Hobbies And Interests
Hills and Mountains
Hills and mountains are generally formed by tectonic and volcanic activity on or under the Earth's crust. The heat and pressure that caused the formation of these geographical features tend to accumulate various types of minerals and ores in volcanic vents and fissures. As humans developed better technology for digging mines, different types of materials like marble and gems became more valuable to society.
Ancient Waterways and Lakes
When waterways dry up, they tend to accumulate vast amounts of minerals, particularly sodium chloride and halite. Sodium is the sixth most abundant mineral on Earth and almost never occurs in a "pure" form; instead it mostly arises as a compound that occurs in the vast majority of water on the surface of the planet. Over geographically significant periods of time, the cliffs and plateaus created by dried seas become abundant with minerals.
Animal Life
Sodium is a chemical compound that is essential to life, so many lifeforms supplement their diet with pure sodium chloride from mineral deposits. A large presence of herbivores in an area tends to signify the presence of non-marine salt in rock form as they will seek out these sites and return to them for nutrient benefits.
Traditional Settlements
In hospitable climates, humans typically settle near natural sources of industry as the fishing village and the mining village are as old as human civilization. Many of the cities of the American west were settled as mining deposits of various materials discovered, particularly gold and silver.