Natural Pink Halite | Salt Crystal | California

Pink Halite "Rock Salt" Crystal from Searles Lake, California 

Halite more commonly known as rock salt, is a pink hopper form of the mineral sodium chloride. 

The crystals become pink by a microscopic fauna that thrives in the highly saline environment of the lake. For collectors, the optimal collecting time comes in the fall, as the lake has evaporated down during the hot summer months and the salt has begun to precipitate out of solution, rather like rock candy. The brine pools turn a deeper red color as the saline solutions concentrate. When the salt crystals begin to form, sometimes the pink pigment becomes trapped in the crystals, which is why some of the most sought after halite has a phenomenal pink to burgundy color.

Crystal size is approximately 5.25" x 3.5" x 1.75"