Dravite is a magnesium-rich member of the tourmaline group, typically identified by its distinct brown hues and elongated, vertically striated crystals. It is commonly found in regionally metamorphosed rocks and is prized by collectors for its sharp, well-formed crystal terminations.
Is this dravite?
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 dravite with a known reference. Dravite sits at Mohs 7, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: light brown, white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous to resinous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown, dark brown, yellowish brown, black, green, red, blue, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: columnar, divergent, massive.
Often confused with
Dravite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dravite leaves light brown, white, Schorl leaves white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dravite leaves light brown, white, Vesuvianite leaves white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Dravite leaves light brown, white, Axinite leaves white.
Often found alongside dravite
Minerals reported to co-occur with dravite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NaMg₃Al₆(Si₆O₁₈)(BO₃)₃(OH)₃OH
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Density
- 3.03-3.18 g/cm³
- Streak
- Light brown, white
- Luster
- Vitreous to resinous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Columnar, divergent, massive
- Cleavage
- {1120}, {1011}, very poor
- Fluorescence
- Yellow to orange under SW UV
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary
- Host rock
- Commonly in metamorphosed limestones or mafic igneous rocks with metasomatically introduced boron; rarely in pegmatites; as authigenic overgrowths in sedimentary rocks
Where rockhounds find dravite
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Gouverneur, Pierrepont, and Macomb, St. Lawrence Co., New York, USA
- Franklin and Hamburg, Sussex Co., New Jersey, USA
- Newry, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
- Found around Dravograd (Unterdrauberg), Slovenia
- Beura, Val d'Ossola, Piedmont, Italy
- Arendal and Snarum, Norway
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Commonly in metamorphosed limestones or mafic igneous rocks with metasomatically introduced boron; rarely in pegmatites; as authigenic overgrowths in sedimentary rocks. If you start seeing quartz, calcite, dolomite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: columnar, divergent, massive. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in New York. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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What rocks look like dravite?+
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Find dravite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
