Sodium chloride — common table salt. Forms cubic crystals and is the most common evaporite mineral. Color: Colorless, white, blue, purple, pink. Luster: Vitreous. Streak: White. Cleavage: Perfect cubic in three directions. Hardness: 2.5. Transparency: Transparent to translucent. Crystal system: Isometric Cubic. Chemical formula: NaCl. Specific gravity: 2.17. Formation: Precipitates from evaporating seawater and saline lakes. Forms massive salt beds and salt domes. Common geological settings: Worldwide; found in evaporite deposits, salt domes, and dried lake beds. Common look-alikes and related entries: Calcite, Sylvite, Quartz.
White minerals — Place this specimen in a broader field-identification workflow.
Halite vs Calcite — Compare observable properties and safer field tests.
Sources, scope & corrections
These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.
Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T14:37:04.736158+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
IMA–CNMNC List of Mineral Names — International Mineralogical Association. Official mineral-name, nomenclature, and classification records.
Mineral ID Key — Mineralogical Society of America. Physical-property identification methods, repeat-testing guidance, and limitations.
Sodium chloride — common table salt. Forms cubic crystals and is the most common evaporite mineral.
How can you identify Halite?
Compare several properties rather than relying on colour alone. This entry records colour: Colorless, white, blue, purple, pink; lustre: Vitreous; streak: White; Mohs hardness: 2.5; cleavage: Perfect cubic in three directions; crystal system: Isometric Cubic; transparency: Transparent to translucent. Confirm an important identification with additional field tests or qualified laboratory work.
How does Halite form?
Precipitates from evaporating seawater and saline lakes. Forms massive salt beds and salt domes.
Where is Halite commonly found?
Worldwide; found in evaporite deposits, salt domes, and dried lake beds.
What is Halite commonly confused with?
Halite may be confused with Calcite, Sylvite, Quartz. Compare multiple diagnostic properties because colour and surface appearance can overlap.
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