What Is Blue Quartz?

Geography

• Geologists have found blue quartz primarily in Brazil and Spain. Specimens of blue quartz exist in streams, beaches and metamorphic and igneous rocks.

Characteristics

• The composition of quartz is made entirely of silicon and oxygen. Quartz measures seven on the Mohr's hardness scale and has a hexagonal crystal structure, according to the University of California-Berkley.

Color

• The color of blue quartz ranges from a grayish blue to dark blue and has translucent properties, according to The Quartz Page.

Mineral Composition

• Minerals that contribute to the color of blue quartz include tourmaline, dumortierite and riebeckite.

Considerations

• Color centers and trace elements do not contribute to the coloring of natural blue quartz specimens, according to The Quartz Page.