Image: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/47445767@N05">James St. John</a> (CC BY 2.0)
cubiccommonsilicates
Garnet
X3Y2(SiO4)3 (where X=Ca, Mg, Fe2+, Mn2+; Y=Al, Fe3+, Cr3+)
Garnet typically forms distinct, often dodecahedral or trapezohedral crystals, commonly red, with a vitreous luster. In the provided image, it appears as dark red, rounded to subhedral crystals embedded within a foliated metamorphic matrix.
Garnet Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
7Crystal System
cubicLuster
vitreousStreak Color
whiteCleavage
noneFracture
conchoidalSpecific Gravity
3.1Colors
red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, black, pink, colorlessTransparency
transparentType Locality
Garnet Ledge, Wrangell, southeastern Alaska, USAMineral Group
silicatesUses
jewelry, abrasives, waterjet cutting, filtration mediaAssociated Minerals
mica, quartz, feldspar, staurolite, kyanite, andalusiteRarity
commonGeological Context
Garnets are common metamorphic minerals, forming under high pressure and temperature conditions during regional or contact metamorphism of various rock types, including shales, limestones, and basalts. The sample is from a schist, indicating formation during regional metamorphism.
