Serpentinite

Serpentinite is a hard, dark green to blackish coloured rock. The satin shine and colour resembles snake scales and scurfs giving the rock its Latin root name. Serpentinites were formed by metamorphosis of peridotites during the Hercynian (Variscan) collision of continents in the Late Paleozoic. Peridotites are dark coloured rocks dominated by olivine and are characteristic for the Earth’s upper mantle. During metamorphosis, most of the olivine is transformed into serpentine. Joints in the serpentinites are then frequently filled with fibrous amphibole – chrysotile (asbestos).

Serpentinites contain high concentrations of magnesium which migrates from the rocks into near-by ground-waters and soils. Well-known mineral waters rich in magnesium are pumped from wells in the area of Prameny village. Growth of the endemic flower Cerastium alsinifolium is limited to serpentinite-derived soils of the Slavkovský les Highland, and this plant cannot be found elsewhere in the world.

Serpentinite was exploited in Slavkovský les Highland, around Prameny and Mnichov for production of decorative stones. Exceptional examples can be seen in the church of St. Peter and Paul in Mnichov.

Sample donated by the company Agrowild Nová Ves Ltd.