Bright 3-Color Fluorescent Calcite - Cap-Chat, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada
Contributed by: FMS Admin
minID: QL9-E71
Date: May 17th, 2026
Locality: La Haute-Gaspésie RCM, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Canada (See on Mindat)
Size: 5.1 x 2.2 x 6.2 cm
Description:
Small but nice cabinet specimen of highly fluorescent calcite from a rarely heard-of locality in the Gaspe peninsula (Gaspésie) in eastern Quebec, Canada. Under daylight, this specimen is quite ordinary - just a small plate of clear rhombohedral calcite crystals, with a frosted surface; but under UV, it shows a nice three colors response. The massive calcite underneath the crystals glows bright white (mostly visible under longwave; under midwave and shortwave, the bright red response of the crystals dominates). The red fluorescing crystals also show yellow fluorescing areas; again, this is mostly visible under longwave, since the red response is weakest under this wavelength. Under midwave, the red response dominates and is really bright.
Big specimens are hard to find in this area, since most veins are narrow, but on occasion, bigger display pieces are found.
Originally posted by Frédéric Messier Leroux on Nature's Rainbows in 2021.
Summary of luminescence responses:
Calcite (Mindat) (RRUFF)
- Fluorescence under Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: Pink
- Fluorescence under Midwave (305nm LED) UV light: Red
- Fluorescence under Shortwave (255nm LED) UV light: Red