Rock crystal, adularia, iron roses, rutile, and a dozen other minerals can be found in a single crevice in the Alps. Given the diversity and beauty of the minerals constantly being discovered in the Alps, visitors to this vast mountain range often wonder how these crystals actually formed.

 extraLapis No. 5 explains why, when, and how the "Aplin Fissures" and their minerals were formed. This fascinating journey of discovery takes us back to an early chapter of Earth's history, to the time when the two supercontinents of Africa and Europe collided!

 extraLapis No. 5 reports on fissures, minerals, rock crystal hunters, the early history of crystal finds and provides a complete identification overview of the minerals from the world-famous Alpine fissures.

 Contents :
 A word and an example: the large rock crystal cleft of Gerstenegg/From Pliny to Placidus: Instead of a foreword: Two quotations, one theme, two worlds/Placidus a Spescha: The "Father of Mineral Collectors" - a biographical sketch (Father Flurin Maissen)/Bringing crystals into the world: A visit with Flurin Maissen (Theodosi Venzin, Franziska von Kracht and Maximilian Glas)/The formation of Alpine clefts (Josef Mullis, Mineralogical-Petrological Institute of the University of Basel)/From adularia to zoisite: The minerals of the Alpine clefts (With location information from Dr. Eric Asselborn, Kurt Folie, Carlo Maria Gramaccioli and Gerhard Niedermayr)/Characteristic: the parageneses (Rupert Hochleitner, Bavarian State Collection of Mineralogy, Munich)/The classics of the clefts (With mineral descriptions by Hugo Strunz)/The rarities: Treats for alpine specialists (Stefan Weiß)/Mineral Museums in the Alps (Rudolf Geipel)/Alpine Mineral Literature (Information from Kristalldruse Munich)

 With cover, 100 pages in lapis format (21 x 30 cm). Published: 1993