Salt stalagmite

Crystalline halite formed into a “christmas tree” stalagmite, composed of crystals with an incomplete crystallisation structure. The “stepped” shape of individual stalagmites could be caused by inaccuracies (cracks, dislocations) in the mineral particle clusters. These inaccuracies arose either because of stresses caused by contaminant particles that do not match the structure of the mineral, or because of heat diffusion in crystallisation. in the case of the described specimen, we can deal with an inaccuracy called “single helical dislocation”. This means that the deposition of the particles could have spiralled over an uneven surface. Helical dislocation is characterised by the growth of stalagmite infiltrates from not highly supersaturated solutions.