Name:

quartz

A photo of the mineral quartz

Class:

Silicates

Chemistry:

SiO2 Silicon dioxide

Color(s):

clear, white, brown, yellow, purple, green, blue, Streak: white

Hardness:

7

SpecGrav:

2.5 - 2.7

Fracture:

conchoidal

Cleavage:

none

Crystal:

hexagonal (prisms, pyramidal)

Envronment:

develops in a wide variety of environments, igneous, metamorphic, hydrothermal ...

Association:

pyrite, calcite, feldspars, garnet, sphalerite ...

Locals:

| Switzerland | Brazil | Arkansas, Colorado, New York/USA | Austrailia | Mexico |

Misc:

The Greeks called quartz "krystallos" or "ice", but the name remained with the origin of the word crystal and not with quartz. The name appears to be from the German "Quartz", of uncertain origin.

Photos
& Locals:

1.) Huaron, Peru
2.) Huaron, Peru

3.) Mexico, var. amethyst
4.) Minas Gerais, Brazil, Var. Rose Quartz

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