Nature Guide Rocks and Minerals

<p><b>Did you know culinary salt is the mineral halite? Or that the pigment vermillion is powdered cinnabar a mineral whose name comes from the Persian for dragon's blood?<br></b><br>Discover the extraordinary mineral treasures that form our planet and that today we use in everything from makeup and cookery to agriculture and high-tech.<br><br><i>Rocks and Minerals</i> is your essential collector's companion with illustrated entries on hundreds of minerals gems and rocks from actinium to zirconium. Its breathtaking array includes organic minerals such as pearls and corals as well as silicates and native elements like gold.<br><br>Browse to find wonderful gems including opals or pyropes - a deep-red garnet the size of a hen's egg. <i>Rocks and Minerals</i> reveals each mineral's defining characteristics and explains how and where they were formed how they were first identified their uses and their chemical composition.<br><br>Whether you are a geology student or starting your own collection this fact-packed book is both a fascinating read and an essential identification guide.</p>