Mineral · Halite group
Halite
NaCl
Halite is rock salt, crystallising as cubes and hopper crystals in white, pink (Searles Lake, California, from bacteria) and blue-purple (Germany, Poland, from radiation damage). Pink Searles Lake hoppers and blue Polish halite are the collector forms. It is water-soluble and deliquescent: keep it in a dry, sealed container.
| Formula | NaCl |
|---|---|
| IMA status | grandfathered |
| Crystal system | Cubic |
| Mohs hardness | 2–2.5 |
| Group | Halite group |
| Type locality | None (known since antiquity) |
| Streak | White |
| Specific gravity | 2.17 |
| Reference list | IMA List of Minerals (RRUFF) — verify formula and status against the current list |
Handling and safety
Dissolves in humid air; store sealed with desiccant.
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Halite" (Mineral). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/minerals/halite. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-halite,
title = {Halite},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/minerals/halite}},
year = {2026},
note = {Mineral article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.