Tag: Weathering

With over 5,000 officially recognized mineral species on Earth, it's a common question: what is the ultimate source of minerals? The answer is a dynamic and multifaceted geological process, driven by the planet's internal heat and surface forces, leading to constant mineral creation and recycling.

Over 66% of the Earth's continents are covered in sedimentary rock, a product of weathered and eroded materials. This remarkable statistic hints at a fundamental geological truth: minerals, while stable under certain conditions, absolutely break down when exposed to the Earth's surface. This process, known as weathering, drives the continuous reshaping of our planet's crust and is a key part of the rock cycle.

Despite appearing permanent, minerals are finite resources, and their slow but constant destruction is a fundamental geological process. Over eons, weathering, erosion, and chemical alteration work to break down and transform minerals and the rocks they compose, a natural cycle often accelerated by human intervention.

Did you know that granite is one of the most abundant igneous rocks on Earth? This is the foundation of the question: what is DG made of, as DG, or decomposed granite, is a byproduct of solid granite's natural weathering process.