Stalactitic growth of Quartz "crowned" by many small crystals. This specimen was collected from a vug in decomposing basalt north of Lake Pleasant, AZ.
Pseudomorph or "false form" occurs
when one mineral takes on the crystal form of another. In this case a
calcite crystal was covered with drusy quartz. The calcite later dissolved
away leaving the quartz in the form of the calcite crystal.
A slab of petrified wood. The wood tissue was faithfully preserved during
the petrification process as silica slowly replaced the tissues cell by cell.
This is a close up view of the above slab of petrified wood showing the detail
preserved in the wood.
This is an elongate tapering crystal of Quartz very reminiscent of Calcite
crystals.
Desert Roses evidently form in openings (vugs) that are exposed to silica
rich solutions that either drip into the vugs and form crystals much like
dripstone formations of calcium carbonate in caverns or the vug fills with a
silica rich solution or gel that crystallizes.
Quartz with hematite inclusions from Russia
caption to come
Synthetic Quartz
Clusters of Quartz crystals growing on weathered basalt.
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