Quartzite
Rock
Also called Metaquartzite
About it
Hard, sugary-looking rock of fused quartz grains that scratches glass; it breaks right through the grains, unlike sandstone. Baraboo, Wisconsin, and the white ridges of Killarney, Ontario, are quartzite.
- Type
- Rock (metamorphic)
- Group
- Metamorphic (non-foliated)
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.5–2.7
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy)
- Colours
- white, grey, pink, red, tan, green
- Transparency
- translucent, opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- none; breaks through the grains
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.