Silicates
Silicate minerals are Earth’s largest and most diverse mineral group, built from silicon–oxygen tetrahedra (SiO₄) linked in different ways to form chains, rings, sheets and frameworks. They dominate most igneous and metamorphic rocks and include major rock-formers such as feldspar, quartz, olivine, pyroxene, amphibole and mica. Silicates crystallise across a wide range of temperatures and pressures, providing a detailed record of the conditions under which they formed. Their structures strongly control properties like cleavage, hardness and durability. For more information about specific groups of silicates, please see their respective pages by clicking the following links:
Nesosilicates - Sorosilicates - Inosilicates - Cyclosilicates - Phyllosilicates - Tectosilicates - Zeolites - Feldspars & Feldspathoids
Hemimorphite and Chrysocolla
Roughton Gill Mine, Roughton Gill, Caldbeck, Allerdale, Cumbria, England
Garnet var. Grossular
British Canadian Mine, Black Lake, Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, Canada
