Earth has not always had the wide array of minerals that now make up our world. In fact, for a significant amount of time the world was rather bare in terms of mineral diversity. However, there have been a few distinct events that sparked widespread creation of new minerals. Mineral evolution as a whole is a history that can be broken down quite well into ten overlapping yet distinctive stages. It is within the fourth stage of this evolution that one of these diversification events took place. This stage is notable for two very important geological events: the development of cratons, massive rock bodies that essentially make up today's continents, and the formation of pegmatites. Pegmatites are massive crystals that form in the last stages of magma crystallization under very unique conditions. The only sufficient circumstances in which pegmatites are able to form are near surface, yet not at the surface, of the earth conditions. This geologic location allows for the high levels of pressure necessary. Moreover, fluids, often thought to be water, were essential in the formation of pegmatites due to their corrosive nature and these conditions supported the high vapor and water pressures that contributed to pegmatite formation. Throughout this later stage crystallization, a substantial number of minerals are formed. There are some elements, known as light element lithophiles, that, due to their properties and the results of Goldschmidt's rules about ion substitution, are generally incapable of crystallizing into minerals. The late-stage magma, then, is relatively full of these "incompatible" elements, that had previously been unable to crystallize. As a result, the pegmatites that formed in this time were made up of these previously unusable elements. The end result of this whole process is the evolution of significant quantities of new minerals. Many of these minerals are what are today considered to be gem minerals, such as beryl and topaz. One of the minerals created during this geologic is axinite. In fact, today, axinite is found almost exclusively within pegmatites around the world. This is the result of the reality that favorable conditions for the formation of axinite are otherwise only met in areas with hydrothermal activity, however, in these granitic pegmatites forming under somewhat extreme conditions, axinite is able to form.