The Geology of the Blue John Cavern, home of the Famous Blue John Fluorite

The Blue John Cavern is located in the Peak District in England near the town of Castleton, Derbyshire. This unique are is the home of the world-famous Blue John Fluorite. There are two caves in the area that have this unique fluorite – the Blue John Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern.

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Area Geology Near the Blue John Cavern

The area is formed of limestone strata that deposited in deep ocean waters millions of years ago. Layers of shale and some gritstone, a type of coarse sandstone common in this area, covered the limestone. A generalized diagram of the strata is shown here.

Blue John Cave Formation

Over time, the layers buckled from folding and faulting. The cavern itself formed when glacial meltwaters flowed through the area forming the valleys and seeping into cracks in the limestone strata and dissolving portions of the limestone. As the meltwaters dissolved the limestone, underground rivers formed which washed out corridors and large underground rooms which became the network of the Blue John Cavern.

Blue John Fluorite

Fluorite is a unique mineral that can be found in more colors than any other including blue, red, purple, yellow, green, or white. Fluorite has low to moderate hardness, a white streak, and a glassy luster. Fluorite often forms in hydrothermal (hot water) veins inside other rocks and is often found with other minerals like galena, calcite, quartz, and sphalerite. Interestingly, fluorite crystals will fluoresce under ultraviolet light.

The Blue John Fluorite is a banded white and purple variety of the mineral shown here.

Adventures at the Blue John Cavern

The Blue John Cavern area is the setting for much of the book, Blue John’s Cavern, a time-travel, adventure novel for kids age 8 to 14. Join Emma and Brody as they travel through the magical Crystal Cave in search of the rare Blue John Fluorite! Read the book blurb on our website.

Blue John’s Cavern, and the entire Crystal Cave Adventures book series is available on our website. The series is also available wherever books are sold. Use this link to find your favorite retailer!

https://www.books2read.com/BlueJohnsCavern

Blue John’s Cavern, and each of the four Crystal Cave adventures novels has a companion Activity Book full of puzzles, story quizzes, online games, fun geology facts, behind-the-scenes book details and creative writing activities! You can find the activity book on our website and everywhere books are sold.

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