How are diamonds formed in nature?
Diamonds form as crystals and are composed of pure carbon (C). Diamonds are one of the few stones that are made up of a single element, Carbon. They form while under tremendous heat and pressure. The only place where these types of conditions exist are deep beneath the Earth’s surface, about 150km to200km (90 to 120 miles) below the surface with temperatures ranging from 900 to 1300 on the Celsius scale. When these two actions interact together, Carbon atoms are literally forced together combining their cubic molecular form, and ultimately creating diamond crystals. This is how diamonds are formed.
Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms deep in the earth are exposed to enormous heat and pressure over millions of years. They make their journey from the asthenosphere (the layer of earth that lies 75 to 125 miles below the crust) to the surface when volcanic activity forced them and other rocks upward in a powerful explosion that formed a ‘pipe’ (a deep, wide opening in the earth). Once the diamonds and rocks shot upward, most of them fell back and settled into the pipes; when these pipes were eventually discovered by miners, they became known as ‘primary deposits’ of diamond. Other diamonds, though, were washed away either by erosion or by nearby waters; these formed deposits a distance away from the original source and they became known as ‘alluvial deposits.
