mineral

Milky Quartz

Quartz (Silicon Dioxide, SiO2)

Hardness: 7 (Mohs scale); Color: White, cloudy, or reddish-brown due to iron staining; Luster: Vitreous to greasy; Crystal Structure: Hexagonal (trigonal); Cleavage: Indistinct/Conchoidal fracture; Specific Gravity: 2.65.

Hardness: 7 (Mohs scale)
Color: White, cloudy, or reddish-brown due to iron staining
Luster: Vitreous to greasy

Identified June 11, 2026More mineral →

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Physical properties

Formation & geological history

Formed in hydrothermal veins or pegmatites from cooling silica-rich fluids. This specimen appears water-worn, likely from a river or stream bed, rounding it over hundreds to thousands of years.

Uses & applications

Used as a source of silicon for electronics, in glassmaking, as an abrasive, and widely for landscaping and decorative gravel. Higher quality specimens are used for jewelry or crystal healing collections.

Geological facts

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth's crust. Milky quartz gets its opaque white appearance from microscopic inclusions of liquid or gas trapped during the crystal's growth.

Field identification & locations

Identify by its inability to be scratched by steel, its waxy luster on fresh breaks, and its lack of cleavage. Commonly found in riverbeds, mountains, and gravel pits worldwide.