Witherite is a barium carbonate mineral best recognized by its characteristic pseudohexagonal twinned crystals that appear as rounded, six-sided pyramids. Collectors should look for its distinctive bright fluorescence under ultraviolet light and its notably high specific gravity compared to similar carbonate minerals.
Is this witherite?
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 witherite with a known reference. Witherite sits at Mohs 3-3.5, 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, resinous on fractures.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, gray, yellow, brown, colorless, milky white, grayish white, pale yellowish white, pale brownish white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: columnar, pseudo hexagonal, reniform.
Often confused with
Witherite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside witherite
Minerals reported to co-occur with witherite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaCO₃
- Mohs hardness
- 3-3.5
- Density
- 4.22-4.31 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous, resinous on fractures
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Columnar, pseudo hexagonal, reniform
- Cleavage
- On {010}, distinct; on {110}, {012}, poor
- Fluorescence
- Bluish white under SW and LW UV
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector, Industrial source of barium
- Host rock
- Usually in minor amounts in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, typically an alteration product of barite; may be of anoxic sedimentary origin, barium supplied by volcanic hot-spring activity; uncommon in coal measures
Where rockhounds find witherite
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Fine several mines around Rosiclare, as in the Minerva #2 mine, Cave-in-Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA
- Pigeon Roost, Montgomery Co., Arkansas, USA
- England, from Alston Moor, Cumbria
- Settlingstones mine, near Fourstones, and at Fallowfield, near Hexham, Northumberland
- Leogang and at Peggau, north of Graz, Styria, Austria
- Příbram, Czech Republic
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Usually in minor amounts in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, typically an alteration product of barite; may be of anoxic sedimentary origin, barium supplied by volcanic hot-spring activity; uncommon in coal measures. If you start seeing barite, fluorite, calcite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: columnar, pseudo hexagonal, reniform. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Illinois, Ohio. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify witherite?+
Where is witherite found?+
Can I find witherite in the United States?+
Is witherite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like witherite?+
What minerals are found with witherite?+
What kind of rock does witherite form in?+
What is witherite used for?+
Find witherite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
