the bedrock
quartz
milky to glassy · beach sand is worn quartz
The tell
Glassy or greasy-looking, no visible grains, and it will scratch glass. Calcite looks similar but is soft and fizzes in vinegar.
Milky quartz is the most commonly pocketed "maybe something" on any beach in Michigan. It is almost always just quartz, and it is still a nice rock.
What it gets mistaken for
- quartzite
- beach glass
- banded chert
- calcite
- feldspar
The facts
- also calledmilky to glassy · beach sand is worn-down quartz
- ageage varies
- where it turns upevery shore · glacial float
- the field markit scratches the knife · breaks in curved shells
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