Catlinite (Pipestone)

Catlinite is not an approved mineral species but an argillite, that is a mudstone with variable amounts of silt-sized particles composed predominantly of indurated clay

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Catlinit Pfeifenstein catlinite pipestoneCatlinit Pfeifenstein catlinite pipestone

 

Origin of name: after American lawyer, painter and author George Catlin, who visited the Minnesota quarries in 1835

Synonyms and trade names: pipestone

Can be confused with: above all with red jasper

Jaspis

Localities: USA, mostly at pipestone quarry, Pipestone County, Minnesota. Other localities are Delta, Utah, where catlinite is a by-product of slate mining, as well as Arizona, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Handling: catlinite is rather soft and can be cut and carved easily and with simple tools. Also it is highly heat-resistant. Due to these two properties it has been used by native Americans for the production of ornaments, charms and amulets and, above all, ceremonial pipes for centuries.

pfeifenstein pipestonepipestone calumet
potos: left: Indianertosset, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, right: User:Billwhittaker, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Worth knowing:  Catlinite owes its characteristic red colour to hematite. Sometimes it shows white inclusions called "stars"