BEAUTIFUL ROCKS & MINERALS

Since I was younger I've always been interested in rocks and minerals. 4 years ago I went to London and I visited the Natural History Museum where I bought an amazing book on minerals and rocks. Thanks to it I’ve learnt a lot about minerals and, today, I'm going to share with you  what my three favourite ones are.  

First of all, definition!

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid with specific chemical composition.

Rhodochrosite

Its name derived from the Greek “rhodokhros”, which means “of rosy colour” it can be rose-pink colour but it can also be brown or grey. It can be used to make fine jewelry like this:

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                         

Marcasite

It’s an iron sulphide and ist colour changes. It’s pale silvery yellow when fresh but it darkens and tarnishes on exposure. It can be used to make fine jewelry like this:

Pele’s Hair and Tears

This is rather bizarre, isn't it? It’s an unusual kind of extrusive volcanic rock. It’s named after Pele like the Hawuaian goddess of volcanoes.

The “hair” are fibres of volcanic glass formed when small droplets of molten basaltic material are blown into the air and spun out by the wind into long hair like strands. It can’t be used to make jewelry.

I hope you liked this post and, please, write in the comment section which rock you liked the most.  If you don’t write anything you may find some Pele’s hair and tears inside your bed. ;-)

LORENZO M.