How and where to find quartz minerals?
The quartz mineral is one of the most common and well-known minerals in the earth’s crust, it occurs in various shapes and shades, depending on the formation conditions and minerals associated with it, in the quartz crystallization process, but to know how and where to find quartz minerals, you must first know them in order to identify them.
The wide varieties of quartz have made it one of the most sought-after collection minerals in the world, and to know how and where to find quartz minerals in nature, it is necessary to know how to differentiate them and know the types of quartz minerals.
How to identify quartz mineral
Quartz can be found in the form of well-formed, semi-formed crystals, veins, veins, or massive and compact microcrystals. As for the hardness of quartz, it is at level 7 on the Mohs scale.
The different types of quartz in terms of shades are given, depending on the different types of materials included inside. Milky or white quartz occurs when it is not well formed, and if it is pure, it can become totally colorless.
The most common quartz mineral crystal, in terms of shape, occurs in hexagonal prisms ending in a rhombohedral or pyramidal shape.
Inside quartz crystals it is common to find small inclusions of gases or liquids, which can be distinguished with the naked eye.
Taking into account all the varieties of quartz, it is one of the main components of many magmatic and metamorphic rocks, it normally crystallizes from magmas, at different pressures and temperatures, although we can also find quartz in sedimentary areas, and it may have been formed by crystallization and sedimentation, being dissolved in large amounts of water, as can happen in deposits around geysers. This mineral can also derive from the accumulation and transformation of microorganisms on the seabed. By reconnaissing an area using geological maps and with the help of a map application, we can know where and how to find quartz minerals.
Types of Quartz Minerals
Among the wide varieties of quartz, some are more common and others are somewhat rarer and sought after by collectors, depending on the crystallization of the quartz, appearance, color, and type of inclusions. We can divide the types of quartz into the following varieties:
Hyaline Quartz
Citrine Quartz
Black Quartz
Smoky Quartz
Amethyst Quartz
Ametrine Quartz
Green Quartz or Prasio (Aventurine)
Pink Quartz
Hematoid Quartz
Blue Quartz
Herkimer Quartz or Herkimer Diamond
Iris Quartz
“Ghost” Quartz
Chalcedony
Chalcedony is a subvariety of quartz from which other varieties emerge, including:
Chrysoprase
Heliotrope
Agate
Carnelian Agate
Sardonyx
Petrified Wood
Tiger’s Eye
Jaspers
Quartz With Inclusions
Rutilated Quartz
Garden Quartz or Mudstone Quartz
Tourmalinated Quartz
Deposits of Quartz
It is relatively easy to find quartz and some of its varieties, as well as to recognize its characteristic crystals. Quartz can be found anywhere in the world, although it is most easily found in rock fractures in pegmatite veins, within rock masses, and in loose sediments..
Do you want to learn more about minerals and their locations?
If you want to learn more about how and where to find minerals, the types of minerals that exist and the known location of deposits to date, I recommend you visit the website mindat.org, since it is the largest mineralogy database, being the website with the most information on minerals for public and free use, which you can access from this link.
