Changes

The '''carbonates''' are [[compounds]] of one or more [[metallic]] [[elements]] or [[semimetal|semimetals]] with the [[carbonate]] radical. One member of this class, [[calcite]], is sufficiently [[common]] to form large bodies of [[limestone]], a [[sedimentary]] [[rock]]. The carbonates are  [[brittle]] [[minerals]] , and many of them break easily along [[crystal]] directions to develop the characteristic [[rhombohedral]] [[cleavage]]. A few carbonate minerals are in bright [[color|colors]], but many of them are [[white]], [[colorless]], or [[transparent]]. Chesterman, p. 431

The '''carbonates''' are [[compounds]] of one or more [[metallic]] [[elements]] or [[semimetal|semimetals]] with the [[carbonate]] radical. One member of this class, [[calcite]], is sufficiently [[common]] to form large bodies of [[limestone]], a [[sedimentary]] [[rock]]. The carbonates are  [[brittle]] [[minerals]] , and many of them break easily along [[crystal]] directions to develop the characteristic [[rhombohedral]] [[cleavage planes|cleavage]]. A few carbonate minerals are in bright [[color|colors]], but many of them are [[white]], [[colorless]], or [[transparent]]. Chesterman, p. 431

=Sources=

=Sources=

*Chesterman, Charles W. ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf: New York (1987)

*Chesterman, Charles W. ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf: New York (1987)