Turquoise is a hydrated phosphate mineral known for its distinctive robin's egg blue to greenish color. It typically forms as massive, botryoidal, or crusty deposits in arid regions where phosphorus-rich groundwater reacts with aluminum and copper-bearing minerals. Collectors look for high-grade 'spiderweb' patterns or matrix-free solid blue material.
Is this turquoise?
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 turquoise with a known reference. Turquoise sits at Mohs 5-6 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Turquoise leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Turquoise typically shows a waxy luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: blue, blue-green, green, yellow-green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: massive, cryptocrystalline, botryoidal, crusts.
Often confused with
Turquoise vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Turquoise is noticeably harder (Mohs 5-6 vs. 2-4); luster reads waxy on Turquoise and vitreous on Chrysocolla.
How to tell apart: Luster reads waxy on Turquoise and vitreous on Hemimorphite.
Often found alongside turquoise
Minerals reported to co-occur with turquoise. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CuAl₆(PO₄)₄(OH)₈·4H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 5-6
- Density
- 2.6-2.9 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Waxy
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Massive, Cryptocrystalline, Botryoidal, Crusts
- Cleavage
- Poor
- Fluorescence
- Weak to Moderate Green Under LW UV
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Gemstone, Lapidary, Decorative, Jewelry
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Alteration Zones in Volcanic Rocks
- Typical price
- $5-50 for small cabochons, $100+ for high-quality specimens
Where rockhounds find turquoise
17 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Arizona, USA
- Nevada, USA
- Nishapur, Iran
- Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
- Sonora, Mexico
U.S. states with turquoise
Each link opens a state-specific list of mapped rockhounding spots that produce turquoise.
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal alteration zones in volcanic rocks country — that is the host setting where turquoise typically forms. If you start seeing kaolinite, quartz, pyrite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a massive, cryptocrystalline, botryoidal, crusts habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Nevada, New Mexico, Texas — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find turquoise on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
