Sulfur
Species (IMA name: Sulphur)
Common · S
Native element deposited as a sublimate around volcanic vents and fumaroles. The largest deposits lie in the cap rock of salt domes, where micro-organisms turned sulfate into sulfur. Burns with a blue flame and a choking smell.
Identity
- Formula
- S
- Chemical class
- Native element
- Also known as
- Brimstone, Native sulfur
- Used in alchemy
- Native Sulfur Crystal, Sulfur Pinch
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Habits
- Pyramidal, Tabular, Massive, Stalactitic
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 2.07 g/cm³
- Luster
- Resinous
- Colors
- yellow, honey yellow, brownish yellow, greenish yellow, orange
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Volcanic, Sedimentary
- Host rocks
- Volcanic rock, Limestone and chalk, Salt beds
- Associated minerals
- Gypsum, Anhydrite, Calcite, Aragonite, Celestine, Halite
- Found in
- Evaporite deposit
- Geography
- Italy (Sicily), USA (Louisiana, Texas, Wyoming), Spain (Cádiz), Mexico (Baja California)
Classification
- Rarity
- Common
- Gem quality
- No
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Native Sulphur. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Sulfur. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy.
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