mineral

Quartz (Orangey-white variety)

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale; Color: Milky white to pale orange/yellow due to iron oxide staining; Luster: Vitreous (glassy); Crystal Structure: Hexagonal; Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture); Specific Gravity: 2.65

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale
Color: Milky white to pale orange/yellow due to iron oxide staining
Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

Identified April 5, 2026More mineral →

Identify your own rocks.

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

App Store Google Play

Physical properties

Formation & geological history

Formed through the cooling of silica-rich magma or from hydrothermal veins. This specimen appears water-worn, likely from a riverbed or coastal environment where it was smoothed by abrasion over time.

Uses & applications

Used in glassmaking, electronics (piezoelectric properties), abrasives, and as decorative landscaping stone. High-quality specimens are used in jewelry and metaphysical collections.

Geological facts

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust. It is highly resistant to chemical and physical weathering, which is why it often remains as rounded pebbles in rivers long after other minerals have dissolved.

Field identification & locations

Identify in the field by its inability to be scratched by a steel knife and its lack of cleavage planes. It often shows a 'greasy' luster on fractured surfaces and can be found almost everywhere globally, particularly in mountainous and river regions.

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