[8] In 1791, it was described as a rock by the French naturalist and geologist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (1750–1801), first in buildings of the old city of Rome, and later as samples collected in the Tyrolean Alps.

Unless it is in fine powder form, it does not rapidly dissolve or effervesce (fizz) in cold dilute hydrochloric acid as calcite does.

[11] Modern dolomite formation has been found to occur under anaerobic conditions in supersaturated saline lagoons such as those at the Rio de Janeiro coast of Brazil, namely, Lagoa Vermelha and Brejo do Espinho.

There are many other localities where modern dolomite forms, notably along sabkhas in the Persian Gulf,[12] but also in sedimentary basins bearing gas hydrates[13] and hypersaline lakes.

[12] In general, low-temperature dolomite may occur in natural supersaturated environments rich in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and microbial cell surfaces.

Under such conditions of diagenesis the long-term activity of the deep biosphere could play a key role in dolomitization, since diagenetic fluids of contrasting composition are mixed as a response to Milankovitch cycles.

[19] A recent biotic synthetic experiment claims to have precipitated ordered dolomite when anoxygenic photosynthesis proceeds in the presence of manganese(II).

[20] A still perplexing example of an organogenic origin is that of the reported formation of dolomite in the urinary bladder of a Dalmatian dog, possibly as the result of an illness or infection.

Because dolomite contains relatively minor quantities of radioactive materials, it can insulate against interference from cosmic rays without adding to background radiation levels.