Goethite is a common iron hydroxide mineral frequently found as the weathering product of other iron-bearing minerals. Collectors prize it for its highly aesthetic radiating, needle-like crystal sprays and velvety botryoidal surfaces.
Is this goethite?
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 goethite with a known reference. Goethite sits at Mohs 5-5.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, black, brown, brownish yellow, ocher yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: acicular, radial, reniform.
Often confused with
Goethite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Goethite leaves brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow, Lepidocrocite leaves dull orange; luster reads imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous on Goethite and submetallic on Lepidocrocite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Goethite leaves brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow, Hematite leaves cherry-red or reddish brown; luster reads imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous on Goethite and metallic or submetallic to dull on Hematite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Goethite leaves brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow, Limonite leaves yellowish-brown; luster reads imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous on Goethite and submetallic to earthy on Limonite.
Often found alongside goethite
Minerals reported to co-occur with goethite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- α-FeO(OH)
- Mohs hardness
- 5-5.5
- Density
- 4.28 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Brownish yellow, yellow-orange, ocher-yellow
- Luster
- Imperfect adamantine metallic to dull earthy; silky when fibrous
- Transparency
- Opaque, transparent on thin edges
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, radial, reniform
- Cleavage
- {010}, perfect; {100}, less perfect
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Pigment, Iron ore
- Host rock
- A common weathering product derived from numerous iron-bearing minerals in oxygenated environments; an important component of ore in weathered iron deposits
Where rockhounds find goethite
37 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Pikes Peak district and Florissant, El Paso Co., Colorado, USA
- Lake Superior district, as at the Jackson mine, Negaunee, and the Superior mine, Marquette, Marquette Co., Michigan, USA
- Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and near Giessen, Hesse, Germany
- Příbram, Czech Republic
- Restormel mine, Lanlivery, England
- Botallack mine, St. Just, England
U.S. states with goethite
Each link opens a state-specific list of mapped rockhounding spots that produce goethite.
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: A common weathering product derived from numerous iron-bearing minerals in oxygenated environments; an important component of ore in weathered iron deposits. If you start seeing lepidocrocite, hematite, pyrite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, radial, reniform. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Missouri, New Jersey, Utah. Start trip planning there.
More goethite photos
Common questions
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Find goethite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
