mineral
Smoky Quartz
Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)
AI-generated identification · may be incorrectHardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, brown to grey translucent color, vitreous luster, hexagonal crystal system, and conchoidal fracture with no true cleavage.
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Physical properties
Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, brown to grey translucent color, vitreous luster, hexagonal crystal system, and conchoidal fracture with no true cleavage.
Formation & geological history
Formed in igneous, metamorphic, and hydrothermal environments where natural irradiation of surrounding rocks activates aluminum color centers.
Uses & applications
Widely used in jewelry, lapidary arts, and ornamental carvings as an affordable gemstone.
Geological facts
The dark coloration is caused by natural gamma radiation from surrounding radioactive rocks acting on trace aluminum impurities in the silica crystal lattice.
Field identification & locations
Easily identified by its distinctive brown-to-grey color, conchoidal fracture, and hard quartz crystal structure; common globally including in California pegmatites.
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Gneiss or Schist
Gneiss or Mica Schist with Garnet
Metamorphic
Limonite
FeO(OH)•nH2O
mineral
Sandstone (with potential mineral staining/concretions)
Arenite (SiO2 based)
sedimentary
Tumbled granite
Granite, a coarse-grained felsic intrusive igneous rock
igneous
Pegmatite with Tourmaline and Quartz
Igneous Pegmatite
igneous
Epidote
Epidote | Ca2(Al2,Fe3+)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH)
metamorphic