Quartz crystal

[ncuke]

Sorry to follow up a few quartz posts with - well - another post on quartz... Unfortunately I think one of my kids ran off with it but the other day we were hiking in the area and found a large quartz crystal - about 2" long and maybe 2/3" wide. The tip was broken but has 6 smoothly sides. Lots of other quartz can be found in the area but mostly milky, not a large clear crystal like this. My question is - would a crystal like this grow in an open cavity of some sort? Seems kind of weird to find it just laying around but who knows how long it took to get there. Are there any area characteristics that would spawn larger crystals like this As opposed to regular quartz veins or outcrops? If I can find it, will post a pic

 

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[DDancer]

Most crystals form in cavities, called vugs, and over time these vugs erode out of the host rock leaving the crystals free and just laying around During the erosion the rocks and soils shift and this it what causes the damage to otherwise intact crystals. Crystal size is contributed to various factors, not just the size of the cavity they form in, but typically if you look at the host rock and how fine or granny it is you can get an idea for whether or not large crystals are possible.