What is Gypsum

Below is a transcription of the above sign found at the Valley of Fire Visitor Center.

Gypsum occurs in beds in sedimentary rocks.

In the United States, this relatively soft material is generally found in beds of clear or white crystals.

Called an “evaporite” gypsum formed when ancient seas dried up and left behind various minerals.

Gypsum is usually found “sandwiched” between layers of limestone because later seas covered the mineral with still more limy deposits.

Gypsum is mined throughout western North America.

it is an important ingredient in wallboard, plaster, cement, paper, pain, and fertilizers.

In pre-industrial times, Indians made pendants and other jewelry from soft easily worked pieces of clear gypsum.

Category: Sedimentary

Time Period: Paleozoic or Mesozoic Era

Composition: Mineral

Location: North end of Valley of Fire, via Logandale Wash