amazonite
Sign in to saveAmazonite, also known as amazonstone, is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline. Its chemical formula is KAlSi3O8, which is polymorphic to orthoclase.
Key facts
- Mineral.fracture
- Uneven, splintery
- Mineral.pleochroism
- Absent
- Mineral.system
- Triclinic
- Mineral.cleavage
- Perfect
- Mineral.boxbgcolor
- 9ef5d8
- Mineral.group
- Feldspar group
- Mineral.name
- Amazonite
- Mineral.category
- Tectosilicate minerals
- Mineral.series
- Alkali feldspar series
- Mineral.IMAstatus
- Variety of microcline
- Mineral.image
- Amazonita1.jpeg
- Mineral.imagesize
- 260px
- Mineral.alt
- Photo of a turquoise mineral with beige microcline speckled within it
- Mineral.caption
- Amazonite from Brazil
- Mineral.formula
- KAlSi3O8
- Mineral.color
- Green, blue-green
- Mineral.habit
- Prismatic
- Mineral.mohs
- 6.0–6.5
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Occurrence
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Amazonite, also known as amazonstone, is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline. Its chemical formula is KAlSi3O8, which is polymorphic to orthoclase.
The name is derived from the Amazon River, from which green stones were once believed to have been obtained, although it remains uncertain whether those stones were actually amazonite. Although amazonite has been used for jewellery for more than three thousand years, as evidenced by archaeological finds in Middle and New Kingdom Egypt and Mesopotamia, it is not mentioned by any ancient or medieval sources. It was first described as a distinct mineral in the 18th century.