{"id":462,"date":"2020-09-29T20:04:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T01:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/?p=462"},"modified":"2021-06-21T20:36:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T01:36:32","slug":"is-ice-a-mineral-the-definitive-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/is-ice-a-mineral-the-definitive-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ice a Mineral? The Definitive Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:66.666666666667%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-2::before{padding-top:74.8046875%; }img#mv-trellis-img-2{display:block;}<\/style>\n<p>Is ice a mineral? Is it a rock? Maybe it&rsquo;s both, or neither! The status of ice as a mineral or rock is a question that comes up pretty frequently. This post will thoroughly answer the question and put any debate to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ice is definitely a mineral. It meets all four of the requirements set forth in the definition of a mineral: It is naturally occurring, solid, has an organized crystal structure, and has a well-defined chemical composition. Ice is also technically a rock. Water, however, is not a mineral.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the answer may seem cut and dry, there are some subtle distinctions that require a bit more explanation. There are some exceptions and interesting quirks if you dig a little bit deeper into this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg\" alt=\"Diamond beach in Iceland. Blocks of glacial ice washed up on shore\" class=\"wp-image-580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg 900w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 24px), 720px\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20900%20600'%3E%3Crect%20width='900'%20height='600'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Diamond beach in Iceland. Blocks of glacial ice washed up on shore\" class=\"wp-image-580 eager-load\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 24px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg 900w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-768x512.jpg 768w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><figcaption>Diamond Beach in Iceland<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is Ice a Mineral?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ice is a mineral&hellip; usually. The big exception is when it is man-made.<\/strong> This goes back to the definition of a mineral. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ima-mineralogy.org\/\">International Mineralogical Association<\/a> defines a mineral as a substance that meets the following criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>It is a naturally occurring substance formed by natural geological processes<\/li><li>It is a solid substance in its natural occurrence<\/li><li>It has a well-defined crystallographic structure<\/li><li>It has a well-defined chemical composition<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>As it occurs in nature,<strong> ice meets all of these requirements.<\/strong> If water gets below freezing it will naturally form ice, which is, of course, a solid. The ice crystals are well organized into a crystal lattice, and its chemical composition is simply H<sub>2<\/sub>O.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is worth noting that many definitions of a mineral include the stipulation that it be inorganic. However, in this instance it really doesn&rsquo;t matter since water isn&rsquo;t produced by living organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the exception to ice being a mineral is when it is man-made. It no longer satisfies the first requirement of being formed naturally by geological processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my opinion this distinction is purely semantic. Ice obviously can (and usually does) form in nature. Just because a person makes it in their freezer doesn&rsquo;t make the ice any less of a crystal. But if you really want to get technical then man-made ice is not considered to be a mineral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is interesting to think about ice in terms of it being a mineral. It means that <strong>the smallest snowflake to the largest glacier are both minerals.<\/strong> While vastly different in size and shape, they both meet the definition of a mineral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some mineralogists who have proposed that in order to qualify as a mineral a substance needs to be solid at room temperature. This opinion is pretty fringe, however, and is really only considered in specific applications that would not pertain to ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you need any more convincing that ice is, in fact, a mineral, I would point you to the <a href=\"http:\/\/cnmnc.main.jp\/\">IMA official list of all minerals<\/a>. In it<strong> you will find ice listed among the thousands of other officially recognized minerals in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is Water a Mineraloid?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another interesting aspect of this discussion is how water is classified. There are some people who argue that <strong>water should be considered a mineraloid. <\/strong>A mineraloid is any substance which meets most of the requirements of a mineral but falls short in some way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the definition we laid out above, water meets three out of the four requirements so it is very reasonable to claim it is a mineraloid. The only thing holding back from mineral status is that it isn&rsquo;t a solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I do not consider water to be a mineraloid. <strong>This classification of substances is usually reserved for solids that tend to exhibit too much chemical variation or lack crystallinity. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is Ice a Rock?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This question is a little tricker than asking if ice is a mineral. When people think of rocks they don&rsquo;t usually picture ice, but <strong>by just about any criteria ice can be called a rock.<\/strong> Let&rsquo;s take a look at the definition of a rock:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>A rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>By this definition, <strong>a sufficient amount ice can usually be considered to be a rock. <\/strong>A snowflake would not be considered a rock because it isn&rsquo;t a large enough mass or collection of mineral crystals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Once there is a mass of snow or ice packed together then it is technically considered to be a rock.<\/strong> So whenever you&rsquo;re throwing a perfect snowball at your friends, you&rsquo;re actually pelting them with a rock! The snow has to be well packed together in order to be considered a rock, otherwise it would not meet the &lsquo;solid mass&rsquo; criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Kind of Rock Is Ice?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now we&rsquo;re really getting into some interesting territory. Depending on how the ice was formed and what has happened to it since, <strong>ice may be classified as sedimentary or metamorphic.<\/strong> Clearly ice could never be considered igneous since it doesn&rsquo;t form from the solidification of magma or lava flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Most of the ice on the planet is contained in glaciers and would be considered metamorphic rock.<\/strong> Due to the overlying pressure from the years of accumulated snow above them, millions of individual snowflakes (ice crystals) are reorganized into larger ice crystals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"Me sitting next to Glacier Lagoon in Iceland with a glacier in the background\" class=\"wp-image-557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 24px), 720px\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"Me sitting next to Glacier Lagoon in Iceland with a glacier in the background\" class=\"wp-image-557 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 24px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Glacier-Lagoon.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-2\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><figcaption>Me at Glacier Lagoon in Iceland<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Any rock that forms due to the effects of pressure and\/or heat on another rock is considered to be metamorphic. A glacier, for example, would be classified as one giant rock! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/faqs\/glacier-ice-a-type-rock?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products\">According to the USGS<\/a>, it would be defined as a mono-mineralic rock (a rock made up of only one type of mineral.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But wait&hellip; if ice is a metamorphic rock, and a metamorphic rock is formed from pre-existing rock, what was the ice beforehand? Well, the answer is that <strong>snow can actually be considered a sedimentary rock! <\/strong>This snow is would be called the &lsquo;protolith&rsquo; of glacial ice &ndash; it&rsquo;s what the glacial ice was born from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sedimentary rocks are usually broken down into three basic categories &ndash; clastic, chemical, and biochemical. <strong>Snow would be placed in the &lsquo;chemical&rsquo; category.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Snow forms when the cold air becomes over-saturated with water, causing the snowflakes to precipitate out of the air. This process qualifies as chemical sedimentation, which is one of the four ways sedimentary rocks form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, snow falls to the ground and becomes firn. <strong>Firn is sort of a halfway point between snow and glacial ice.<\/strong> It is formed when snowflakes undergo pressure solution &ndash; basically when they fall to the ground and get mashed together in a snow bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firn is a sort of granular ice and found on top of glaciers. It can be considered a chemical sedimentary rock, but once it is subjected to more and more pressure from the snow above it will transform into glacial ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This metamorphization happens because the edges of the snowflakes and smaller ice crystals partially melt at their edges.<\/strong> When they have enough pressure being applied from the snow above, they partially melt and then fuse together to form larger crystals. <strong>They eventually become one solid mass of ice &ndash; a rock!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does That Mean Water is Lava?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This notion seems silly on the surface, but is actually a legitimate question. If ice is a rock, and lava is melted rock, then wouldn&rsquo;t water be classified as lava? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, no. The actual definition of lava is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Hot molten or semifluid rock erupted from a volcano or fissure, or solid rock resulting from cooling of this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously, melted ice is not erupted from a volcano, so it does not meet this definition. That doesn&rsquo;t mean that you can&rsquo;t melt your friends&rsquo; brains by posing this question to them, though!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is ice a mineral? Is it a rock? Maybe it&rsquo;s both, or neither! The status of ice as a mineral or rock is a question that comes up pretty frequently. This post will thoroughly answer the question and put any debate to rest. Ice is definitely a mineral. It meets all four of the requirements &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":"","disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",546,364,false],"mv_trellis_1x1":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",728,485,false],"mv_trellis_3x4":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",546,364,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_high_res":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",546,364,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_med_res":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",360,240,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_low_res":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",240,160,false],"mv_trellis_4x3":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",728,485,false],"mv_trellis_16x9":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",615,410,false],"mv_trellis_srcset-960":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false],"mv_trellis_srcset-1080":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false],"1200x1200":["https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Diamond-Beach.jpg",900,600,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Mike Rhea","author_link":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/author\/mikerhea22gmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Is ice a mineral? Is it a rock? Maybe it&rsquo;s both, or neither! The status of ice as a mineral or rock is a question that comes up pretty frequently. This post will thoroughly answer the question and put any debate to rest. Ice is definitely a mineral. It meets all four of the requirements&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockhoundresource.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}