Description
A variety of quartz named after the site in Mexico known as the Apache Trail, a trail used by the ancient Apache, where this stone was found. Apache Trail Quartz is now rare and is also known as Gabriel Quartz. Quartz is a form of silicon dioxide, SiO2. It constitutes more than 12% of the Earth's crust by volume, making it one of the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Sand and granite are largely composed of quartz. Quartz is an important mineral in igneous rocks, such as granite. Quartz is formed when a molten silicate mass cools. Cooling a hot solution of orthosilicic acid can also result in quartz. Cooling must be slow, as this forms (large) crystals. Because crystallization is relatively slow, rapid cooling of molten silica often results in a glass.
