Learning about the formation of Earthquake Quartz

by Bill Adams

Several hundred million years ago a flat plain of rocks over three miles thick in what was to become Brasil was slowly squeezed and folded by the movement of the floating crustal plates of the earth. This tectonic activity eventually created an enormous range of mountains several miles high and over 1,000 miles long. Yet even before it reached its full height, falling rain and sleet and snow began eroding it down. And the melting snow and rain also found cracks and fissures, faults and voids, in this mass of metamorphosed sand and clay and flowed deep into it, becoming hot and leaching minerals as it flowed.

     Near what is now the village of Casa Branca in the central state of Minas Gerias this water encountered a cavern, a void in the rocks that quickly filled with the hot solution, rich in silicon dioxide, the mineral that forms quartz crystals. We can not say how big this opening was, nor can we know how long it took, but over time as the solution cooled and the dissolved silicon dioxide became crystallized, the fault became filled with beautiful, clear, six-sided quartz crystals, some as big as a foot long.

     Eventually the mountains above no longer sent hot solution to the cavern or conditions changed so that crystals no longer formed, and for eons this beautiful “confusion” of perfect forms remained locked and immutable deep inside the earth.

Until one day, or even over several days or weeks or even years, terrible earthquakes shook the region and collapsed part of the void and sent many of the crystals smashing to the bottom of the cavern. Stones falling from the “ceiling” broke those projecting upward from the “floor” and some jutting out from the “walls”, and finally destroyed their own symmetry as they crashed to the bottom. Again, we cannot say how long this jumble lay undisturbed, but probably millions and millions of years later conditions above changed again and now hot water with dissolved iron began to percolate into the cavity, covering crystals with a coating of iron, forming rounded masses of iron, “gluing” the crystals together in clumps and clusters, and entering tiny cracks formed when the earthquakes smashed them, leaving orange and red stains behind.

Then, probably hundreds of millions of years later and after millions and millions of tons of water had worn away all of the layers of rock on top of this mass of crystal, some of these crystals were now exposed to the sun. Indeed, they were lying on top of the earth, on a very steep hillside several hundred feet above a brook. What human eyes first saw them is shrouded in mystery. We do not know whether or not anyone ever picked up some of the stones, for magic or for work. Ancient paintings on cliffs nearby reveal that humans have been here for a long time. We do know that people from Europe, or people descended from people from Europe have been living in these mountains for hundreds of years. Hunting, farming, looking for treasure, and indeed finding some gold, as in fact, this mountain is still called “Mountain of Fine Gold”.

I have decided to sell the smaller Earthquake Quartz in Grid Sets, because of the time involved in listing each one individually and the very low cost.  You may wish to share the bounty with your friends or just use them for layouts, meditation, grid creation, or to fill your pockets.  Enjoy them, they are here to help.