Mineralpedia Details for Halite
Halite
Named after the Greek word alati, which means “salt,” as Halite is natural salt. It occurs as an evaporate in sedimentary rock and has the ability to form immense beds. Halite can also form as volcanic sublimate, efflorescences and as a cave deposit. Crystals can have fluid inclusions and can be included in other minerals from metamorphism. Halite is common and widespread, and well studied material can be found in localities in Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, India, and the United States. Halite is, as we all know, soluble in water and has a saline taste that makes it so popular. Rarely, halite will fluoresce red under short-wave ultraviolet light.
Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/halite.pdf
- Formula
- NaCl
- Crystal System
- Isometric
- Crystal Habit
- Euhedral Crystals, Granular, Crystalline - Coarse
- Cleavage
- Perfect, Perfect, Perfect
- Luster
- Vitreous (Glassy)
- Color
- white, clear, light blue, dark blue, pink
- Streak
- white
- Class
- Isometric - Hexoctahedral
- Fracture
- Brittle
- Hardness
- 2.5
- WebMineral
- View Halite
- Mindat
- View Halite
Halite from Bergmannssegen, Lehrte, Hannover, Germany
Blue translucent crystal fragment 5x5x2cm.
Halite from Mulhouse, France
Light purple crystal fragment with fibrous structure. Overall 4x3x3cm.
Halite from Kłodawa, Wielkopolskie, Poland
Mass of blue to colorless Halite showing some crystal faces. The blue dissappears if you were to dissolve this in water. It's a color thing. just believe me. Of course at the risk of destroying the specimen, I could also say it will turn the water red. But of course it doesn't.
Halite from Heringen, Werra Valley, Hesse, Germany
A cleaved, maybe partially natural, purple Halite crystal showing nice internal banding.
Halite from Roßleben-Wiehe, Kyffhäuser dist., Thuringia, Germany
A choice specimen of purple to blue Halite crystal, which is translucent and exhibits color zoning. It is just as stunning in-hand.
