Zircon is a zirconium silicate mineral. It usually occurs as small crystals in:
Zircon is extremely resistant to:
It can also survive while preserving information for billions of years and record multiple geological events.
Because it incorporates uranium and thorium, but almost no lead, as it crystallizes.
This makes it a “natural clock,” making it the ideal mineral for U–Pb dating, studies of continental evolution, and sedimentary provenance.