Microcline
Physical Properties
| Color | White, green, salmon pink |
| Form/Habit | Prismatic, stubby or elongated |
| Lusture | Pearly, vitreous |
| Streak | White |
| Hardness | 6 |
| Cleavage | 2 sets with 90.41 degrees intersection |
| Fracture | Uneven |
| Specific Gravity | 2.56 (low) |
| Chemical Composition | KAlSi3O8 |
| Crystal System | Triclinic |
| Diagnostic Properties | Hardness of 6, 2 almost perpendicular sets of cleavage |
Associations
Microcline is common in many silicic igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It is typically associated with quartz and mica.
Remarks
Microcline may be easily confused with orthoclase, its polymorph, when analysed as hand sample. They can be distinguished using X-Ray diffraction.
Gallery
