The sediment, made up of sand, mud and pebbles constitute sedimentary rocks, which develop from other rocks that have been worn down by the environment over the years.
In order to determine the age of the layers of rocks that have accumulated over the millions of years on our planet, we need to look at sedimentary rocks, which are accumulations of rock sediments.
There are three basic types of sedimentary rocks:
Clastic sedimentary rocks
such as breccia, conglomerate,sandstone, siltstone, and shale are formed from mechanical weathering debris.
Chemical sedimentary rocks
such as rock salt, iron ore,chert, flint, some dolomites, and some limestones, form when dissolved minerals precipitate from solution.
Organic sedimentary rocks
such as coal, some dolomites, and some limestones, form from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.
More specifically, there are a number of processes that are involved in the formation of sedimentary rock:
Weathering (aka erosion)
which is the result of the friction of waves, transportation where the sediment is carried off by a current and deposition and compaction, where the sediment is flattened.
Lithification (aka rock formation)
develops as the sediment pressure squeezes the sediment into layered solids.
By reviewing the different layers of sediment, scientist can tell when rock formations and minerals began to materialize.
Not your most active social environment or easy to get to but, for the die-hard mineral lover, mines are your best option. There, you will find minerals, ore, gemstones and precious metals. Mines are ‘gems’ (pun intentional) that contain large amounts of these materials; however, access to them is not easy.
in the earlier years, it was straightforward to obtain permission to enter a mine and obtain minerals. Collectors would enter the mining areas and extract the minerals without interfering with the workers or collect on weekends. This is rarely possible today, due to insurance liabilities and other bureaucracies. Many famous localities that have been abandoned are also difficult to access, due to trespassing laws.
Thus, the only way to collect a mineral is to either have connections to a mine operator or get permission from a property owner. Another possibility is to collect with a mineral group or club, which works on getting the permits and permission to enter active quarries where an individual would not be permitted.
Some minerals are also found in on the side of roads, highways, and railroads. Construction sites have also yielded many interesting specimens; however, these too have trespassing laws. Contacting the building management would b
As mentioned in the Difference (of rocks and minerals) article, minerals are naturally occurring inorganic solids. There are around four thousand different minerals in the world. Each mineral is defined by a specific chemical composition and crystalline structure.
So let’s break this down to determine what a chemical composition is:
The Atom:
To begin with, we have to define the atom. An atom is the smallest unit of a chemical element, or to put it another way, atoms make up chemical elements. For example, the atom Aluminium, noted by the symbol AI makes up the element called Aluminum.
The (Chemical) Element:
We cannot see the Aluminum atom, but put billions of them together and you will be able to see the element; however, so small that you would need a microscope to see it. The more Aluminum atoms that are assembled, the more of the metal is visible. Of course, it would take trillions of assembled AI atoms for us to be able to visibly see even a small piece of aluminum.
There are 103 of these chemical elements discovered so far, as depicted by the well known Periodic Table of Elements
Compounds:
Some minerals are made up of just one chemical element, which means they contain only one type of atom. Copper is made up of only copper atoms, but most minerals are identified as chemical compounds, as they contain atoms from more than one chemical element;.
Molecules:
The molecules are the entities that contain the chemical compounds. Another example is sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt. This compound contains the the molecules of sodium and chloride atoms, or more precisely, one molecule contains one atom of sodium and one atom of chloride.
The Mineral:
Now, there is one more characteristic that makes a mineral what it is and that is – they have a specific chemical composition. That means that they are in an organized ‘atomic structure of specific patterns to form a crystal. And it this is how a crystal is formed; hence, the beautiful looking entities that have a specific molecular structure of more than one atomic element brings us the mineral.
In the Breaking Bad series, Hank Schrader (Dean Morris) was a FDA detective, who on the side collected minerals, but these elements were (intentionally) mistaken for rocks throughout the show. So let’s get the record straight.
Minerals are naturally occurring compounds that are of a crystalline structure formed by geological processes. They contain a unique chemical structure and physical properties. Minerals are inorganic, meaning that they have not originated from living organisms, with respect to organic compounds that do originate from living organisms. Coal is an example of an organic material.
Rocks on the other hand are from organic compounds. They are solid, stony elements, that can be composed of a combination of minerals or other organic compounds.
Another way of putting it is a mineral is a solid formation that occurs naturally in the earth, while a rock is a solid combination of more than one mineral formations which is also occurring naturally.
An example of a mineral is quartz and feldspars, but if you combine them together, they become a rock, namely, granite.
Another example is limestone, which is a rock composed almost entirely of the mineral calcite.
Beautiful in design, and intriguing in history, Minerals are nature’s hidden paradise and are buried deep within the womb of the Earth. Beneath 10,000 layers of soil and history, they hide the world’s most priceless treasures.
They are everywhere. The dark, rocky Mexican caverns harbor the glittering secrets of luminous gypsum crystals, while beyond the foothills of Kilimanjaro lays a minefield of rare, color-shifting tanzanites.
Purchasing a gemstone or mineral isn’t simply about buying something rare and expensive. It’s about discovering the hidden jewels of our planet by studying their history and composition, their fascinating origins and evolution. The captivating beauty of a precious stone tells a story of a certain part of the world, a story about land and soil, about pressure and metamorphosis.
Mineral hobbyist Howard Fensterman has been collecting minerals for years, learning about their appealing properties and uses from potential healing powers to fashion statements.
But What Are Minerals Exactly?
Minerals are beautiful works of nature
Minerals are inorganic elements that contain an ordered atomic structure. By contrast, a ‘rock’ is a substance that can contain many atomic elements, as well as some minerals. A type of hybrid when considering the minerals’ pure atomic design. A diamond, for example, is a mineral.
There are five categories that are proprietary to minerals.
They must:
Occur naturally
Be inorganic in nature
Be of solid material
Consist of an orderly atomic structure
Have a definite chemical composition
Probably the most known of the mineral family are silicates. which contain oxygen and silicon.
Below we have an interesting introduction to minerals from the 2010 Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show
A Website for Education
Howard has decided to share his collection with the world, along with information about each of the elements and their geological history. Not all minerals shown here are part of his collection, but to make this website complete, he has provided information on all kinds of additional geological materials so as to make this site as intriguing as possible.
We have provided educational material on rocks and geology. Good for any student studying earth science as well as anyone interested in Earth’s topography.
We have expanded our discussions about minerals to other geological developments, such as the natural creations that formed our planet and the results that have materialized, e.g. earthquakes and volcanoes.
Then we moved on to the unnatural. Those that are manmade, such as bridges and buildings. The basics behind the engineering and architecture of these structures. After all, how were these structures built if not for the basic materials from Earth?
Finally, we provide some interesting and fascinating discussions into the phenomena that are beyond our planet. Life doesn’t stop on Earth or does it?
Photo iStock
We have provided informative articles that everyone can enjoy reading and subsequently learn from. So just pick a topic in the menu and begin your learning venture about Earth, our infrastructure and beyond!
