What is Pyroxene? A Geologist Explains! 

Glad it was helpful. I'm trying to make videos but work is very busy right now :(

Sounds like a cool trip. I've never been to that part of California. Who is your professor?

I hope it is useful for you.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you like them.

Thanks I will!

Wow, that sounds exciting. Always wanted to go and visit that area!

Glad you enjoyed them. Black round crystals could be pyroxenes, depends on the context of the rock though. :)

That's how I tend to think of them. There's the "base" unit of silica, carbonate, phosphate etc, then you swap out the front units for different elements.

Thank you!

You can find pyroxenes in most igneous and metamorphic rocks that have ultramafic to mafic compositions for e.g. basalt, gabbro, dolerite. Start with a geological map of your project area and look for those type of rocks.

@@geologyjohnson7700 thank u

basaltic rocks tend to be more lava soils, although acidic they break down into a good soil structure with organic material and hold to nitrates. Granite soils tend to be thin, the rock breaking down into sand ..whilst easy to cultivate they too are acid but don't hold to nutrients or build up a organic content Hence specialised plants like alpines that cling to acid thin soils but are unable to compete in more nutrient rich environments I don't know if that helps

My expertise is more in surface processes, but a number of years ago there was a discussion among geoscience educators in California about serpentine-derived soils. As I recall, since serpentines are derived from ultramafic rocks their soils are richer in metals like chromium and nickel while poorer in calcium and potassium, making them slightly toxic to a variety of plants. In the western Sierra foothills you can often identify serpentine derived soils because many pine and fir trees won't grow on them, the only exception being the grey pine (also known as the foothill pine or the digger pine).

@@julesdingle Thank you so much

@@jrepka01 Excellent information, thank you so much. I will pass it to my biologist friend

@@jrepka01 sounds interesting .. we don't have a UK equivalent of such hostile soils [beyond old industrial waste sites]

Either by my facebook page or there should be a contact email in my about section. Make sure the photo has a scale like your hand or a coin so I can see how big the rock is, and you give as much info as possible as to where you found it.

Sometimes it can be gem quality, but I am not knowledgable about the valuation of gems.

Yeah, they often say things different. My american colleague calls it "Piro zeen" and pyrite as "Pir ite". He swears it's the correct pronunciation. I've never heard the way your friend says it though!.

@@geologyjohnson7700 he corrects my pronunciation all the time and told me his peers can tell the book read people from the professionals based on certain words. arrogant pricks.

That rock is a basalt. It's from the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.