A Geoscience Digital Image Library

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TitleNahcolite
DescriptionNahcolite is one of those rare minerals that are named for their chemistry. It has formula NaHCO3 which, with a little imagination, turns into the name nahcolite. It is also known chemically as “baking soda”. Nahcolite forms large concretionary masses in the oil-shales of the Green River Formation and as an evaporite mineral in non-marine sedimentary deposits. Nahcolite was first discovered as a mineral at Searles Lake, California in 1940 and forms several beds in the lake sediments, some up to two feet thick. These pieces are up to 1 cm across.
LocationUSA ▹ California. Near Searles Lake.
PhotographerDarla Sondrol. 2001-06-19.
CollectionUniversity of North Dakota Mineralogy Collection #732.
Key wordsnahcolite, California
Tech details340 KB. Hand specimen. Fujifilm FinePix S1Pro digital camera; 60mm AF Nikon micro lens.
GeoDIL number798