Spar is a general term used to refer to crystals where the crystal faces are readily discernible. In caves, spar is a depositional deposit, usually made of calcite or gypsum, but sometimes of less common (to caves) minerals such as barite, fluorite, halite, or quartz. Most spar forms underwater, either in the phreatic zone (below the water table, where most caves are formed), or in standing pools, as pool spar. Spar may also grow in the air from solutions seeping out of the caves walls or through porous sediments. The largest spar, like that seen below, is of the phreatic variety, since it usually has more time to grow. It grows best where the water is just barely saturated. Some caves are like giant geodes, the walls and ceilings completely lined with spar. Jewel Cave and others in the Black Hills of South Dakota contain large quantities of spar. The variety pictured below is the dogtooth variety, from a room in Carlsbad Cavern. Spar formed in the air is often made of gypsum or selenite. It may form as small needles found in sediments, or on the growing tips of gypsum chandeliers, as shown in the bottom photo.

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	Created: June 19, 1995 Last Updated: May 4, 2005 Author: Dave Bunnell