With the name of Crystal Mountain,
one can imagine of seeing a massive mountain rising up out of the desert.
However, the Crystal Mountain is a ridge located between Bahariya Oasis and
Farafra Oasis northern of the White Desert, Egypt. The unique structure of
ridge is made entirely of calcite crystal that combines altogether to create a
striking ridge standing up out of the desert. The hill is a subvolcanic vault,
which was emerged during the Oligocene age. The crystals themselves are quartz.
The actual name is Crystal Formation, although that is not the common name the
ridge is known by. The sun rays make the big rock with its arch to spark even
more. The crystal mountain stands on the very edge of the of the White Desert ,
and soon the black iron and basalt pebbles give way to the sand-blown chalk
formations which loom on either side of the road.
The Crystals are perhaps Barite,
and Calcite with columnar-shaped stalagmites. The coal seam and hydrothermal
impregnated reddish to brownish ferruginous layers, strata are broken or
brecciated and intensely with each other folded. The ascertained intense heat
of coal seam was transformed to anthracite. Actually Crystal Mountain Egypt is
an ancient Paleo that has been pushed to the earth’s surface, and is now in the
process of being eroded away by the elements. The Crystal Mountain has almost
an oblong or square-like shape. The natural crystal arch, has formed in the
ridge, that spring up in the desert all around the mountain. According to the
geologists, this structure is a cave made from limestone and completed with
stalactites and stalagmites. This cave was shook by the earth movements and the
roof was destroyed by erosion while the time passed by. The arch is natural and
small and is situated in the center of the structure.
The crystals have increased out
of climbed hydrovolcanic solutions. The visible layers are White Desert
limestone of the Khoman Fm. Moreover the Barite veins are extensively
distributed to the south of Gebel El Hafhuf which is composed of a rock
sequence with sandstone, shale, limestone, phosphatic limestone and phosphatic
calcareous sandstone. You should never try to break off the crystals on the
mountain, as these have been taken thousands
of years to form, and breaking them would be ruining a piece of history.
Yes, one can collect pieces of crystal that scatter around the landscape and
ridge. Crystal Mountain is one of favorite place of the tourists who want to
make pictures here. The Crystal Mountain is an important touristic objective,
many of the tourists who come to visit the Farafra Oasis or/and the Baharyia
Oasis come to see the Crystal Mountain too.
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