Crystals and gemstones have been associated with months of the year for almost 2,000 years. Today, we call them birthstones.
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals on April 8th, 2020 | No Comments »
Lily wrote to us and asked about the mineral amethyst. Specifically, she wants to know what gives amethyst that beautiful purple color. In this video, we talk about why amethyst is purple, its relation to quartz and an interesting fact about how citrine fits into that mineral family.
Filed under: Ask-a-Geologist Q&A, Minerals & Crystals, Mini Me Geology Videos on May 22nd, 2014 | No Comments »
David asked: Are amethysts part of geodes or are the minerals in geodes different? Hi David, geodes can contain amethyst crystals. These unique samples form in open holes in sedimentary rocks such as limestone or igneous rocks likes basalt.
Filed under: Ask-a-Geologist Q&A, Minerals & Crystals, Mini Me Geology Videos on January 23rd, 2014 | No Comments »
Amethyst is a common, purple form of the mineral quartz. Fairly hard, amethyst is a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale which has a range from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest).
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals on March 16th, 2009 | No Comments »