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Quartz Rock ("KWARTZ") -- We also call it "geode rock"


This is what we call "quartz rock."		 This rock is something of a mystery to us.  We know it's made mostly of quartz stained red by iron minerals -- but we don't know where it originally came from or how it formed.  Like a geode, it has small quartz crystals coating spaces inside the rock.

We find this rock in the Oak Park and Garfield Park Conservatories, and we buy it from Town & Country Landscape Supply in Markham, Illinois.

To learn more about "quartz rock", scroll farther down this page.
     
How to recognize "quartz rock"
Other rocks that look like "quartz rock"
Special things to look for
Where "quartz rock" came from
How "quartz rock" formed
Other names for "quartz rock"
  

How to recognize "quartz rock"

Most pieces of this rock are stained rusty red or yellowish, or coated with rusty-red powder
If you look closely, you'll see small, pointy crystals of quartz and thin layers of a mineral that looks almost like agate.
This rock is hard -- it can scratch glass or a knife blade.  (See more about the scratch test.)
This rock made mostly of the mineral quartz.
    

Other rocks that look like "quartz rock"

Nothing else in our neighborhood looks quite like this rock!
   

Where "quartz rock" came from

We don't know!  Please write us at Rocks@SaltTheSandbox.org 
if you can tell us where this rock was quarried or mined.
  

How "quartz rock" formed

Once again, we don't know.
  

Other names for "quartz rock"

We use the scientific name "quartz" for the most 
common mineral in this rock.  We also call this
"geode rock" because it has tiny crystals covering 
the walls of holes inside the rock (and because 
the walls themselves often have agate-like bands, 
like many true geodes).

So far we only know one other name for this rock:

We've seen 50-pound bags of this rock sold as labeled "Burnt Coral."

 
We're not sure how to classify this rock (by grouping it with similar types of rocks).

 

   


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Copyright 2001-2002 Eric D. Gyllenhaal                                         Search this Site
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This page was created on May 2, 2001, and it was last updated on June 29, 2003.