UW Geology Museum

Yesterday, our intrepid field crew set off for their annual field work. These hands-on scientists will spend the better part of two weeks in the Wyoming sun, looking for Mesozoic material to bring back to the Museum. We wish them fair fortune and a whole lot of fun!

As the quarterfinals of the World Cup come around, it's time for Part 3/4 of World Cup Wednesday, where we show off our best specimens from World Cup nations!

-------------------------------------------------------------
🇲🇦: Dicranurus. Morocco. On display.
🇳🇿: Ferruginous Opal. Near Waihi, New Zealand. In collection.
🇳🇴: Zoisite var. Thulite. Norway. In collection.
🇵🇦: Fossiliferous limestone. Garachiné, Panama. In collection.
🇵🇾: Trilobites, brachiopods, and tentaculites. Paraguay. In collection.
🇵🇹: Apatite. Panesqueira, Portugal. In collection.
🏳: Diplacanthus triatus. Old Red Sandstone, Camric, Scotland.
🇿🇦: Thrinaxodon. Karoo Supergroup, South Africa. On display.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Quartz is one of the most simple and common minerals in the Earth’s crust. With such a simple crystal structure and so many environments of formation comes many opportunities for variation! Quartz comes in a gorgeous rainbow of varieties, every one of which has its own appeal.

🔴Hematoid quartz contains hematite inclusions in and on its crystals.
🔶Carnelian is a type of chalcedony with a trace iron oxide component.
⭐Citrine has a trace iron content or aluminum color centers.
🟢Prasiolite contains trace amounts of Fe(2+) compounds.
💠Blue chalcedony is caused by the Tyndall Effect, where light is scattered by colloidal particles.
🔷Dumortierite quartz contains long, thin inclusions of dumortierite.
🟪Amethyst is caused by irradiation and trace Fe(3+) content.
❣️Rose quartz has thin dumortierite inclusions or aluminum and phosphorous color centers.
🟤Tiger’s eye is the intergrowth of quartz crystals with crystals of limonite after amphibole.
⬛️Smoky quartz contains aluminum color centers that have been irradiated.
⚪️Milky quartz contains small inclusions of liquid and gas, trapped during formation.
👻Rock crystal is clear quartz without inclusions or trace element composition.

These are just some of the many varieties of quartz that can be found all around the world. They are all the same mineral, but with small differences and their own properties!

📷 Amethyst geode, Brazil.
📷 Rose quartz, Brazil.
📷 Prasiolite, locality unknown.
📷 "Herkimer Diamond" Rock crystal, New York.