Carnelian, also known as cornelian, is a translucent, micro-crystalline chalcedony quartz. It is closely related to sard and sardonite which only slightly differ in color and hardness. Its color ranges from orange and pale red to dark brown and comes from iron oxide (hematite) colloidally dispersed in the trigonal crystalline structure.
Carnelian is a rather prevalent mineral. It occurs in the cavities of many rock formations, but most often it develops silica-rich rocks that solidified at low temperatures but it is also found in volcanic rocks. Carnelian typically forms nodules and cone-shaped masses. Considerable amounts of Carnelian have been found in India, with some of the oldest known deposits in Bengal. Carnelian is also mined in Brazil, Uruguay, USA (mostly in Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina), Botswana, Madagascar, and South Africa.
In the Middle Ages carnelian was called carneolus. This name derived from the Latin word carneus which meant fleshy, made of flesh. The Frenc…
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