mineral

Quartz (specifically Clear Quartz or Rock Crystal)

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale; Color: Colorless to faint yellow/smoky; Luster: Vitreous (glassy); Crystal Structure: Hexagonal/Trigonal; Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture); Specific Gravity: 2.65.

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale
Color: Colorless to faint yellow/smoky
Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

Identified March 24, 2026More mineral →

Identify your own rocks.

Get a report just like this from any photo, free.

App Store Google Play

Physical properties

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale; Color: Colorless to faint yellow/smoky; Luster: Vitreous (glassy); Crystal Structure: Hexagonal/Trigonal; Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture); Specific Gravity: 2.65.

Formation & geological history

Formed from cooling magma or hydrothermal veins. It is found in all types of geological environments and can be found in rocks from the Precambrian era to the present.

Uses & applications

Extensively used in electronics (oscillators), glass manufacturing, abrasives, construction sand, and as a gemstone in jewelry and metaphysical collecting.

Geological facts

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust. It is piezoelectric, meaning it generates an electric charge when mechanical pressure is applied.

Field identification & locations

Identify in the field by its glass-like appearance, inability to be scratched by a steel knife, and lacks cleavage (it breaks into curved, shell-like shards). Common in riverbeds and mountainous regions globally.

Other mineral specimens

See all

Sandstone (with potential mineral staining/concretions)

Arenite (SiO2 based)

sedimentary

Epidote

Epidote | Ca2(Al2,Fe3+)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH)

metamorphic

Nephrite Jade

Nephrite

Mineral/Rock

Banded Gneiss (River Rock/Pebble)

Gneiss (specifically a banded variety often found as a river rock)

Metamorphic Rock

Green Apatite on Albite

Fluorapatite [Ca5(PO4)3F] on Albite [Na(AlSi3O8)]

mineral

Epidote

Epidote - Ca2(Al2,Fe3+)3(SiO4)3(OH)

mineral