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The Crystal Mountain is situated between
the Baharyia Oasis and the Farafra Oasis, in the White Desert's
North. Despite its name, the Crystal Mountain is rather a ridge,
a rock or a hill sparkling like a crystal. The sun rays make the
big rock with its arch to spark even more. The arch is natural
and small and is situated in the centre of the structure. This
is the favorite place of the tourists who want to make pictures
here. According to the geologists that have studied the Crystal
Mountain, 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 Crystal Mountain is also said to
be sub-volcanic vault dating probably from the Oligocene age.
The layers of chalk from the White Desert and the limestone, the
coal and the ferruginous layers of brownish and reddish colors
are dating from the Cretaceous age. The layers are broken and
folded, and the crystals have also an interesting history. The
anthracite came from the coal seam; the calcite crystals came
from the hydrothermal solutions which had a big concentration of
CaCO2, which came from the chalk. These solutions came in all
the cavities and after the solutions cooled, the crystals
increased. The visitors of the Crystal Mountain should know that
it is not indicated to break parts from the structure; there are
numerous crystals on the ground that can be taken, and some of
these crystals have the size of a football. 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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