Whats the Most Common Mineral?
What’s the Most Common Mineral?Answer: This question has several answers, depending on what a mineral is and what part of the Earth we’re talking about: 1. The most common mineral of the Earth’s continents—the world we spend our time in—is quartz, the mineral SiO2. Nearly all the sand in sandstone, in the deserts of the world and on its riverbeds and beaches is quartz. In granite and gneiss, which make up the majority of the deep continental crust, quartz is the most common mineral. BUT, 2. If you consider it as one mineral, feldspar is the most common mineral and quartz comes in second, especially when you consider the whole crust, continental plus oceanic crust. Feldspar is called a group of minerals only for the convenience of geologists. The seven major feldspars blend smoothly into each other, and their boundaries are arbitrary. Saying “feldspar” is like saying “chocolate-chip cookies” beca
