Rock and Mineral Identification Reference

How to Identify Halite: Hardness, Streak, Luster and Tests

Quick answer

Halite (mineral): 6 identifying properties, 1 home test, and how to tell it from Gypsum, quoted from geology department and survey sources.

Updated 2026-09-10 · Sources: University of Minnesota Common Minerals

Scratch, streak and acid tests mark the specimen, and some produce sharp fragments or dust. Wear eye protection, work in a ventilated space, keep acid off skin, and never taste a mineral you have not already identified.

How to Identify Halite: Hardness, Streak, Luster and Tests — Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

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What are the key facts?

Type: Mineral
Mohs hardness: 2.5 (soft)
Streak: White
Luster: Vitreous luster in crystals; massive form is dull.
Color: Usually clear or white; impurities can give a red or orange hue.
Cleavage or fracture: Three directions of perfect cleavage at right angles, forming cubes.
Specific gravity: 2.1 (up to 2.6)

What Halite looks like

The properties that identify Halite — mohs hardness: 2.5 (soft); streak: White; luster: Vitreous luster in crystals; massive form is dull; color: Usually clear or white; impurities can give a red or orange hue; cleavage or fracture: Three directions of perfect cleavage at right angles, forming cubes; specific gravity: 2.1 (up to 2.6). Hardness, streak and cleavage are the reliable ones; color alone rarely settles it.

Tests you can do at home

Taste test: halite's most distinctive feature is its salty taste — moisten a finger, touch it to the sample, and taste the residue. Safety: Only taste-test samples you collected yourself and know are clean. Never taste samples from mine sites, industrial sites, or potentially contaminated soil. Wash your hands before and after.

Often confused with

[Gypsum](/lookup/rocks-and-minerals/gypsum): A taste test distinguishes them: halite is salty, gypsum has no taste.

Where it is found in North America

Underground salt mines beneath Cleveland and Detroit; deposits in Ontario, Saskatchewan, New York, New Mexico, and along the Gulf Coast; still forming along the shores of Utah's Great Salt Lake and on the salt flats of Death Valley.

How to photograph it for identification

Photograph a fresh, unweathered surface in daylight, then a second shot of any crystal faces or broken edge. Include a coin for scale. If you did a streak test, photograph the streak next to the specimen. The app suggests the likely mineral or rock; confirm with hardness and the tests above before you label it.

FAQ

How hard is Halite on the Mohs scale?

2.5 (soft). A fingernail is about 2.5, a copper coin about 3, a steel knife 5.5 and glass about 5.5, so test against those.

What color streak does Halite leave?

White. Rub the specimen on an unglazed porcelain tile; the powder color is the streak, and it is more consistent than the specimen color.

How do I tell Halite from Gypsum?

A taste test distinguishes them: halite is salty, gypsum has no taste.

What is the simplest test for Halite?

Taste test: halite's most distinctive feature is its salty taste — moisten a finger, touch it to the sample, and taste the residue.

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Sources

University of Minnesota Common Mineralscommonminerals.esci.umn.edu/minerals-g-m/halite
University of Minnesota Common Mineralscommonminerals.esci.umn.edu/minerals-g-m/gypsum

Compiled by the RockLens editorial team

Every fact on this page is taken from the sources listed above; numbers and prices are copied from the source, and prices name the guide or auction and its date. Research and drafting were assisted by AI, and each claim was then checked against the cited sources. Checked 2026-09-10. We do not buy, sell or grade items; the app identifies what you photograph and points you to these references.