Olivine
Image: <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Torian444&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Torian444 (page does not exist)">Victoriia Andreieva</a> (CC BY 4.0)
Description
This image shows a thin section of olivine crystals viewed under a petrographic microscope in cross-polarized light, displaying vibrant interference colors (blues, yellows, oranges, reds) and characteristic blocky to anhedral grain shapes. The colors seen are optical interference colors, not the mineral's true body color.
Geological Context
Olivine is a primary mineral in Earth's upper mantle and is common in mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks like basalt, gabbro, peridotite, and dunite, crystallizing at high temperatures from magnesium-rich magmas. It is also found in some metamorphic rocks and meteorites.
