Minerals with Willsey: Quartz

May the Quartz be with you! Join geology professor Shawn Willsey as he explores one of the most common minerals on Earth, quartz, as part of a series focusing on basic minerals. Here, we look at quartz and a few of its varieties before examining a variety of quartz-rich rocks.
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Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
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Twin Falls, ID 83303

[@NielMalan]

To be pedantic about it, all quartz crystals are transparent. The reason quartz appears white in so many contexts is that it consists of millions of tiny crystals, and all the surfaces of the crystals scatter light in all directions, making it appear white. The same kind of scattering makes clouds and foam appear white.

[@MrFmiller]

I appreciate your presentations. I’ve been a rock hound for most of my life (and I ain’t no spring chicken) and I still learned things. I’m looking forward to future lessons.

[@amylee4637]

Very informative! Had no idea quartz was in all these rocks. Can’t wait to learn more in your series!

[@mohamedkhouloud9373]

The idea of keeping it basic make me understand concepts, proprieties... easily. Keep on uploading you're a good professor!

[@NoOne-yt6yf]

Thanks! I appreciate you putting this together. May the quartz be with you.

[@Danika_Nadzan]

Another great class, thanks! The closeups of the individual sample rocks were really helpful, especially when you pointed out the quartz grains, veins, or crystals while describing what we were seeing. Suggestion for a third hand, use an inexpensive table mount to hold the phone while you hold the sample.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks as always. Yes, the little selfie stick I held has a tripod on it. Duh! I didn't even think to use it. I will try better next time. Thanks for your patience.

[@briandwi2504]

That was great! Really thorough and has given me a useful overview of the different quartzes. Thanks, excellent series!

[@earthandtime5817]

Great overview of the quartz family and that classroom. Those tables take me back to my undergrad days!

[@plymptonpleb]

More like this please! It is just about on my level.

[@marcosfreijeiro8763]

Absolutely love this, reminds me of when I was at school 34 years ago. You remind me of my teacher, excellent man. Thank you

[@JesseFout]

Your videos chill me out so good after a day deep in computers. Keep it up, prof, we love it.

[@XcRunner1031]

Great video! I love to use my Roadside Guide to Geology books when traveling and am kinda teaching myself about minerals, rocks, and geologic processes. This helps visualize some of the terms and connect the dots in my head!

[@drhyshek]

Awesome minerals and great close ups!

[@laraweston7719]

That was fantastic, thanks so much! My 10 year old really enjoyed it too and he learnt all about the amethyst geode he bought on the weekend.

[@stevengeorge5605]

Thanks, Shawn, for another great video!

[@joaniewillow]

Your videos are fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@Rachel.4644]

Thanks, Shawn! Useful ... and cleared up a few confusions. (I noticed that lovely conglomerate earlier.)

[@princesseyesparkle]

I've rewatched this video a few times and I love the fact that you simply the different rocks. I am a jeweler, and cut and polish my own stones, but have also been very confused about the different names of all the different stones (quartz especially). I was not formally educated on rocks and minerals but have self taught myself just to try to make sense of what I am looking at and working with. After watching the later videos as well, I have been able to keep it simple in my mind and not get caught up in all the lingo. I still have a long way to go but thank you for giving me a starting point. In a way I started from other side of the spectrum with all the crazy different names people have for basically the same or very similar minerals. Now I can start from the beginning and bridge the gaps in my knowledge of minerals. Super helpful! Thank you! Soon as possible I will support you as best I can because I feel like I owe you the cost of having a one on one lesson! Haha! Anyone who sees this comment please do the same because He has earned it!

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad I could be of help to you in your learning. And thanks for any support you can provide. Much appreciated.

[@0321MrsJones]

I've just discovered your channel. Thank you for such interesting and informative videos. I'm rockhounding in Nova Scotia and enjoy learning more about rocks and minerals. Around here agates are our treasures. Cheers.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for dropping in. Having finished the mineral series, my next goal is to start a video series on rocks. Stay tuned!

[@valoriel4464]

Thx for the interesting, Informative vid. Well done. Much appreciated. Hope you feel better soon

[@chucklearnslithics3751]

I've been told by a Rockhound, in the past, that Chalcedony is the bigger family name, but if I don't know it's "preferred name", I can safely call it crypto crystalline quartz. I lean on that crutch a lot, especially when it comes to "jaspers". Another distinction between "Cherts" and "Flints", I've been told, is that true "flint" is only formed in "chalk" beds, common in western Europe, but only known in the Georgetown area of Texas in the Americas. Everything else limestone formed, in the Americas, I'm told, should be called "chert". Gah.... It's so complex! 😁 Excellent as always Shawn. TY!

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi Chuck. Yes, chalcedony is a broader term, for sure. Cryptocrystalline quartz doesn't quite roll off the tongue but is probably the much safer term if you can't properly classify. I usually go this way too. Your distinction of flint vs chert sounds correct also. I don't hear flint much amongst US geologists at all. I actually found that looking this stuff up for this video provided some clarity to the mess in my mind.

[@thomasfarley]

@@shawnwillsey Yes, a mess. I think most rockhounds will agree on this: that given a thin section, like a 1/4 inch slab that you'll find at any rock show for working up, that agate will display some translucency but jasper will not. Hold up to a strong light. Given the variability of colors and quality, I see good agate often given the name of its locality where found. Like Burro Creek agate for that material found along Burro Creek in AZ. Fun facts, much of petrified wood is quartz and the different colors you often see in it are the result of elements coloring the stone, not other minerals. While quartz is a common rock building mineral and part of many rock's overall assemblage, it may not be another mineral that is staining or coloring a hunk of quartz but an element like iron or magnesium. I'm going to stop right here, thanks, again, for another great video!

[@mvanderbilt]

Thanks for all your videos but especially about this series you started. In college many years ago I had to choose between a Geology or Computer Science major and chose the latter. It was a good career choice and I enjoyed it but now I'm retired and enjoying learning what I missed. As a frequent hiker/climber I can really use this information to enhance my outings.

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi Monty. Thanks for your comments and glad this is of use. Look for new video on feldspars tomorrow (Friday).

[@antoniodelrio1292]

Thanks! I learn something new each time I view one of your videos.

[@mikekilian5403]

I really enjoy these presentations. I am not a rock hound but have picked up several different pieces that interest me. Thank you so much. I have one thing I'd like to send you a picture of. It is called a Wabelo Egg from the area of north western Missouri where a purported meteor fell and caused these eggs to form. Very interesting.

[@daveh893]

Fantastic presentation! Really appreciate the way you have categorized and presented the forms of quartz. Thank you! Hope you feel better.

[@shawnwillsey]

Felt fine, just a nagging dry cough.

[@daveh893]

@@shawnwillsey Got it. Thanks again for the presentation.

[@skyepilotte11]

Thank you Shawn for show and tell on Quartz...

[@davidk7324]

Glad you are pleased with the camera's functions and they certainly are serving you well. The closeups are excellent. I'll bet your editing is minimal as you teach as if in a stream of consciousness whether in the field or classroom. Thank you.

[@jeffcasey504]

Thank you for your great videos explaining features around the west. I've travelled a lot of the region and always been curious as to causes of bedding/colors/formations. A few questions on Yellowstone: are the Beartooths part of the caldera rim wall or how did they form? What happened to the rim where the Yellowstone R exits north, flood breach involved? What is rock supporting Yellowstone Falls, what is rate of undercutting or travel upstream? Similar to Niagara? Does lift under Yellowstone Lake subside or shift, still active? Is there evidence of previous earthquakes/flooding on Snake near Tetons? One not related, but has puzzled me for decades: what caused clusters of fresh looking basalt rocks along I84? Spatter from eruptions? if so when, or just erosion revealing patches of rocks? Don't seem quite like part of Bonneville massive flood detritus. Many thanks for your excellent explanations of Shoshone Falls and flood channels! Have you been to the Wheeler Geo area? Just discovered your channel and now retired can delve into interests instead of work. Have been learning from Zentner and you're next! Thanks

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi Jeff and welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy going through the existing videos here. Most are from the last two years. Making these videos was my Covid pandemic therapy and I've really churned out a bunch over the last few years. I won't try and tackle all your questions now but hopefully my past and future videos will. I hope to get to Yellowstone in next few weeks. Again, thanks for subscribing.

Thanks for the lesson, Professor! 😊

[@veratrabold964]

Thank you for sharing all your knowledge. It's very interesting.

[@timpate6259]

Great video. Thanks!

[@nitawynn9538]

Thank you. I appreciate your efforts.

[@Eduardo-tq5sk]

Nice too see you professor!

[@kevinbaird9763]

You should do this for a career! :) All of your videos, that I have watched, are really informative and enjoyable. Keep up the good work. Thank You.

[@shawnwillsey]

Ha ha. I actually do this more or less with my career as college professor.

[@222foont]

I truly appreciate your presentations. It augments my avocation of paleontology.

[@JaredBrewerAerospace]

I just finished 1 month in Norway, along 2 fault zones and 2 month in SE Germany and Jura Switzerland where I shipped nearly 60 pounds of rocks/fossils back to the US. I am currently slab/polishing some and scouring them with a microscope. I have been hounding for about 12 years and am in desperate need of this information. These videos are awesome! I look forward to you getting other silicate minerals like Olivine, Serpentine, Epidote and even Sillimanite. They are all green! Being that Norway is so extremely active in every grade on the spectrum, I find myself lost trying to remember what prolith produces what and having to keep in mind I was digging obduction wedges. Then pretty much all that goes out the window when you hit migmatite in UHP rocks that were clearly aureoles. Something that would be extremely helpful is if we could go through the Felspars focusing on ortho/plagioclase spectrum from Albite to Anorthite. Also, whatever that weird almost gneissic mixture of Anorthite and Na/K-Spar despite the miscibility gap. I know its rare but I don't get how it can exist. A quick overview regarding the nuances of various types of Schists would really get me out of a rut. I've got plenty of samples if you need some! Thanks in advance!

[@Birdman445]

Another great video. Really appreciate the time and effort you put into these. I have learned that once you start to understand minerals and rocks, you see more and more of it everywhere. Great example, now when I leave work and look at all the rocks around our building’s landscaping, I start identify things. Including a lot of quartz.

[@Balancedtruth]

Wow, am a Nigerian young prospective geologist who you presentations has really helped. Thanks so much for your illustrative and practical presentations.

[@shawnwillsey]

You are very welcome

[@3xHermes]

Thx Professor!

[@pmm1044]

Very informative thanks

[@michaelhowell5721]

Nice job. I enjoy what you do.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@tlnguyen9098]

I really like your presentation. It is very helpful to people who love rocks like myself. Thanks Professor Willsey!

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@garybuck7684]

Shawn, thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

[@shawnwillsey]

My pleasure!

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@monicalepley1020]

After a year of studying my rock collection I have finally stumbled upon this video. This has been more helpful than all the reading combined. Thank you, can't wait for more. I have a huge collection ranging from fossils, mica, quartz and tons more but have just now started learning what they are. Thanks for the info

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad it helped! Several more to watch n

[@ScurvyDog807]

Nice, dude. Really interesting. Treat yourself to Fisherman's Friend throat lozenges! Can't wait for the next installment of this series.

[@balesjo]

Very interesting video. There is a lot of beautiful crystalline quartz found in the Ousachita Mountains, particularly in a region around Hot Springs, AR. There are some areas producing massive clear crystals (the guy on the KZbin channel, The Crystal Collector have produced quite a few videos of collecting quartz in that area).

[@Lancecats]

You know there's not really a good reference website with high quality pictures and descriptions.

[@clintonturner5545]

You don't want to put us to sleep. The coffing keeps me awake. So, the coughing was a good thing.

[@wendygerrish2976]

Ah thank you. I was confused by chert by my Rock hound friends.

[@WaylonFoxtrot]

Did you do anything to stop rocks like the younger conglomerates from falling apart? I'm amazed you can handle these specimens normally and not end up with a mess.

[@mikelong9638]

Great video. Hope you beat the cold.

[@shawnwillsey]

I did!

[@danielvr4053]

It would be nice when I pick up a rock to have some general idea what it is. We have a lot of basalt and andesite around here but you can be a 100 or more feet above the current Columbia River level in the Gorge and come across a gravel bank and find all kind of strange rocks left by the Missoula Floods. Our run across some railroad track ballast with rocks that are not from around here and wonder what they are. I look forward to learning more.

[@josephoregan7385]

Hi Shawn. Excellent presentation. You don't have a cold but you are having a allergic reaction to dust...probably entering via nostril cavities...Regards Joe

[@tipthetube3219]

Eek, crystallography remember that in A level . Quartz, orthorhombic system, agh drawing those axis. Many moons ago, late '70's

[@DoNotEatPoo]

Quartz can also be commonly found encased within Casio dating back to the 1970's.

[@shawnwillsey]

Ha! Good one.

[@namiesnaturals3557]

I get loose like that when ever I go into a building after 15+ min. I was told it's a reaction to recycled air. It stops after about 15 min.

[@sarahb.6475]

I remember my grandfather having a big hunk of pink quartz rock all shiny and glittery when I was 5 or 6. It was "magical" when you are that age. and it was huge! big like a softball or a bit bigger. no idea what had happened to it.. I also like striped rocks like the Nice you show there. I have a few striped rocks but they look different... different colors.. not sandstone. but I had no idea that such a pretty rock like quartz could come out of a volcano! because volcanoes in my opinion certainly are NOT pretty (as they make too much "dirt" when they erupt + do damage etc) besides they are way too scary!!

[@smdalei]

Love from India sir

[@kellystevens6464]

These are so great for us armchair geology students! Thanks

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@MountainFisher]

The parabolic mirror on my reflector telescope is aluminized to 96-97% reflectivity and then coated with silicon oxide, how do they do that with quartz?

[@darrenbridges7492]

👍👍👍Coolman👍👍👍

[@wonderfulscience427]

Very informative presentation:) I've been wondering how can you tell the difference between milky variety of quartz and plagioclase feldspar both contained within a rock sample side by side, for example in granitic rocks. Is there any specific characteristic that enables you to make a distinction right away?

[@shawnwillsey]

Great question. Yes, I can cover this when I do the feldspars. In general, the shape of the crystals and the color will be most helpful. Quartz has no cleavage planes so will appear as blobs in igneous rocks, whereas the feldspars with their two cleavage planes that intersect at 90 degrees will generally form squares and rectangles.

[@zazaza5535]

After this video, quartz is my first love. Those different colours are due to the inclusion of impurities of other elements

[@archstanton_live]

Since quartz veins are deposited by water bearing quartz, what keeps them from becoming opal?

[@Meggligee]

This is such a great presentation! Thanks for doing this! Does the college you work for offer online glasses for geology? Just curious.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, I offer two online geology courses: Geology of National Parks (GEOL 105) and Natural Disasters (GEOL 104)

[@Meggligee]

@@shawnwillsey are you able to take individual online classes or does someone have to be admitted to a particular file of study program (major?)?

[@shawnwillsey]

@@Meggligee Thanks for asking. Anyone can take classes, either online or in person. Last year, I had a 94 year old man (retired USAF colonel) in my Physical Geology class. Everyone can be a student an at any age.

[@tommyhunter1817]

Do you have a website or something I could send you a couple pictures to? I’m trying to figure out what is going on with some quartz I have found.

[@shawnwillsey]

Maybe take it to a geology prof at a local college?

[@vanhouten64]

8:21 Dolphin face quartz 😀

[@victorsanchez-wg1rz]

SALUDOS EKUATORIALES ANDINOS DESDE PUENGASI KITU

[@EnezReyiz]

What are the yellow bits on the last rock with quartz vein? I guess sulphur but I am not sure 🤔

[@shawnwillsey]

I don't think it's sulfur. Maybe oxidized iron in host rock.

[@EnezReyiz]

Is it because of hardness, color or sulphur never appears like that?

[@tinymetaltrees]

5:09 the fancy term: chatoyancy (pronounced shat-oy-an-see) means cat’s-eye-ness

[@jimcurtis569]

Pronunciation of chalcedony? Sounds like you're saying "cal-sid-nee". I'm not being critical, just trying to learn. I've heard it pronounced several different ways.

[@geoffgeoff143]

Dont confuse markering names with scientific names. Hit up the Quartz page. Quartz does have very poor cleavage. All Quartz is silica. By far, not all silicas are quartz. Most Quartz macrocrystals are twinned.

[@REDDYGVSB]

Have a clove in your mouth when speaking. You'll cough less or not at all.

[@jonerlandson1956]

silica... whatever that is.... based on oxygen....

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thank you for your donation.

[@dieterschulze5395]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thank you for your kind donation. Much appreciated.