Named in 1791 by Nicolas Théodore de Saussure in honor of the French mineralogist and geologist, Déodat (Dieudonné) Guy Silvain Tancrède Gratet de Dolomieu [June 24, 1750, Dolomieu, near Tour-du-Pin, Isère, France - November 26, 1801, Château-Neuf, Sâone-et-Loire, France]. de Dolomieu wrote numerous books on observations on geology, notably …
Dolomite, type of limestone, the carbonate fraction of which is dominated by the mineral dolomite, calcium magnesium carbonate. Along with calcite and aragonite, dolomite makes up approximately 2 percent of the Earth's crust. Learn more about the structure, properties, and uses of dolomite in this article.