Crack open an unassuming stone, and you might just uncover a little conclave of crystals within. Their walls are glittering with quartz, amethyst, or calcite, protected by a hard shell that was shaped ...

Who can say whether amethyst protects against drunkenness or if moonstone and rose quartz can boost fertility? Whether you believe in the metaphysical properties of gemstones and crystals, most of us ...

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz which has been used as a gemstone for many centuries and is a key economic resource in northern Uruguay. Geodes are hollow rock formations often with quartz ...

Amethyst geodes—some stretching 5 m long—dot the ancient lava flows of Uruguay’s Los Catalanes mining area. The geodes contain calcite, colorless quartz, and agate, another quartz mineral. Large ...

Geodes have long captured the attention of geologists and the imagination of artists. Formed over many years, minerals such as quartz and amethyst dissolve and seep into air pockets and volcanic ...

Millions of years ago, in present-day Uruguay, gas bubbles became trapped in magma as it hardened to rock; over time, these cavities morphed into amethyst-quartz-lined geodes. A dazzling ...

A fossil-hunting trip turned into a dazzling discovery during a detour along the Isle of Wight coastline. A Brighton scout ...