Digging for Sand Roses

This past weekend we went to the desert to dig for sand roses. They aren't the botanical kind of roses, but a desert formation. Here is the on-site geologist's explanation:

The coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia offers ideal conditions for the growth of sand roses. These artistic assemblages of bladed crystals, composed primarilly of gypsum (CaSO4 + 2 H2O) and quartz sand, can range in size from small rosettes a centimeter across to large clusters, more than one meter in diameter. Calcium sulfate brines from the Arabian Gulf seep underground into sabkhas; flat areas between dunes, where evaporation under the hot desert sun pumps the brines to the surface, concentrating the brine to more than three times that of normal sea water. At a depth of about 1 m below the surface, gypsum formation begins. As the water table rises and falls with seasons, the gypsum crystal grows in the pore space as precipitated gypsum which traps and shoulders aside the sand grains, creating beautiful prismatic crystals, none of which are ever identical.

Here is Brian displaying the literal interpretation of some popular sayings:



Digging yourself into a hole










Digging in deeper











Sticking your head in the sand - literally!



He stuck in his thumb, and pulled out a....sand rose? Pam with some of our collection.













It was a fun day with our friends Sue & Dave Alexander. They've lived in Saudi Arabia for 19 years so they are the experts. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and sights of Arabia.

We were all sitting on the desert - well some of us were sitting and some of us were digging, when I looked up...and there in front of us was a herd of about 100 camels crossing the desert.

The treasures from our hunting.