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Turquoise

Phosphate Minerals

Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8.4H2O. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia because of its hue. The word dates to the 16th century and derives from the Old French turquois, meaning Turkish, because the mineral was first brought to Europe through the Ottoman Empire from mines in the historical Khorasan province of Iran. In this atlas it is the mineral species that the gemstone turquoise records.

Facts
Kind
Mineral 1
Chemical Formula
CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8.4H2O 1
Hardness (Mohs)
5.5 1
Commonly cited range is 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale; 5.5, the midpoint, is used here.
Classification
Crystal System
Triclinic 1
Classification
Phosphate Mineral 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Connections

Classified As

Phosphate Minerals, Subcategories

Crystallizes In System

Triclinic Crystal System, Concepts

In Discipline

Mineralogy, Disciplines
In the Other Atlases

Mineral Species Of

Turquoise

Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.

Found In

Chile

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
turquoise rough is currently produced in the southwestern United States , China , Chile , Egypt , Iran , and Mexico
China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
turquoise rough is currently produced in the southwestern United States , China , Chile , Egypt , Iran , and Mexico
Egypt

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
turquoise rough is currently produced in the southwestern United States , China , Chile , Egypt , Iran , and Mexico
Iran

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
the famous high-quality material mined in the area that is now known as Iran
Mexico

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
turquoise rough is currently produced in the southwestern United States , China , Chile , Egypt , Iran , and Mexico
United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Geology.com: Turquoise gemstone and mineralArticle text
Quote, Article text
turquoise rough is currently produced in the southwestern United States , China , Chile , Egypt , Iran , and Mexico
Sources
1. Turquoise (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Turquoise, lead paragraph
    is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium
  • Turquoise, article text
    It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue.
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