Blue Kyanite is highly prized by collectors for its distinctive bladed, splintery crystal habit and anisotropic hardness. It is typically found in regional metamorphic rocks like schist and gneiss, often showing a color gradient from light to deep blue along the length of the blade.
Is this blue kyanite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch blue kyanite with a known reference. Blue Kyanite sits at Mohs 4.5-7 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Blue Kyanite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Blue Kyanite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: blue, light blue, deep blue, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: bladed crystals.
Often confused with
Blue Kyanite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside blue kyanite
Minerals reported to co-occur with blue kyanite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Al₂SiO₅
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5-7
- Density
- 3.5-3.7 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Bladed Crystals
- Cleavage
- Perfect in One Direction
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Metaphysical
- Host rock
- Metamorphic Rocks
- Typical price
- $5-50 thumbnail, $50-300 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find blue kyanite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Brazil
- USA
- Switzerland
- Nepal
- India
- Kenya
Field-hunting tip
Look in metamorphic rocks country — that is the host setting where blue kyanite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, staurolite, garnet in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a bladed crystals habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in North Carolina — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find blue kyanite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
