Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.
Page from Treatise on mineralogy by Friedrich Mohs (1825)
Calcite is a carbonate mineral (CaCO3) with a rhombohedral crystal structure.
Aragonite is an orthorhombic polymorph of calcite.
The perovskite crystal structure. The most abundant mineral in the Earth, bridgmanite, has this structure. Its chemical formula is (Mg,Fe)SiO3; the red spheres are oxygen, the blue spheres silicon and the green spheres magnesium or iron.
Geology is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science.
Solidified lava flow in Hawaii
Sedimentary layers in Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Metamorphic rock, Nunavut, Canada
Native gold from Venezuela
