How Are Minerals Formed?
From Water
Minerals most easily form in water. This is because the volume of water has a limited capacity for atoms. As the volume of water decreases due to evaporation from the sun or heat, the space allotted for those atoms becomes smaller and smaller, pushing the atoms closer together. Eventually, the water volume becomes so small that the atoms are essentially forced together, which is called a bond. This bond creates crystals that become evident as the water evaporates further.
From Magma
As with water, temperature also influences the formation of minerals undergound. Inside the Earth's crust hot magma or lava forms and will eventually harden when it hits cooler temperatures near the Earth's surface. As it cools these hot liquids they will begin to harden until they become solids that form a layer of minerals. The size of these minerals depends greatly on how much gas was trapped inside the magma and how quickly the magma cooled. If the magma cooled rapidly the minerals will be small, but plentiful. If it cooled slowly the magma will produce fewer minerals, but the ones that form will be significantly larger.
In Salt Water
Bodies of water such as oceans and seas contain different salts, including sodium chloride (halite), calcium fluoride (fluorite) and ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac). As water naturally evaporates from the shoreline and surfaces of these oceans and seas, minerals form. Because of the high salt content of these bodies of water, the minerals are mostly salt-based crystal minerals, also known as halide minerals. These minerals include bromide, chloride, iodide and fluoride.
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