Gypsum Formed in Many Shapes

Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) occurs in many shapes in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates. It has commonly been found as lenses, euhedral crystals and desert roses. Desert rose is rosette of gypsum crystals with sand inclusions. These are formed when water rich in calcium and sulfate evaporates under arid sandy conditions like in the salt-scalds “called sabkha” in the UAE. Sand grains are trapped in the gypsum crystals during their growth and give them the same color as the sand.