Stishovite is a high-pressure polymorph of silica that forms primarily during meteorite impacts. It is extremely rare in nature and is typically found as microscopic grains embedded within shocked quartz or impact melt rocks.
Is this stishovite?
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 stishovite with a known reference. Stishovite sits at Mohs 7.5-8, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: microcrystalline aggregates.
Often confused with
Stishovite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside stishovite
Minerals reported to co-occur with stishovite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- SiO₂
- Mohs hardness
- 7.5-8
- Density
- 4.35 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Microcrystalline aggregates
- Cleavage
- Distinct on {110}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Scientific research
- Host rock
- At sites of meteorite impact, formed by shock metamorphism of quartz at temperatures ¸ 1200 ° C and pressures ~100 kbar; then metastable, alters to glass or cristobalite at ¸ 300 ° C
Where rockhounds find stishovite
Classic worldwide localities
- Meteor Crater, Coconino Co., Arizona, and at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Raton, Colfax Co., New Mexico, USA
- Nördlinger Ries crater, Bavaria, Germany
- Vredefort Ring crater, Orange Free State, South Africa
- Ternovska crater, Krivoi Rog, Ukraine
- Lonar Lake crater, Maharashtra, India
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: At sites of meteorite impact, formed by shock metamorphism of quartz at temperatures ¸ 1200 ° C and pressures ~100 kbar; then metastable, alters to glass or cristobalite at ¸ 300 ° C. If you start seeing coesite, quartz, silica glass in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: microcrystalline aggregates. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
More stishovite photos
Common questions
How do you identify stishovite?+
Where is stishovite found?+
What rocks look like stishovite?+
What minerals are found with stishovite?+
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Find stishovite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
