Navajoite is a rare vanadium oxide typically found as fibrous, dark brown coatings or thin crusts in oxidized uranium-vanadium deposits. It is most frequently encountered by collectors as micro-crystalline layers within sandstone hosted mines of the Colorado Plateau.
Is this navajoite?
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 navajoite with a known reference. Navajoite sits at Mohs <2, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: brown.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: adamantine to silky.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: dark brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: fibrous, crusts, coatings.
Often confused with
Navajoite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Navajoite leaves brown, Tyuyamunite leaves light yellow.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Navajoite leaves brown, Carnotite leaves strontian-yellow; luster reads adamantine to silky on Navajoite and dull, earthy; silky when crystalline on Carnotite.
Often found alongside navajoite
Minerals reported to co-occur with navajoite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- (V⁵⁺,Fe³⁺)₁₀O₂₄·12H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- <2
- Density
- 2.56 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Brown
- Luster
- Adamantine to silky
- Transparency
- Semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Fibrous, crusts, coatings
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In the highly oxidized portion of a Colorado Plateau-type U–V deposit, in a stream channel filled with conglomeratic and silty sandstone; thought to be an oxidation product of corvusite
Where rockhounds find navajoite
Classic worldwide localities
- Monument No. 2 mine, Monument Valley, Apache Co., Arizona, USA
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In the highly oxidized portion of a Colorado Plateau-type U–V deposit, in a stream channel filled with conglomeratic and silty sandstone; thought to be an oxidation product of corvusite. If you start seeing corvusite, tyuyamunite, rauvite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: fibrous, crusts, coatings. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify navajoite?+
Where is navajoite found?+
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What rocks look like navajoite?+
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Find navajoite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
