Thulite is an opaque, massive pink manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

-bearing variety of the mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 zoisite

Zoisite

Zoisite is a calcium aluminium hydroxy sorosilicate belonging to the epidote group of minerals. Its chemical formula is Ca2Al3O...

. Manganese substitutes for calcium in the structure with up to two percent Mn²⁺. Thulite is often mottled with white calcite

Calcite

Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...

 and occurs as veins and fracture fillings transecting many types of rock. In mineralogical

Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

 literature, thulite may sometimes refer to any pink zoisite. Clinothulite is the manganese bearing variety of monoclinic clinozoisite

Clinozoisite

Clinozoisite is a mineral, a complex sorosilicate of calcium and aluminium and is usually a grey green colour.Its formula is Ca2Al3[O|OH|SiO4|Si2O7]....

.

Thulite was first discovered at a place called Sauland

Sauland

Sauland is the administrative centre of Hjartdal municipality, Norway....

 in Telemark

Telemark

is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 in 1820. It is named after the mythical island of Thule in the belief that the island is Norway. Thulite is used as a gemstone and carving material in the manufacture of jewellery and ornamental objects.

Thulite is also found in the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n Tyrol, in Mitchell County, North Carolina

Mitchell County, North Carolina

-National protected areas:* Blue Ridge Parkway * Pisgah National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 15,687 people, 6,551 households, and 4,736 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 7,919 housing units at an...

, and in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. A new, more recent find of high quality thulite was discovered near Riverside

Riverside, Washington

Riverside is a town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 348 at the 2000 census and decreased to 280 at the 2010 census.-History:...

 in Okanogan County, Washington, USA.