mineral

Quartz Pebble

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale. Color: Off-white, translucent greyish, or milky. Luster: Vitreous to waxy (especially when wet/water-worn). Crystal Structure: Hexagonal (trigonal). Cleavage: None, exhibits conchoidal fracture. Specific Gravity: 2.65.

Hardness: 7 on Mohs scale
Color: Off-white, translucent greyish, or milky
Luster: Vitreous to waxy (especially when wet/water-worn)

Identified July 25, 2026More mineral →

Explore Quartz Pebble in the encyclopedia →

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 hydrothermal activity or crystallization from magmatic fluids. Hydrothermally deposited in veins or pegmatites and subsequently weathered and rounded by river or stream action into a river pebble.

Uses & applications

Used in lapidary arts, tumbling, landscape decoration, and historically as raw material for glass-making or silicone production when found in large quantities.

Geological facts

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust. River-worn pebbles like this one have been rounded over thousands or millions of years by rolling along stream beds.

Field identification & locations

Identify by its hardness (scratches glass easily, cannot be scratched by a steel knife), lack of cleavage, and translucent waxy-to-glassy luster when wet. Very common along riverbanks, beaches, and gravel beds worldwide.