These two examples show the shape of individual quartz crystals.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe Image
Find out how to identify minerals (...and learn what shape, luster, color, streak, hardness, cleavage and fracture are all about!)
Meet some other silicate minerals!
This mineral is called quartz!
Sometimes it looks white like milk but usually it looks clear like glass, sometimes with a little pink or gray tinge of color.
You can find crystals of quartz in many different types of rocks. Igneous rocks that form deep in the ground can have big quartz crystals in them. Metamorphic rocks that are made when rocks are squished and heated often have quartz in them too. Often sand is made of little bits of quartz. When all the sand grains get stuck together they make a sedimentary rock called sandstone!
Last modified November 6, 2003 by Lisa Gardiner.
You might also be interested in:
What’s the Earth made of? Most of the Earth’s outer layer, the crust, is made up of eight types of elements. Oxygen (O) Silicon (Si) Aluminum (Al) Iron (Fe) Calcium (Ca) Sodium (Na) Potassium (K) Magnesium...more
Deep inside the Earth, or at a volcano, melted rock is becoming solid mineral crystals. Some minerals, like olivine, make crystals when the hot liquid rock is still very hot. Other minerals, like biotite...more
Spotting minerals is fun! There are many different types of minerals. Each has a different name and special traits. You can learn more about minerals by looking closely at them to understand their special...more
This mineral is called quartz! Sometimes it looks white like milk but usually it looks clear like glass, sometimes with a little pink or gray tinge of color. You can find crystals of quartz in many different...more
Mica minerals make some rocks sparkle! Look for them in your igneous and metamorphic rocks. Do they make your rocks sparkle? They break into flat plates because they have cleavage. ...more
This is a feldspar mineral! Look for it in igneous rocks where it looks like white or pink crystals. You might find it in other types of rocks as well. ...more
The mineral that is green is called olivine! Look for it in igneous and metamorphic rocks. In this picture, olivine is filling a hole in the igneous rock. ...more