Suevite is an impact breccia composed of angular rock and mineral fragments, often including shocked quartz and glassy particles formed during a meteorite impact. It is typically found in and around large terrestrial impact craters and is identified by its chaotic, mixed-fragment texture and presence of impact melt components.
Is this suevite?
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 suevite with a known reference. Suevite sits at Mohs 5-6, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Read the textureLook at a fresh break with a hand lens. Texture: Breccia containing glass and crystal or lithic fragments.
- 3Pick out the mineralsComposition: Partly melted material sintered with unmelted fragments of country rock during an impact. Identify the two or three most abundant grains.
- 4Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: dull.
- 5Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: gray, brown, greenish.
Often confused with
Suevite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside suevite
Minerals reported to co-occur with suevite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Mohs hardness
- 5-6
- Density
- 2.3-2.6 g/cm³
- Luster
- Dull
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector, Geological research
- Host rock
- impact crater environment
- Texture
- Breccia containing glass and crystal or lithic fragments
- Composition
- Partly melted material sintered with unmelted fragments of country rock during an impact
Where rockhounds find suevite
Classic worldwide localities
- Nördlinger Ries, Germany
- Popigai crater, Russia
- Manicouagan crater, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: impact crater environment. If you start seeing coesite, stishovite, lechatelierite in float, you are in the right ground.
Common questions
How do you identify suevite?+
Where is suevite found?+
What rocks look like suevite?+
What minerals are found with suevite?+
What kind of rock does suevite form in?+
What is suevite used for?+
Find suevite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
