Just a few minerals make up most of the rocks we see, though: feldspars, amphiboles, quartz, olivine, garnet, micas, calcite, and pyroxenes. The possible combinations of these minerals are endless.

The most common rock-forming minerals include quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, olivine, and calcite. Some rocks are predominantly composed of just one mineral. For example, limestone is a ...

Scientists recently discovered that San Bernardino County's Searles Lake contains minerals found in outer space.

Usually the original mineral was aragonite or calcite, and it has been replaced by silica (in ... well-cemented sediment in the middle of a relatively uncemented sedimentary rock). Indeed, the critter ...