Facts about Gypsum
The word gypsum is derived from the aorist form of the Greek verb ?????????, meaning "to cook," referring to the mineral that was heated to drive off much of the water.
Commercial exploitation of the area, strongly opposed by area residents, was permanently prevented in 1933 when President Herbert Hoover declared the gypsum dunes a protected national monument.
Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4ยท2H2O.
A fine-grained, white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum is called alabaster, which is prized for ornamental work of various types.
The largest known deposits of gypsum occur in strata from the Permian age.
Given that gypsum dissolves over time in water, it is rarely found in the form of sand.
Gypsum is a common, rock-forming mineral, with thick, extensive beds formed by the evaporation of extremely saline waters.
Around the world, motorcycles have historically been associated with subcultures.
Commercial quantities of gypsum are mined in Germany, Italy, England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
Gypsum is extremely useful for many practical applications and for works of art.
In arid areas, crystals of gypsum (or barite) can assume a flowerlike formation with embedded sand grains.
Hydrothermal ore deposits of gold occur in metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks.
The unique conditions there have resulted in a 710 square kilometer (275 square mile) expanse of white gypsum sand, enough to supply the construction industry with drywall for 1,000 years.