What’s the difference between a rock and a mineral? 🪨 We’ve all picked up an interesting rock at some point, but what looks like a single rock may be made up of several different minerals. Think of minerals as the pieces, and rocks as the puzzle they make. A mineral is a naturally occurring, non-living, solid substance with its own unique chemical makeup and structure. Common minerals include quartz, feldspar, mica, olivine, and calcite. A rock, on the other hand, is a mix of one or more minerals bound together. Granite, basalt, limestone, and sandstone are all rocks made up of different mineral combinations. USGS scientists study the mineral content of rocks and map them across the U.S. to understand where valuable mineral deposits might be found, information that helps meet the needs of modern manufacturing, technology, and energy production. Our scientists also study how rocks form and change over time, piecing together the story of our planet's 4.5-billion-year history. ...