NEPHELINE

noun

14 Scrabble

17 WWF

N 1

E 1

P 3

H 4

E 1

L 1

I 1

N 1

E 1

Definition

A feldspathoid mineral of silica-poor igneous, plutonic and volcanic rocks. Chemically, nepheline is a plagioclase feldspar with insufficient silica to satisfy the chemical bonds. Because of the unfilled bonds, nepheline weathers rapidly and can only be seen as inclusions in freshly broken rock.