This is our new learning whitepaper format. It's copyright 2010 but free use is granted for
non-commercial educational & Club use.
Quartz
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust after feldspar. It forms from precipitation out of saturated solutions or from the bonding of silicon with oxygen within magmas or lava. Its name is really silicon dioxide, or SiO2. Quartz occurs in hydrothermal veins and in pegmatites.
Many varieties of quartz are semi-precious gemstones and have been used since ancient times for jewelry and carvings. These varieties come from impurities in the silicon dioxide. Some semi-precious types are:
Agate
Amethyst
Carnelian
Citrine
Jasper
Onyx
Tiger eye
The crystals are six-sided with a six-sided pyramid at each end unless growing from a matrix, where there’s only a pyramid at one end. They’re a beautiful, must-have addition to any collection and are considered to have special healing properties in the metaphysical community. We now have a 14 piece Quartz Lovers' Collection at www.MoleeNatureStore.info
Vocabulary terms are bolded
Geology Vocabulary
Feldspar- 60% of the earth’s crust is made of this complex silica mineral
Hydrothermal Veins- a vein of mineral left from a super hot saturated solution
Lava- molten rock emitted from a volcano; magma that escapes to the surface
Magmas- molten rock formed deep beneath the earth’s surface
Pegmatites- coarse-grained intrusive igneous rocks (a vein in another rock)
Precipitation- a solid forming out of a liquid. Many crystals are formed this way
Saturated Solution- water or other liquid that’s very, very full of dissolved minerals
Links
These sites provide more information on this very collectible mineral and the galleries site has some fantastic photos. More excellent quartz photos can be found at Bing Images. Enjoy!
Wikipedia.org/wiki/quartz
Galleries.com/minerals/silicate/quartz/quartz.htm
Mindat.org/min-3337.html