Pulpí Geode

{{Short description|Large geological formation in Spain}}

File:Giant Geode of Pulpí.png

The Pulpí Geode (Spanish: Geoda de Pulpí) is a giant geode found in Spain near the town of Pulpí (Province of Almería) in December 1999,{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/giant-crystals-formed-in-strange-ways-climate-chemistry-pulpi-geode|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509153816/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/giant-crystals-formed-in-strange-ways-climate-chemistry-pulpi-geode|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 9, 2021|publisher=National Geographic|date=22 October 2019|title=These human-size crystals formed in especially strange ways|author=Robin George Andrews|access-date=4 January 2023}}{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1130/G46734.1 | doi=10.1130/G46734.1 | title=The origin of large gypsum crystals in the Geode of Pulpí (Almería, Spain) | year=2019 | last1=Canals | first1=A. | last2=Van Driessche | first2=A.E.S. | last3=Palero | first3=F. | last4=García-Ruiz | first4=J.M. | journal=Geology | volume=47 | issue=12 | pages=1161–1165 | bibcode=2019Geo....47.1161C | s2cid=204972371 | hdl=10481/58623 | hdl-access=free }} by Javier Garcia-Guinea of the Grupo Mineralogista de Madrid.{{cn|date=February 2025}} This geode is one of the largest documented geodes in the world to date. It occupies a space of {{convert|10.7|m3}}, measuring {{convert|8|by|1.8|m}} with an average height of {{convert|1.7|m}}, and is located at a depth of {{convert|50|m}} in the Pilar de Jaravía mine, in the Sierra del Aguilón, in the municipality of Pulpí, {{convert|3|km}} from the coast.

The geode has a funnel shape, with the narrowest part being L-shaped. It is notable on a worldwide scale for both its size and the transparency and perfection of the selenite (gypsum) crystals lining the interior, which reach up to {{convert|2|m}} in length, with {{convert|50|cm}} being the average. The abandoned silver-lead mine is now a geoheritage site attracting geotourists. The geode was damaged by vandals at the end of 2021,{{cite web|url=https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/02/20/pulpis-geode-irreparably-damaged-by-unauthorised-visit/|website=Euro Weekly News|title=Pulpi's geode damaged by unauthorised visit|author=Linda Hall|date=20 February 2022|access-date=4 January 2023}} but the damage was not as severe as first thought.{{cite web|url=https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/02/24/pulpis-geoda-hardly-damaged-despite-uninvited-guests/|website=Euro Weekly News|title=Pulpi's Geoda hardly damaged despite uninvited guests|author=Linda Hall|date=24 February 2022|access-date=4 January 2023}}

File:Geode of Pulpí schematic formation.png

The latest scientific research, on the origin of the geode, was published on 23 March 2022; the research was led by Fernando Gázquez of the University of Almeria, with the conclusion that the gypsum crystals were formed between 164 ± 15 thousand and 60 thousand years ago, in the upper Pleistocene, from a freshwater aquifer (with very little evidence of brackish or sea water, as suggested previously).{{cite journal | doi=10.3390/geosciences12040144 | doi-access=free | title=The Absolute Age and Origin of the Giant Gypsum Geode of Pulpí (Almería, SE Spain) | year=2022 | last1=Gázquez | first1=Fernando | last2=Monteserín | first2=Ana | last3=Obert | first3=Christina | last4=Münker | first4=Carsten | last5=Fernández-Cortés | first5=Ángel | last6=Calaforra | first6=José María | journal=Geosciences | volume=12 | issue=4 | page=144 | bibcode=2022Geosc..12..144G | hdl=10835/13596 | hdl-access=free }}