Visit the website of MinDat.org, an online compendium of data on all types of minerals.

This website contains an extraordinary quantity of data related to minerals and their occurrence all over the world.

For this exercise, let's discover if there are any interesting mineral localities near you.

1. Go to the MinDat.org website and familiarize yourself with the layout of the site. Note that you can search for specific minerals or you can choose to search a locality to determine what types of minerals might be found there.

2. Under the "Search for a Locality," enter the name of your location (note - you may need to enter your state, province, or country).

3. Once the search page has loaded, note the different locations that are indicated. Choose the location closest to you and follow the link to see what minerals can be found in your area. Locate the nearest mineral locality on a map.

4. Compile a list of the minerals that can be found in your area and write a brief paragraph using information that can be found elsewhere on the MinDat.org site (such as the names of minerals, their chemical composition, and descriptions of their localities if given).

5. As you advance in your study this semester, try to learn why the minerals in your area occur there.

a. What special aspects of your region's geologic history account for the occurrence of these minerals.

b. Are the minerals in your area associated with igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks?

c. Do the minerals occur in rocks of the same age, or are they distributed through the geologic record of your area?

d. What geologic processes may have acted to emplace the notable minerals in your area?