Rocks, Minerals & Ores
Mineral Sequence in the Cady Mountains
Calcite scalenohedron
CaCO3 (triagonal)Cady Mountains, Mojave Desert, CA
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Mineral Sequence in the Cady Mountains
In the volcanic landscape of the Cady Mountains, calcite reveals one of its most striking forms—the scalenohedron. These sharply pointed, dogtooth-like crystals belong to the trigonal crystal system and form in vesicles, or gas bubbles, left behind in ancient lava flows. As mineral-rich water slowly percolated through the rock, calcium carbonate began to crystallize into these symmetrical, elongated shapes. The result is a natural sculpture of triangles and light, often translucent or softly tinted by trace elements. Scalenohedral calcite isn’t just visually dramatic—it’s a geological record of conditions deep within the Earth, where time, temperature, and chemistry aligned. These crystals are prized by collectors and geologists alike for their form, clarity, and the story they tell. In the Mojave Desert, they stand as silent markers of an active, mineral-rich past still echoing beneath the surface.
Trigonal (crystal system)
The trigonal crystal system is really part of the hexagonal crystal system and only has one minute difference (in that true hexagonal minerals have sixfold symmetry, whereas trigonal minerals have threefold symmetry). The trigonal crystal system, like the hexagonal crystal system, has: four axes, three are equal in length and lie at an angle of 120° from each other. The fourth is either longer or shorter but must be at a right angle toward the other corners.
Minerals,net