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Why is pure silicon rarely found in nature?

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A periodic table element square for silicon shows atomic number 14, symbol Si, atomic weight range, electron configuration, and name. Icons indicate it is a solid nonmetal with diamond crystal structure and equal relative strength. Labels explain each property. — silicon Chemical properties of the element silicon.

Pure silicon is rarely found in nature because it is too reactive to exist in its elemental form. Instead, it is almost always found combined with other elements.1

In the Earth's crust, silicon is typically bonded with oxygen to form silica (silicon dioxide, ${SiO}_{2}$ ) or combined with oxygen and other elements to form silicates. These compounds are extremely abundant, making up approximately 95 percent of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Because of this high reactivity, elemental silicon must be produced commercially through the reduction of silica in an electric furnace to be used in applications such as semiconductors.1234