Amazonite
Blue-green microcline, coloured by lead and water, named for a river that has none.
- Family
- Feldspar
- Formula
- KAlSi₃O₈
- Mohs
- 6 to 6.5
- System
- Triclinic
Drag to turn
Science
Amazonite is microcline feldspar whose colour is due to trace lead together with structural water and natural irradiation. It forms in granite pegmatites as blocky crystals, famously in Colorado where it grows with black smoky quartz.
- Mineral
- Feldspar (variety)
- Formula
- KAlSi₃O₈
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Mohs hardness
- 6 to 6.5
- Specific gravity
- 2.56
- Refractive index
- 1.522 to 1.530
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Blue-green, Turquoise, Green
Composition
KAlSi₃O₈. Made of Potassium, Aluminium, Silicon, Oxygen, with trace Lead, Rubidium responsible for colour.
Origin
- RussiaIlmen Mountains, historic
- United StatesPikes Peak, Colorado
- Brazil
- Madagascar
- Ethiopia
- Peru
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Readily available. Sharp crystals paired with smoky quartz from Colorado are collector pieces.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Amazonite sits at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Glass and a knife blade are about as hard; it wears well with care.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Heart
- Throat
Element
- Water
Zodiac
- Virgo
- Aquarius
Planets
- Uranus
Properties
- Truthful speech
- Harmony
- Courage
- Soothing
Lore
Amazon stone was named for green stones reportedly traded from the Amazon basin, which were probably nephrite; no amazonite occurs there. A ring of it was found in Tutankhamun's tomb, and it is carved in the Book of the Dead's chapter on the heart.
In modern practice it is the stone for saying what you mean without heat.
- ColourLead plus water in the lattice; not copper, despite the turquoise shade.
- Pikes PeakColorado specimens with smoky quartz are the classic combination.