Barite
Norman, Oklahoma

This specimen measures 16cm x 13cm


Barite     BaSO4

Sulfates; Barium sulfate, often with small amounts of strontium

Color and Luster: White, gray, colorless, or shades of yellow, brown, red, blue; vitreous, pearly; streak white

Hardness: 3-3.5

Cleavage: Perfect in one direction, good in a second, and distinct in a third

Fracture: Uneven

Crystals: Orthorhombic; usually thin to thick tabular crystals; also prismatic crystals, divergent groups, compact, lamellar, fibrous, granular

Photo by Mary Sutherland


Descriptions taken from
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals