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milky quartz - gem of the ouachitas
The cloudiness in milky quartz comes from microscopic inclusions of fluids that have been encased in the crystal from the time the crystal first grew.
Occasionally associated with gold in hydrothermal veins, prospectors searching for gold laden ore look for outcrops of milky white quartz veins.
The degree of milkiness depends on the number and size of inclusions present.
 got milk?

milky quartz vein
photo: t. mitchell

Milky quartz is any quartz crystal or cluster that is mostly cloudy white in color or a mixture of clear and cloudy. The cloudy white character of the crystals is what gives this variety of quartz its name, milky quartz.
Typically found in areas of igneous and metamorphic rocks, crystals often originate as veins that fill cracks in the bedrock.

milky quartz

Milky quartz gets its milky appearance from microscopic fluid inclusions found in the cavities of quartz. Often a clear quartz will form over a milky quartz to create phantoms or inclusions within the stone.
While inclusions may ruin milky quartz as a gemstone, as an ornamental stone it is prized by carvers. Its fluid inclusions can give milky quartz a attractive rich greasy luster unlike the other varieties of quartz.

symbolic attributes

metaphysical
planet mars