Double Terminated Quartz Crystal
May 22, 2010
Photographer: Jordan Maendel
Summary Author: Jordan Maendel; Jim Foster
The photo above shows an impressive double terminated quartz crystal, which was found at a quarry in Green County in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Only feldspar is more abundant in the Earth’s crust than quartz. Crystals of various minerals can grow in several different ways. Slow cooling of magma (melted rock) in the Earth’s mantle may result in granitic rocks having obvious crystals of quartz and other minerals. On occasion, crystals can grow to huge proportions if they occur in areas through which superheated water circulates. This water slowly deposits layer upon layer of mineral material that over time may build to remarkable sized crystals.
Though our ninth grade science class didn’t have any luck in stumbling upon an epic crystal of quartz when visiting the quarry, we did find a number of much smaller crystals as well as some great calcite deposits. However, the manager of the quarry was very generous in donating this rare specimen to our school!
Photo details: Camera Maker: Canon; Camera Model: Canon PowerShot S2 IS; Image Date: 2009:10:07 14:18:22; Focal Length: 9.1mm; Aperture: f/3.2; Exposure Time: 0.025 s (1/40); Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: No; Color Space: sRGB